Joelle A. Murchison, Associate Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer at The University of Connecticut, has been named the 2017 Living Waters Award Recipient. The award will be presented at the 150th Annual Meeting of the Connecticut Conference on June 16-17, 2017 at the Connecticut Convention Center. This historic Annual Meeting is a joint meeting with the Massachusetts Conference and the Rhode Island Conference.
 
Joelle is a member of Faith Congregational Church, UCC in Hartford where she has served in a variety of leadership roles.
 
In her role at the University of Connecticut, Joelle reports directly to the president, Susan Herbst, and serves as the University’s main strategist responsible for guiding efforts to define, assess, and promote diversity, inclusion, and educational and employment access and opportunity. 
 
Prior to joining UCONN, Joelle served as Vice President of Enterprise Diversity & Inclusion at The Travelers Companies, Inc. (Travelers) where, in partnership with management, she developed the framework of the company’s diversityand inclusion focus and led the execution of Travelers’ diversity and inclusion strategy.
 
Joelle is a lifetime member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated, and the National Black MBA Association. She previously served 2 terms on the board of directors of Leadership Greater Hartford and spent 10 years as a diversity trainer with the Anti Defamation League’s A World of Difference Institute. Joelle is the recipient of numerous awards including most recently, the Hall of Fame Award from the Women in Business Summit.
 
Additionally, Joelle serves as a director/trustee on the boards of the Morgan State University Foundation, the Amistad Center for Art and Culture (Hartford, CT) and College Possible, a national nonprofit focused on college access.
 
A native of Queens and Long Island, NY, Joelle holds a bachelor’s degree in public policy and educational studies from Brown University, a master’s of education degree from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education and a master’s of science degree in Communication Management from Syracuse University.
 
She lives in Connecticut with her family, including her four children, Kendall, Savannah, Caleb and Ravynn, who she calls the wind beneath her wings.