Mission, Staff & Governance

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Mission Statement
Brilliance Through Diversity – GIA’s Inclusion & Diversity Philosophy
ESG Strategy: Championing Transparency
GIA Board of Governors
Executive Staff
School and Laboratory Leadership

Mission Statement

GIA's mission is to ensure the public trust in gems and jewelry by upholding the highest standards of integrity, academics, science, and professionalism through education, research, laboratory services, and instrument development.

Brilliance Through Diversity – GIA’s Inclusion & Diversity Philosophy

At GIA our mission is to protect the public trust; therefore, we must reflect the public. We believe that inclusion and diversity go hand in hand. Our culture is one in which every employee feels a sense of pride, safety and belonging; valued for who they are and the unique background, experiences and perspectives they bring to the Institute. To succeed, each of us must live our values of leadership, teamwork, respect, integrity and results, and hold ourselves and each other accountable, not just within our Institute, but within the global gem and jewelry industry. At GIA we assume positive intent as we listen with an open heart and an open mind; committed to continuous learning and personal growth. Not only because it’s the right thing to do, but because this is who we are.

ESG Strategy: Championing Transparency

Sustainability is Critical for GIA, Our Future and Our Industry
Developing a sustainability strategy is an important step towards supporting our mission to ensure the public trust in gems and jewelry and becoming a more resilient organization, with a positive impact on the world around us.

Our environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy has enabled us to determine where to focus our efforts in order to have the greatest impact, to identify where we want to lead and to set relevant targets against which to measure our performance and progression.

Discover GIA's ESG Strategy

Sustainability Report
GIA’s sustainability report focuses on our most material topics, key activities and achievements of interest to our stakeholders – GIA employees and our Board of Governors, clients, students, consumers, brands and retailers, suppliers, NGOs, trade associations, academia, media and the communities with whom GIA interacts.

Read Our ESG Report
Download PDF

Materiality Analysis
To inform the development of our sustainability strategy, we conducted a double materiality assessment in 2022. This process enabled us to identify and assess our most significant current and potential impacts relating to environmental, social, economic and governance-related topics. Through engagement with a wide variety of stakeholders – internally and externally – using surveys, interviews and workshops, we assessed the impact of wide-ranging topics across two dimensions, using established impact assessment criteria:

• Inward impact – the impact of sustainability-related topics on GIA
• Outward impact – GIA’s impact on sustainability-related topics on the world around us

Find Out GIA's Materiality Analysis

GIA Board of Governors

The GIA Board of Governors is the steward of the public interest.  The board helps direct the strategy of the Institute to ensure that the mission and vision of GIA are followed in all decisions; that the reputation of GIA is preserved and continues to grow globally; and that the financial goals of the Institute are met.

Each governor offers a unique perspective, based on their professional experience in retail, research, education, finance, law, manufacturing and other areas; several have extensive international experience.

GIA’s first advisory board of retail jewelers was organized by Robert Shipley in 1932 to garner support for gemological training. Having a board of directors is one of the requirements for a public benefit nonprofit organization in the United States. All of GIA’s global activities fall under the same governing concept.

Lisa A. Locklear, Chair
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Longeveron 

Stephen F. Kahler, Vice Chair
Chief Strategy Officer and Member of Board of Everidge

Dave Bindra
Vice President of Operations and Head of Acquisitions, B&B Fine Gems

Lake Dai
Adjunct Professor, Applied AI at Carnegie Mellon University

Barbara L. Dutrow, Ph.D.
Williams Alumni Distinguished Professor of Geology at Louisiana State University

Kiko Harvey
Associate Senior Vice President of Audit Services
University of Southern California (USC)

Susan M. Jacques
President and CEO, GIA

Robert Andrew ‘Andy’ Johnson
CEO, Diamond Cellar Holdings, LLC

Lawrence Ma
Chief Executive, Lee Heng Diamond Group
Founding President of the Diamond Federation of Hong Kong

Russell A. Mehta
Managing Director, Rosy Blue (India) Pvt. Ltd. 

Thomas M. Moses
Executive Vice President and Chief Laboratory and Research Officer, GIA

Jeffrey E. Post, Ph.D.
Curator Emeritus, National Gem and Mineral Collection, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

Samantha F. Ravich, Ph.D.
Chair of the Center for Cyber and Technology Innovation

Tammy Storino
Experienced global operations and finance leader

Marcus ter Haar
Experienced diamond industry executive

Executive Staff

GIA’s executive staff constitutes a diverse group of highly experienced professionals from both inside and outside of the gem and jewelry industry. Responsible for carrying out the Institute’s mission to protect and ensure the public trust globally, the executive team follows a strict code of ethics and ensures that each initiative GIA undertakes is driven by its consumer-protection mission and executed with dedication and commitment. The executive staff are responsible for daily operations of the Institute or its subsidiaries, and promote and continue the success and growth of GIA.

SCHOOL AND LABORATORY LEADERSHIP

GIA’s global laboratories and schools are led by a group of experienced professionals and leaders in their respective fields.  Each school and laboratory boasts at its helm a director with a wide breadth of knowledge and intimate understanding of their individual location.  The laboratory and education directors bridge the gap between executive staff and students or lab employees while ensuring the smooth and ethical running of their school or laboratory.

HONG KONG EDUCATION DIRECTOR

Stella Lee
Stella Lee, director of GIA in Hong Kong, earned her GIA Graduate Gemologist^® diploma in Carlsbad, California and joined GIA right after she graduated. Prior to studying at GIA and serving GIA as an instructor, she was in the jewelry wholesale and retail business. She enjoys sharing her experience and passion about the gem and jewelry industry, seeing students grow and find rewarding careers.

HONG KONG LABORATORY DIRECTOR

Wai Man Cheng
Wai Man Cheng is the Director of GIA Hong Kong Laboratory since it started in 2010. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Studies from St. John’s University. He became an experienced diamond grader after joining GIA New York Laboratory in 1997. Before coming back to his home town, he started and led the GIA Botswana Laboratory for 2 years. He is passionate about fancy colored diamonds and dedicate to support the industry in the region.