JetBlue, New York’s Hometown Airline®, flying across the U.S., Caribbean and Latin America, promoted Icema Gibbs to vice president of Corporate Social Responsibility and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
Gibbs previously held the role of director, corporate social responsibility and diversity, equity and inclusion. She is one of JetBlue’s founding crewmembers and serves as vice president at JetBlue Foundation. Last year, she took on the added responsibilities of supporting JetBlue’s Crewmember Resource Groups (CRGs) before stepping up to lead the overall Diversity, Equity and Inclusion strategy.
Commenting on her career in an interview with HelloBeautiful while serving in her previous role, Gibbs said, “I come to work and make a difference in the lives of people every single day, and I think that, in and of itself, is a wonderful thing…The work that I do makes a difference in the communities that we serve and that, for me, is priceless.”
“Such a big part of my career has been operationally focused and that’s not necessarily where women sit. So being a woman first, and being a Black woman second, I’ve definitely had some challenges…My career has taught me to be persistent, that I can do anything that I put my mind to, and that at the end of the day I know where all my blessings come from and I should never forget that.”
Mike Elliott, JetBlue’s chief people officer, said, “Icema has been with JetBlue since before we had aircraft, and for more than two decades she has brought an unparalleled level of passion and expertise to shape how we serve our crewmembers, customers and communities. As we navigate through the difficult but much needed conversations on racial injustice and discrimination, Icema will help solidify our DEI efforts with measurable goals to reduce biases, break down barriers and set up new pathways to increase representation at all levels of our company.”
A graduate of Syracuse University, Gibbs was named 2019 Corporate Social Responsibility Professional of the Year by PR News.
