ORC Worldwide Honors Diversity Champion with First ORC Peter Robertson Award
Frank Quevedo Recognized for Pioneering Vision, Work in Advancing Diversity
May 20, 2008
NEW YORK--Strengthening its commitment to advancing equality, inclusion and diversity in today’s global workplace, ORC Worldwide, a leading human resource management consulting firm, announced today the recipient of its first Peter Robertson Award for Equality and Diversity Champions. Frank Quevedo, vice president of Equal Opportunity for Southern California Edison (SCE), will be honored at a special reception on June 26 in Washington, D.C., where Naomi Earp, chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, will present the award.
Named for a pioneer in equality and diversity work in the U.S. and around the world, the ORC Peter Robertson Award seeks to recognize exceptional individuals and their tireless commitment to ingenuity and persistence in propelling forward the value of diversity in organizations and communities around the world. In its inaugural year, the award program is the first of its kind to officially recognize the significant contributions of individuals, rather than an entire organization or its leadership.
“This award is a landmark initiative not only for ORC and its Global Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) practice area and network group, but for the diversity community as a whole,” said Bob Freedman, president and CEO of ORC. Patrice Hall, vice president, Global EDI practice of ORC added, “Frank Quevedo embodies the forward-thinking vision on which this award is founded, and for that we applaud him.”
A Voice and a Vision
As vice president of Equal Opportunity for SCE, Quevedo is responsible for guiding an organization focused on supporting a strong commitment to workforce diversity and equal opportunity for all employees, while fostering a nondiscriminatory work environment that ensures the company benefits from the skills and experiences of employees. For its diversity efforts in and outside the workplace, Quevedo and his leadership have helped SCE win a host of awards over the past decade, among them being its selection by Fortune magazine as one of the top 50 companies in America for ethnic minorities.
Among his many remarkable accomplishments during his career, he was nominated by then Governor Reagan and appointed by President Nixon to a local draft board, being one of the youngest—and few—Vietnam veterans appointed during the Vietnam conflict. In 1976, he was appointed by Governor Brown to the State Bar Board of Governors and was subsequently elected as its treasurer (1979), the first non-lawyer to hold that office. He also held the office of vice chair of the State Bar Judicial Evaluation Nominees Commission in 1981-1983, serving thereafter as a member in 1988 and 1989.
Quevedo served as chief of staff to Commissioner Tony Gallegos at the U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission during the Reagan administration. Selected to Hispanic Business magazine for its annual “100 Influentials” listing on four separate occasions, he also belongs to several boards and advisory committees, among them the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute.
The ORC Peter Robertson Award for Equality and Diversity Champions ceremony on June 26 will be held at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Pentagon City in Washington, D.C. The ceremony will also feature a keynote address by Cari M. Dominquez, former chairwoman of the EEOC prior who was succeeded by Earp in 2006, and will bring together members of the corporate diversity and civil rights communities with past and current government officials. For more information about the award or to register for the event, please visit: