Episode 3: Disney Diversity, Equity & Inclusion – Disney on the Yard and Business Employee Resource Groups
ON THIS EPISODE OF LIFE AT DISNEY
At Disney, inclusion is for everyone. We strive to design work environments that inspire optimism and drive innovation for all employees at all levels. And because we recognize that maintaining an inclusive, supportive workplace requires mindful attention and intention, we continually adapt to the evolving needs of our people. To discuss the opportunities available for our cast members, crew, Imagineers, and employees, as well as our external audience in the diversity, inclusion, and equity space, we are joined by Corey Savage, Manager, Outreach & Engagement and LaJoy Mercer, Technical Recruiter, Campus as they share their experiences and how they have seen this work evolve with The Walt Disney Company.
LISTEN TO THE EPISODE
MEET YOUR HOSTS
ABOUT THE GUESTS
Corey Savage
Corey J. Savage is a noteworthy leader in higher education and non-profit with over 15 years of experience in creating programs, building awareness, and engaging community leaders while fostering support for national and local non-profit organizations and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
Corey’s work has resulted in securing millions of dollars in scholarship funds and partnerships with Fortune 500 companies leading to internship and permanent career placement for HBCU students.
His experience cultivating fruitful relationships led to his most recent talent acquisition role with The Walt Disney Company. In his role, Corey manages relationships with HBCUs to secure top talent for internships at the organization. He is also responsible for managing the Walt Disney Company United Negro College Fund (UNCF) Corporate Scholars Program and providing best practices for HBCU engagement with various aspects within the organization.
He previously served in various fundraising leadership roles at North Carolina Central University and Hampton University. Corey also served as a director of college relations and partnerships for the Tom Joyner Foundation. Corey, a Morrisville, N.C., resident holds a bachelor’s degree from North Carolina A&T State University.
SHOW NOTES
- The Cheyney University of Pennsylvania became the nation’s first Historically Black College and University (HBCU) on February 25, 1837. The University was established through the bequest of Richard Humphreys, a Quaker philanthropist who bequeathed $10,000 — one-tenth of his estate — to design and establish a school to educate people of African descent and prepare them as teachers.
- Disney on the Yard (DOTY) is dedicated to building a community for HBCU students and alumni working across The Walt Disney Company and providing meaningful opportunities for students. In partnership with HBCUs around the country, we have strengthened our commitment to the development of internships, mentorship programs, and career growth opportunities for HBCU graduates and Black talent at all levels.
- Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. Most of these institutions were founded in the years after the American Civil War and are concentrated in the Southern United States. During the period of segregation prior to the Civil Rights Act, the great majority of institutions of higher education served predominantly white students and disqualified or limited black American enrollment. For a century after the end of slavery in the United States in 1865, most colleges and universities in the Southern United States prohibited all African Americans from attending, while institutions in other parts of the country regularly employed quotas to limit admissions of Black people. HBCUs were established to provide opportunities to African Americans and are largely responsible for establishing and expanding the African-American middle class.
- North Carolina Central University (NCCU or NC Central), a state-supported liberal arts institution, is a public, historically black university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Dr. James E. Shepard in affiliation with the Chautauqua movement in 1909, it was supported by private funds from both Northern and Southern philanthropists. It was made part of the state system in 1923 when it first received state funding and was renamed as Durham State Normal School. It added graduate classes in arts and sciences and professional schools in law and library science in the late 1930s and 1940s.
- The Walt Disney UNCF Corporate Scholars Program, supported by a $1 million commitment from the Walt Disney Company, is providing both scholarships and internships to high-achieving African American students across the country. This program offers career readiness tools to assist students in achieving their goals in the entertainment industry through experiential learning during an internship with The Walt Disney Company
- UNCF, the United Negro College Fund, also known as the United Fund, is an American philanthropic organization that funds scholarships for black students and general scholarship funds for 37 private historically black colleges and universities. UNCF was incorporated on April 25, 1944, by Frederick D. Patterson (then president of what is now Tuskegee University), Mary McLeod Bethune, and others. UNCF is headquartered at 1805 7th Street, NW in Washington, D.C. In 2005, UNCF supported approximately 65,000 students at over 900 colleges and universities with approximately $113 million in grants and scholarships. About 60% of these students are the first in their families to attend college, and 62% have annual family incomes of less than $25,000. UNCF also administers over 450 named scholarships.
LaJoy Mercer
LaJoy has been a leader with Disney for over 15 years. She started her “magical” journey as a Professional Intern with Disney Institute. Following her internship, she became a Disney Campus Representative, where she had the opportunity to recruit other students at Florida A&M University while she completed her MBA. Upon graduation, LaJoy started her leadership career in Park Operations, working at iconic attractions like “The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror” at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. She also had the opportunity to be on the opening team for the “New Fantasyland” expansion at the Magic Kingdom Park and work on every attraction from “Snow White’s Scary Adventures” to “Seven Dwarfs Mine Train”.
