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Kasan Boyd is no stranger to GuideStone’s employees and leadership. A 14-year veteran of GuideStone®, Boyd knows the organization’s needs thoroughly.
In her newest role, as director of inclusion and diversity, she’ll lead GuideStone’s efforts to recruit and retain a more diverse workforce.
“I believe my purpose in life is to help people,” Boyd said. “In this day and time we all need help in understanding what is needed to eradicate these deep-rooted injustices that we see in our country and how those play out in our everyday lives. When I was approached about leading inclusion and diversity efforts at GuideStone, I saw this as the opportunity to help GuideStone show the world what it truly means to walk out Romans 12:5–8, and I knew this was God’s hand at work.”
GuideStone strives to reflect the ethnic diversity of the Southern Baptist Convention and recognizes the inherent strength of a diverse workplace, GuideStone President O.S. Hawkins said. The ministry’s recruiting efforts seek an ethnically diverse team through visits to college career fairs, the career website and other recruiting materials. At the start of 2020, non-Anglo employees accounted for 17.9% of GuideStone employees, up from 9.8% at the beginning of this millennium.
“One would think that after two millennia, the words of James 2:1–13 have become optional choices instead of principles for living in Christ,” Hawkins said. “Sadly, as the events of 2020 remind us, favoritism and its close cousin racism are alive and continue to plague our nation, its institutions, and even the last place we should ever see racism, some churches. It should not be so. At GuideStone, we are working daily to ensure it is not true in our offices, and we could not be more thrilled that Kasan has taken on the task of helping us build a more diverse workforce.”
Boyd is respected and loved throughout the organization. A University of Texas graduate, the Fort Worth native is well-acquainted with GuideStone’s ministry and business needs, having spent eight years as a corporate trainer and senior corporate trainer before joining the Human Resources team almost six years ago. In Human Resources, Boyd distinguished herself by partnering with different business divisions, providing employee development and coaching.
“Now is our opportunity to show the world God’s vision for inclusion and diversity — what conversations, actions and behaviors should look like,” she said. “This type of culture allows employers to be relevant and in touch with those they serve.”
In management ranks, GuideStone has grown its diverse population more than 300% since 2005, including the addition of a South Korea-born health care leader — Chu Soh — to the executive team. Among its Board of Trustees, GuideStone currently has five African American individuals serving, including Renée A. Trewick, the first African American woman to serve as the chair of an SBC trustee board in our convention’s 175-year history, and David Cox, the first African American to serve as chair of GuideStone’s Insurance Committee, one of five standing committees of the board.
The unique perspectives and experience of these men and women make GuideStone stronger, Hawkins noted.
“We are better stewards of the ministry we have received from the Lord when we reflect the diversity the Creator God placed on His planet,” Hawkins said.
Boyd hopes to build on those efforts to ensure that every employee who joins GuideStone will feel welcomed and affirmed, growing their careers to benefit the 250,000 men and women served today and those it will serve in the future.
“Any employer should seek a more diversified workforce if they’re planning on attracting and retaining the best talent that aligns with the mission and vision of their organization,” she said. “Statistics show that diverse work environments are more innovative and productive.”
Hawkins underscored the commitment the organization has to diversity and inclusion.
“We recognize we have not yet achieved our goal to reflect the diversity of God’s kingdom,” Hawkins said. “By his grace, and with the commitment of every senior leader of GuideStone, we will continue to become more like the kingdom he ransomed from every nation, tribe and tongue.”
