Michael Gardner, BBA ’12, will participate in a fireside chat on Friday, April 16th at noon to discuss using business to create a more equitable society. Mr. Gardner was recently named an Outstanding Alumnx by The Program on Intergroup Relations for his vast inclusion work and for his commitment to social justice.
As president of the Black Business Undergraduate Society and VP of Programming for Sigma Lambda Beta, Gardner introduced several important initiatives to connect students of color to diverse career paths, including DivCo, a diversity career fair that still exists today.
This work was foundational to Gardner’s DEI involvement at Google, where he became co-lead of an employee resource group that has worked to make Google Ann Arbor one of the most inclusive offices in the world. He also became involved in the Black Googler Network, for which he organized annual impact trips that offer community outreach and professional development.
Gardner managed a number of community partnerships and provided digital resources to hundreds of minority-owned businesses. In collaboration with the Michigan Black Chamber of Commerce, digital tools like Google Ads and G-Suite were introduced to help these businesses grow online.
