Delilah Norris

Delilah S. Norris (she/her/hers) brings nearly 30 years of comprehensive management, leadership, and innovative human resources experience spanning the arts and culture, nonprofit, private, and K-12 public education sectors. Her areas of expertise include the full complement of the employee life cycle, employee relations, conflict resolution, mediation, change management, employee benefits, and employee coaching, as well as belonging, inclusion, diversity, equity, accessibility strategy and initiatives.

Prior to joining ACG, Norris served as Associate Vice President of Human Resources and Diversity & Inclusion for the Cincinnati Museum Center, Mercury Museum Services, and National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. During her tenure, she led two staff transformations, launched numerous diversity and inclusion initiatives, and implemented an automated hiring process, performance management program, employee referral program, staff and compliance training, and ALICE training. Norris managed the daily activities of recruitment, onboarding, benefits, and performance management. She was also a strategic partner during two massive reductions in force, one of which occurred during a $228 million renovation project.

Within the education sector, she was Executive Director of Human Resources for the Hickman Mills C-1 School District in Missouri, Director of Human Resources for the Shekinah Learning Institute in Texas, Director of Human Resources for the Liberty County School System in Georgia, and Human Resources Manager for the Blue Ribbon-recognized Detroit Edison Public School Academy in Michigan. She has also taught at elementary and middle schools and served as a congressional liaison and a campaign staffer.

A certified Professional in Human Resources (PHR) since 2000, Norris has completed iPage at the Science Museum of Minnesota, a leadership program for museum professionals designed to bring about meaningful and lasting inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility change. She has participated in the Cultural Competence Leadership Institute, Diverse by Design, and the nine-month EXCEL program through The Nonprofit Leadership Institute of Greater Cincinnati. She was also a presenter at the Annual Pacific Rim International Conference on Disability & Diversity.

Norris is a member of the Society for Human Resources Management, National Association of African Americans in Human Resources, Girl Scouts of the United States of America, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Previous leadership and community involvement include the Coastal Georgia Society for Human Resources, Interfaith Center for Racial Justice, and NAACP, Mount Clemens. She is co-author of the article Cultural Competence: Cincinnati Museum Center Broadening Community Engagement Strategies, which was published in the Association of Science-Technology Centers’ Dimensions magazine in 2018. Norris holds a bachelor of science in business management from Hampton University and master of arts in management and leadership from Liberty University.