LaJoy joined the Consumer Insight Research leadership team, where she was responsible for “researching the magic” and leading all kinds of projects for the Walt Disney Company. LaJoy transitioned her career to Talent Acquisition in 2021 and became a Recruiter for the Walt Disney World® Resort, helping to prepare the theme parks and resorts for the 50th Anniversary Celebration. Then LaJoy joined the Campus Recruitment team, where she recruited interns for Disneyland Engineering, Safety & Health.
Earlier this year, LaJoy transitioned to the Campus Technical Recruitment team, and she loves being a part of an incredibly innovative team working alongside our Streaming businesses to recruit the next generation of leaders and Tech Interns. She loves being a part of the DE&I activations happening throughout the company, and one of her favorite initiatives is Disney on the Yard, which engages our HBCU students, faculty, and alumni community.
SHOW NOTES
- Ariel is a fictional character in Walt Disney Pictures’ 28th animated film, The Little Mermaid (1989). Ariel is voiced by Jodi Benson in all official animated appearances and merchandise.
- Business Employee Resource Groups (BERGs) is Disney’s voluntary, employee-led groups formed around shared identity, interests, and pursuits. BERGs are key partners in cultivating an inclusive culture and a sense of belonging for Disney employees. They offer opportunities to network with peers, participate in outreach and mentoring programs, acquire new skills, enhance leadership capabilities, and drive cross-cultural business innovation.
- Black Panther is a 2018 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the 18th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is an upcoming American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Black Panther. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is intended to be the sequel to Black Panther (2018) and the 30th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film is being directed by Ryan Coogler, who co-wrote the screenplay with Joe Robert Cole, and stars Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Winston Duke, Florence Kasumba, Dominique Thorne, Michaela Coel, Tenoch Huerta, Martin Freeman, and Angela Bassett. In the film, the leaders of the kingdom of Wakanda fight to protect their nation in the wake of King T’Challa’s death.
- Disney Dreamers Academy is a 4-day, power-packed event in which 100 select high school students-ages 13 to 19-are inspired, motivated, and prepared to dream big. Disney Dreamers get to experience inspirational guest speakers with immersive presentations, career activities landing from animation, journalism, and entrepreneurship to culinary arts and zoology, and networking and interviewing opportunities
- Disney Hollywood Studios is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division. Based on a concept by Marty Sklar, Randy Bright, and Michael Eisner, the park opened on May 1, 1989, as the Disney-MGM Studios (Theme) Park and was the third of four theme parks built at Walt Disney World. Spanning 135 acres, the park is dedicated to the imagined worlds of film, television, music, and theatre, drawing inspiration from the Golden Age of Hollywood.
- Disney Internships is where you will work side-by-side with industry leaders in your field of study. Imagine building upon the skills you’ve learned in the classroom within a family of legendary brands passionate about creating world-class experiences on a global scale. Now, imagine yourself in a paid Disney Internship.
- Disneyland Resort is a theme park in Anaheim, California, which opened in 1955. It is the only one designed and built under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Since its opening, Disneyland has undergone expansions and major renovations, including the addition of New Orleans Square in 1966, Bear Country in 1972, Mickey’s Toontown in 1993, and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in 2019. Opened in 2001, Disney California Adventure Park was built on the site of Disneyland’s original parking lot.
- Disney on the Yard (DOTY) is dedicated to building a community for HBCU alumni working across The Walt Disney Company and providing meaningful opportunities for students. In partnership with HBCUs around the country, we have strengthened our commitment to the development of internships, mentorship programs, and career growth opportunities for HBCU graduates and Black talent at all levels.
- Essence Festival is an annual celebration of black culture, fashion, food, and music taking place each and every Fourth of July weekend.
- Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. Most of these institutions were founded in the years after the American Civil War and are concentrated in the Southern United States. During the period of segregation prior to the Civil Rights Act, the great majority of institutions of higher education served predominantly white students and disqualified or limited black American enrollment. For a century after the end of slavery in the United States in 1865, most colleges and universities in the Southern United States prohibited all African Americans from attending, while institutions in other parts of the country regularly employed quotas to limit admissions of Black people. HBCUs were established to provide opportunities to African Americans and are largely responsible for establishing and expanding the African-American middle class.
- Fantasmic! is a nighttime show at Disneyland Park and formerly at the Disney-MGM Studios (now Disney’s Hollywood Studios) and Tokyo DisneySea. It features fireworks, characters, live actors, water effects, pyrotechnics, lasers, music, audio-animatronics, searchlights, decorated boat floats, and mist screen projections. The narrative of Fantasmic! is a voyage through Mickey Mouse’s imagination that culminates in a battle against the Disney Villains.
