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Carla Carten, PhD, is the Executive Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion within the Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) at Mass General Brigham. Dr. Carten joined Mass General Brigham in February 2020 as the Executive Director of DE&I strategy. She has over 25 years of experience in the fields of strategic planning, diversity and inclusion, health equity, and change management.
During her tenure, Dr. Carten has been responsible for leading Mass General Brigham’s four-part system-wide strategy that focuses on organizational equity. She also launched and now leads the DE&I Community of Practice, a system-wide working group consisting of 80+ employees that manage DE&I responsibilities within their respective roles. The working group includes institution-based DE&I office members and others who formally work on DE&I initiatives.
Dr. Carten helps lead the implementation of our workforce-focused priorities under the United Against Racism Strategy and the development of several anti-racism education initiatives. She prioritizes ensuring that there is equity in her team’s feedback on DE&I projects. She values collaboration both from her Office of DE&I team members and those she works with in the system.
Prior to joining Mass General Brigham, she served as the Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Inclusion as well as Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at UMass Medical School. Her past roles also include Chief Diversity Officer at UMass Memorial Health Care System. Dr. Carten also developed and launched the Office of Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) at the Cleveland Clinic in 2006. She created the strategic plan, structure and training programs for the Office of D&I’s launch.
She holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Organizational Behavior from Case Western Reserve University, a Master of Science in Organizational Development and Analysis from Case Western Reserve University and a Bachelor of Science in Communications, from Miami University.
In her spare time, Dr. Carten enjoys going for walks to her neighborhood lake and spending time with her husband and two sons. She also loves scuba diving, participating in book clubs, exploring communities through food and drink and learning about the world through the eyes of her son with autism.
