2023 Champions of Diversity

Sandy Zannino is applying her two decades of automotive-related human resources and compliance expertise to help the industry prioritize diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. The 55-year-old said her daughter, Arianna Gonzalez, a 20-year-old woman of color, is a driving force behind her work.

"I recognized that her experience in the world was going to be different, and that made it ever more important," Zannino said.

Zannino was among the first members of the Women of Color Automotive Network, a nonprofit providing education, mentorship and other opportunities for women of color. In January 2022, she was appointed to the advisory board and leads its learning and development committee.

With support from the nonprofit Center for Automotive Diversity, Inclusion & Advancement, which offers DE&I certification for auto professionals, Zannino this year founded the Allied Industry Inclusion Council for automotive-related companies focused on promoting DE&I. She is developing it as a peer-to-peer forum offering education, best practices, speakers and roundtable discussions.

In 2017, after almost two decades working in HR for two Florida dealership groups, Zannino founded Innovative Auto HR in Sarasota, Fla.

Zannino has six dealership clients she assists with HR consulting, recruiting and executive leadership training. Some of her clients include Kelly Auto Group, of Emmaus, Pa.; Cox Chevrolet and Cox Mazda, both in Bradenton, Fla.; and Higginbotham Automobiles, with stores in Tennessee, Mississippi and South Carolina.

She also created a DE&I implementation program for dealerships that helps them assess readiness and create a vision, mission and plan to execute. It includes score cards and tools for dealers to track progress, assess programs and make changes accordingly.

She said DE&I programs and awareness bring companies higher profits and are selling points for Gen Z and millennial workers.

"Sixty-four percent of our work force in 2025 will be millennial and Gen Z," Zannino said. "And the one thing they have in common and what they want from a workplace is inclusion."

— Gail Kachadourian Howe