Stephanie Turner
Vice President of Diversity & Chief Sustainability Officer, MITRE
MITRE has always prioritized social stewardship for the public good, Stephanie Turner said. The organization has formally designated sustainability as a corporate strategic initiative, which is an important step toward ensuring a visible and sustained focus on MITRE’s behaviors, actions and it treats the health of the planet.
“Cultivating an inclusive workplace strengthens connections to our employees, customers, and partners in the communities where we work, live, and serve,” Turner said.
For example, MITRE’s partnership with MassChallenge to develop a new mentorship program for accelerating growth in startups with founders who are Black, Indigenous and people of color. The goal was lowering systemic barriers of entry for the next generation of innovators through expanded government-market knowledge, key resources and connections to potential investors and end-users.
The inaugural 2023 cohort engaged with MITRE experts to expand their business knowledge and strategize on ways to increase access to resources and investors.
“Stephanie has partnered across MITRE to evolve and integrate our IDE efforts into the fabric of our work and throughout the organization,” said Julie Bowen, MITRE senior vice president of operations and outreach, and chief legal officer. “She also is strengthening and expanding relationships with industry and academia to help shape STEM education in underserved communities. She brings this commitment to collaboration and delivering whole-of-nation solutions to our corporate sustainability program as well.”
Why Watch
In 2024, Turner and her team are heavily focused on building a culture of belonging and sustainability. They’re looking to reinforce cultural attributes and inclusive behaviors through the work of their inclusion assessment. As they continue to evolve their I&D journey, good corporate governance will play a critical role in delivering value to stakeholders.
Last year, Turner and her team began assessing MITRE’s inventory on greenhouse gas emissions, introduced consolidated waste pilots and built a framework to monitor MITRE’s overall sustainability profile. They will also be focused on the K-12 talent in underserved communities across the nation in addressing the educational disparities and preparing children to be STEM-ready for the world’s future.
“Above all, I’m determined to look at all our behaviors-personally, as a company, and as a worldwide community-and how they can help us leave the world in a better place than we found it,” Turner said. “To me, it comes down to knowing and doing what’s right and good. My moral compass is aligned to what I do, and it does not get any better than that.”
Turner and her team also want to continue to be a responsible entity of society, working collaboratively in meeting the needs of stakeholders without compromising the needs of future generations. Sustainability is about interconnectedness and intersectional work; it requires time, patience, openness, kindness and a commitment to learning and ongoing change. This is no different than what is required for inclusion and diversity to be fully integrated in MITRE’s processes, policies and practices.
“Since Stephanie joined MITRE in March 2020, she has led her teams as key drivers of change, implementing organizational processes and practices to enhance our commitment to inclusion, diversity, and equity (IDE), and created a true culture of belonging,” said Kathleen Federico, MITRE senior vice president and chief people, brand and communications officer.