Coleman currently works for payroll startup Gusto, where he is leading the employee engagement team within the People Operations organization. What attracted him to Gusto is the service-oriented nature of the company. Gusto is designed to help small businesses with everything from payroll to benefits to human resources to time-tracking tools. “This ties back to my campaign days of serving underserved populations,” Coleman, who led Hillary for America’s diversity and human resources initiatives, said. “To have the opportunity to serve them and the opportunity to do it right has a personal alignment to me.”

Prior to joining Gusto, Bernard led the diversity and human resources initiatives at the Hillary Clinton for America campaign as the first ever in United States history, Chief Diversity and Human Resources Officer for any presidential campaign for either political party. Bernard helped to develop the campaign’s institutional planning in support of the mission and goals as well as assessing the strategic diversity indicators and standards that ensure responsibility and accountability for achieving diversity, multiculturalism, and cultural competence within the diversity and inclusion matrix.

Bernard previously served at the Democratic National Committee for six years as the Deputy Chief Diversity Officer and the Director of Human Resources, helping modernize the DNC’s human capital operations – moving from transactional to tactical. As part of the modernization, Coleman helped to promote greater pay equity, diversification of staff, the creation of safer spaces, greater cross-cultural competence across the organization culminating in fuller partner relationships and enhanced multiculturalism.

Bernard has also held senior level roles at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the Society for Human Resource Management and the Government of the District of Columbia.

In addition, Bernard has written for Forbes, Catalyst, the Society for Human Resource Management and his insights have appeared in media outlets such as Nasdaq Government Clearinghouse and the Huffington Post.  Coleman holds an M.B.A. in international business from Trinity University, a B.A. in psychology from Hampton University and an Executive Strategic Diversity and Inclusion Management certification from Georgetown University. Bernard is also a graduate of the University of Virginia’s Thomas C. Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership.

Named a 2018 American Council of Young Political Leaders Fellow, a 2018 Black Enterprise Top Executive in Corporate Diversity, recognized as one of the Top 50 Multicultural Leaders in Technology in 2017 by the National Diversity Council, Bernard was also honored as one of Hampton University’s Inaugural Forty Under 40 honorees, as well as The Network Journal’s 2017 “40 Under Forty” honoree. Bernard is a SHRM Diversity & Inclusion Expertise Panelist and also serves on the Cultural Vistas, Tides Advocacy Fund and Paladin boards, respectively.

Bernard resides in the Washington DC area with his wife Edda Collins Coleman and their three daughters.