- Fantasyland is one of the “themed lands” at all of the Magic Kingdom-style parks run by The Walt Disney Company around the world. It is themed after Disney’s animated fairy tale films. Each Fantasyland has a castle, as well as several gentle rides themed after those Disney films.
- Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida. Founded in 1887, It is the third largest historically black university in the United States by enrollment and the only public historically black university in Florida. It is a member institution of the State University System of Florida, as well as one of the state’s land grant universities, and is accredited to award baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral degrees by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
- Magic Kingdom is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando, Florida. Owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division, the park opened on October 1, 1971, as the first of four theme parks at the resort. The park was initialized by Walt Disney and designed by WED Enterprises. Its layout and attractions are based on Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California, and are dedicated to fairy tales and Disney characters.
- Princess Tiana is a fictional character in Walt Disney Pictures’ 49th animated feature film, The Princess and the Frog (2009). Created by writers and directors Ron Clements and John Musker and animated by Mark Henn, Tiana, as an adult, is voiced by Anika Noni Rose, while Elizabeth M. Dampier voices the character as a child. She will appear in the Disney+ series Tiana, which is set to debut in 2023.
- PULSE (People United to Lead, Serve, and Excel) Community exists to advance equity, inclusion, and belonging for Walt Disney World and Florida-based, Black Cast Members, Crew Members, and Imagineers and to influence our Company brand in the Marketplace and Community. You can learn more here:
- Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is a steel roller coaster located at Magic Kingdom and Shanghai Disneyland Park. Manufactured by Vekoma, the roller coaster is situated in the Fantasyland sections of both parks. The Magic Kingdom version opened to the public on May 28, 2014, as part of a major park expansion called New Fantasyland, while the Shanghai version opened on June 16, 2016. The ride is themed to Walt Disney’s 1937 film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first full-length, traditionally-animated feature film.
- Shuri is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Reginald Hudlin and artist John Romita Jr., first appearing in Black Panther vol. 4 #2 (May 2005). Shuri is the princess of the fictional African nation of Wakanda. She is the daughter of T’Chaka and the younger sister of T’Challa, who is the king of Wakanda and the Black Panther, an earned title and rank given to the paramount chief of the nation.
- Snow White’s Scary Adventures is a dark ride based on the 1937 film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs located at Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris. Located in Fantasyland, it is one of the few remaining attractions that was operational on Disneyland’s opening day in 1955. It also existed at the Magic Kingdom but closed on May 31, 2012.
- The Little Mermaid is a 1989 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 28th Disney animated feature film is loosely based on the 1837 Danish fairy tale of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen. The film tells the story of a teenage mermaid princess named Ariel, who dreams of becoming human and falls in love with a human prince named Eric, which leads her to make a magic deal with the sea witch, Ursula, to become human and be with him. The Little Mermaid was written and directed by John Musker and Ron Clements and produced by Musker and Howard Ashman, who also wrote the film’s songs with Alan Menken. Menken also composed the film’s score. The film stars the voices of Jodi Benson, Christopher Daniel Barnes, Pat Carroll, Samuel E. Wright, Jason Marin, Kenneth Mars, and Buddy Hackett.
- The Princess and the Frog is a 2009 American animated musical fantasy romantic comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 49th Disney animated feature film is loosely based on the 2002 novel The Frog Princess by E. D. Baker, which in turn is based on the German folk tale “The Frog Prince” as collected by the Brothers Grimm. The film was directed by John Musker and Ron Clements and produced by Peter Del Vecho, from a screenplay that Musker and Clements wrote with Rob Edwards. The directors also wrote the story with Greg Erb and Jason Oremland.
- The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, also known as Tower of Terror, is a series of similar accelerated drop tower dark rides located at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Tokyo DisneySea, Walt Disney Studios Park, and formerly located at Disney California Adventure. The attraction is inspired by Rod Serling’s anthology television series, The Twilight Zone, and takes place in the fictional Hollywood Tower Hotel in Hollywood, California. The Tokyo version features an original storyline not related to The Twilight Zone and takes place in the fictional Hotel Hightower. All versions of the attraction place riders in a seemingly ordinary hotel elevator and present a fictional backstory in which people have mysteriously disappeared from the elevator under the influence of a supernatural element many years previously.
- Walt Disney World Resort is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, a division of The Walt Disney Company. The property covers nearly 25,000 acres, of which half has been used. The resort comprises four theme parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom), two water parks (Disney’s Blizzard Beach and Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon), 31 themed resort hotels, nine non-Disney hotels, several golf courses, a camping resort, and other entertainment venues, including the outdoor shopping center Disney Springs.