Cheri Burgess helps to lead efforts to support the University’s commitment to diversity and inclusion by overseeing coordination of the University’s affirmative action programs and ensuring compliance with state and federal obligations related to equal employment opportunity; developing and implementing initiatives and learning opportunities related to campus climate and inclusion; and overseeing the University’s process for investigating complaints of harassment, discrimination and retaliation. With nearly 25 years’ experience in the areas of non-discrimination and fair employment practices, Cheri has held positions in private practice, municipal government, corporate, and higher education. In her career she has served as a labor and employment associate at Cullen and Dykman in Brooklyn, New York; an in-house staff attorney concentrating in employment and education law at the New York City Board of Education; and an equal employment opportunity specialist at Home Depot U.S.A., where she advised regional officers, directors and managers on employment law issues and handled EEOC charges in multiple jurisdictions in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. She also maintained an individual law practice before joining Princeton in 2006. Cheri has a B.A. in Journalism and Media Arts from Long Island University, a J.D. from Fordham University School of Law, and is licensed to practice law in New Jersey and New York. She has served as a mediator in Small Claims Court, and is a certified human resources professional (PHR) and a certified facilitator for Development Dimensions International (DDI) Learning Systems.