For immediate release: October 31, 2022
Jennifer Cowart has been named senior vice president, chief diversity officer, and director of the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ODE&I) for the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. Cowart has held the position of assistant general counsel in Legal for the Atlanta Fed since 2018.
In her new role, she will be responsible for ensuring that the Bank advances its goals regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) so that every employee is in an environment that allows them to do their best work. Internally, among other responsibilities, she will lead a team that develops Bank-wide DE&I strategy and work with the divisions to design and implement short- and long-term DE&I programs that meet team members where they are, while helping to make clear how DE&I improves individual and Bank performance. External to the Bank, she will partner with DE&I leaders at other Reserve Banks and the Board of Governors to ensure strategies, processes, and reporting are consistent and efficient.
Cowart joined the Atlanta Fed in 2011 as senior counsel. In her most recent role, she has worked closely with Human Resources, Law Enforcement, and ODE&I. As legal counsel to ODE&I, she has advised on equity pay analyses, workforce analytics, equal employment opportunity reports, and congressional reports regarding the Bank's hiring, promoting, and diversity recruiting efforts. She has also served as the legal liaison to the Equal Employment Opportunity Office, the former Diversity Advisory Council, the Bank's employee resource networks, Human Resources Committee, District Internal Oversight Committee, Insider Risk group, and the Federal Reserve Financial System Employment Lawyers team.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta serves the Sixth Federal Reserve District, which encompasses Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and sections of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. As part of the nation's central banking system, the Atlanta Fed participates in setting national monetary policy, supervises numerous commercial banks, and provides a variety of financial services to depository institutions and the US government.