OUTSTANDING ACCOMPLISHMENT: The practices and programs Ray and her colleagues put into place at Denny's (to drive the cultural and structural change) have been so sweeping that FORTUNE magazine ranked Denny's/Advantica Number One on its list of "America's 50 Best Companies for Minorities" two years in a row. The survey was conducted among 1,200 U.S. Companies.

About Ray Hood-Phillips
Ray Hood-Phillips, 48, is Chief Diversity Officer of Advantica Restaurant Group, parent company of Denny's restaurants. She heads Advantica's Diversity Affairs Department, which has two overarching objectives: to help prepare and equip the workforce to value and manage cultural diversity, and to help the company leverage the diversity that surrounds the retail food industry into a business advantage. She joined Advantica in April 1995. Ray is credited with helping transform the Denny's organization, both culturally and structurally.

The practices and programs she and her colleagues put into place at Denny's to drive the cultural and structural change was featured in the CBS 60 Minutes investigative report, "Turning Denny's Around," which aired in spring of 1998. In 1999, Ray participated as a panelist in the national televised PBS special: Racial Legacies and Learning: Why Is It So Difficult to Talk About Race? She is also featured in the CNBC documentary, "The Denny's Turnaround." The changes at Denny's have been so sweeping that FORTUNE magazine ranked Denny's/Advantica Number One on its list of "America's 50 Best Companies for Minorities" two years in a row. The survey was conducted among 1,200 U.S. Companies.

Prior to Advantica, Hood-Phillips served for 20 years in a variety of leadership positions in private business which include 10 years of comprehensive experience in diversity work for Burger King Corporation where she held the position of vice president, human resources development, training & diversity affairs worldwide.

These days, Ray spends a great deal of her time advising other Fortune 500 companies on how to implement effective diversity interventions within their organizations. She is the author of the book, "Demolishing the Spiritual Stronghold of Racism in the American Church."

A native of Detroit, Michigan, Hood-Phillips graduated with high honors from Michigan State University with a bachelor of arts degree and a master of arts degree in communications arts and science.