LaDoris G. Harris - Former, Director of the Office of Economic Impact and Diversity
La Doris “Dot” Harris brought over 30 years of leadership and management experience as the Former, Director of the Office of Economic Impact and Diversity at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). She ensured that minorities and historically underrepresented communities were afforded opportunities to actively participate in the Department’s programs.
Nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on March 29, 2012, Ms. Harris served in an Assistant Secretary level position at the Department of Energy. She led the agency’s offices of Minority Economic Impact, Minority Education and Community Development, Minority Business and Economic Development, Diversity and Inclusion, and Civil Rights. Additionally, Ms. Harris spearheaded the DOE’s Minorities in Energy Initiative; served as the DOE lead of White House initiatives in support of My Brother’s Keeper and the Council on Women and Girls; oversaw the corporate funding strategy for minority institutions; developed and implemented minority business contracting opportunities; and advocated and protected the civil rights of employees and recipients of multi-billion dollar funding vehicles from the DOE.
Prior to her appointment, Ms. Harris was Co-founder, President and CEO of Jabo Industries, LLC, a successful minority-woman owned engineering management consulting firm concentrated primarily in the energy, information technology, logistics, and healthcare industries. Ms. Harris’ leadership in Corporate America ranged from engineer to corporate officer. She served as an executive at General Electric Company (GE) and held a number of leadership positions in GE's Energy and Industrial Systems businesses. Before joining GE, Ms. Harris was the first African American female officer, Vice President of Operations & Production at ABB, Inc., the world’s largest electrical engineering firm. She, also, spent twelve years as a Field Services Engineer and Services Manager with Westinghouse Electric Company where she was the named youngest manager in the history of the Nuclear Services Division of Westinghouse.
Ms. Harris holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of South Carolina and a M.S. in Technology Management from Southern Polytechnic State University. She received honorary doctorate degrees from Chicago State University and Clark Atlanta University.