ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories’ Mark D. Sellers has been awarded Profiles in Diversity Journal’s annual Diversity Leader Award for advancing the evolution of diversity and inclusion.

Sandia National Laboratories’ Mark D. Sellers, associate labs director for the Mission Assurance division, has been named an international diversity leader. (Photo by Lonnie Anderson) Click the thumbnail for a high-resolution image.

Sellers, associate labs director for Sandia’s Mission Assurance division, is being recognized for his design and implementation of hiring practices that are “impressive and inspiring,” says the journal’s Publisher and CEO James Rector.

Sellers joins a list of 17 others from a variety of industries and levels of organizational leadership worldwide being saluted for their diversity efforts.

The award comes fresh on the heels of Sandia’s Innovations in Diversity award last fall. Companies that are diversity leaders use the expertise of their diversity team in new ways as strategies for change to help meet the challenges of today’s business environment, according to the journal. Individual recipients of this award view challenges and opportunities through the lens of diversity and inclusion to achieve business success.

“Since coming to Sandia, I’ve participated in numerous, intensive Sandia seminars and summits that really have opened my eyes to the privileges enjoyed by white males. These experiences have helped me to better appreciate other perspectives and experiences,” Sellers says. “I’ve since become more committed than ever to making Sandia a place where diverse interview panels are universal and hopefully lead to greater demographic diversity.”

Sellers leads and manages quality assurance and contractor-assurance systems, cybersecurity defenses and mission computing, and surety engineering and weapons quality at Sandia. He sponsors and directly engages in inclusion and diversity events and activities he personally attends, participates in the corporate reverse-mentoring initiative and implements diverse interview panels for all manager positions.

“Leaders have to be directly involved in advocating for a culture of inclusion and diversity to make an impact,” says Sandia Chief Diversity Officer Esther Hernandez. “Mark is yet another example of Sandia leadership at every level who walk the talk. His commitment to increasing diversity at the labs in both his course of action and everyday behavior sparks innovation and achieves the mission success that Sandia is known for.”

Sellers adds, “Fully expressing and exploring differences of opinion are essential to our success, and that means constantly striving to be more diverse and inclusive. To the extent that I can influence a premier organization like Sandia in that direction, I’m grateful for the opportunity.”

Now in its 22nd year of publication, Profiles in Diversity Journal focuses on diversity and inclusion in business, government, nonprofit, higher education and military settings. The journal highlights mission-driven leadership, best practices, workforce strategies, innovative ideas and important individual contributions in diversity and inclusion.

Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory operated by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. Sandia Labs has major research and development responsibilities in nuclear deterrence, global security, defense, energy technologies and economic competitiveness, with main facilities in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Livermore, California.

Sandia news media contact: Luke Frank, lcfrank@sandia.gov, 505-844-2020