For immediate release: October 28, 2010
Joan Buchanan has been named vice president and director of the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI) and chief diversity officer, announced Dennis Lockhart, president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. Lockhart also announced that Karen Clayton has been named assistant vice president and equal employment officer in the OMWI. Both Buchanan and Clayton have experience in diversity initiatives and equal employment opportunity (EEO) regulations and practices.
Most recently, Buchanan served as assistant vice president with responsibility for the Bank's EEO and corporate secretary functions and secretary to the Bank's management committee, a position she assumed in 2008. She joined the Atlanta Fed in 1996 as a bank examiner and was promoted to senior examiner in 1997. In 1998, Buchanan was promoted to assistant vice president, where she served in a variety of oversight roles in the Bank's supervision and regulation division, including as officer over the administrative and business continuity functions, information technology services and consumer compliance.
Prior to joining the Atlanta Fed, Buchanan worked at the Office of Thrift Supervision, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta and the Federal Asset Disposition Association. Buchanan received a bachelor of science degree in applied psychology from the Georgia Institute of Technology. She also completed the Executive Development Consortium Program for Senior Managers at the Goizueta Business School of Emory University.
Clayton most recently served as director of workforce development, diversity and EEO in the Atlanta Fed's human resources department. Clayton joined the Bank in 1985 as a human resources recruiting assistant and was promoted to positions of increasing responsibility within human resources. She has led a number of HR functions, including employee relations, recruiting, training and department administration. Clayton graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in journalism. She is a certified professional in employee relations law.
OMWI is an office in each of the financial regulatory agencies established by the passage of the Wall Street Transparency and Accountability Act of 2010.
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 U.S. government.