Nadia M. Quarles

Nadia Quarles is a thought leader and visionary diversity, equity, and inclusion strategist with a bold vision and mission to advance opportunities for minority and women-owned businesses. As the Assistant Vice President for Business Diversity at the University of Chicago, Nadia is responsible for implementing procedures throughout the University to help increase the University’s contractual relationships with qualified minority and women-owned businesses, primarily within the professional services and goods and services industries. Nadia advises University leadership on effective strategies to partner with local and national business leaders, civic leaders, and elected officials to ensure that the University has access to the most diverse and innovative talent in the marketplace. 

Nadia has devised an extraordinary approach to diversify the University’s contract opportunities, by targeting the hiring of minority and women-owned firms within the difficult to penetrate professional services industries. In 2009, she instituted a first-of-its-kind Symposium designed to connect local and national MWBE’s within the communications, legal, human resources, money management, financial services, information technology and architecture/engineering industries to the Vice Presidents and other senior decision makers at UChicago and UChicago Medicine. As a result of the Professional Services Symposium, over the past 14 years, UChicago’s spend has increased from $7M to $200M paid to more than 100 MWBE’s. Nadia’s efforts influenced the historical hiring of first African American asset management firms to invest Endowment funds. Her laser focus on diversifying UChicago’s Endowment managers has led to the hiring of 28 minority and women-owned asset management firms currently investing funds. Similarly, over the past 8 years, Nadia’s efforts to diversity UChicago’s legal relationships have led to the hiring of 25 minority and women-owned law firms and partners. 

Nadia’s approach has truly revolutionized “supplier diversity” practices. She is viewed nationally as a diversity, equity, and inclusion influencer and successful organizational change agent. The University’s Professional Services Symposium is viewed as a national model for which other educational institutions, corporations, foundations, and nonprofits seek to emulate. 

Nadia serves on the Obama Foundation Inclusion Council, PAWS Chicago’s Development Board, and the City of Chicago Casino Advisory Council. She is also a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Nadia is formerly a member of the YWCA Metropolitan Chicago Board and she also served on Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s Business, Neighborhood, and Economic Development Transition Committee. In 2022, Nadia was recognized by Crain’s Chicago Business as one of its Notable Black Executives in HR and DEI, and in 2021, as a Crain’s Notable Black Leader and Executive. Nadia is also a 2021 Chicago United Business Leader of Color. In 2019 Nadia received the Chicago Defender Women of Excellence Award. Nadia has also been featured in Who’s Who in Black Chicago and was named to Diversity MBA Magazine’s top 100 Under 50 Diverse Executives & Emerging Leaders. 

Previously, Nadia worked for the City of Chicago Department of Procurement Services, where she managed the City’s target market and professional service contracts. She was also an adjunct professor at Northeastern Illinois University, where she taught courses in Criminal Justice Studies, and Race and the Law. Nadia holds a Juris Doctorate from Mitchell Hamline School of Law, in St. Paul, Minnesota, and has several years of legal experience. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science and Public Policy from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts.