About

Soo Bong Peer brings to her clients a blend of senior-level experience in global marketing, business development, and executive coaching, as well as a multicultural upbringing and mindset. Soo is also a writer with a keen interest in diversity and race relations.

Having experienced firsthand the wide polarities in cultures, people, social statuses, and political regimes, Soo has always pondered the question, “Why does our perception of differences outweigh our perception of similarities?”

The most important lesson Soo learned through her journey of living in the diverse cultures of South Korea, Mexico, England, Japan, and the United States is that it is through our humanity that we connect. No matter how different people might look or speak, we all have the same basic human needs and desires – regardless of culture, race, or socioeconomic class. Seeing and connecting beyond external differences is the foundation for building a world of pervasive diversity.

Constructing diversity programs that employees embrace and buy into is one of the most vexing issues facing businesses today. For over twenty-five years during her U.S. corporate career, Soo acutely experienced many conflicts arising from diversity issues. In an environment with bottom-line pressures, racial preferential treatments, enforced diversity mandates, differing cultures and mindsets, and human emotions, it’s not difficult to understand why we’re confronting diversity challenges. Our lack of progress suggests it’s time to rethink how we confront these challenges.

Soo is passionate about advancing pervasive diversity and inclusion. And she believes we must broaden our horizons to search for alternate ways to achieve our diversity goals in a sustainable way. Her approach hinges upon advancing the forces that nurture human connection and unity while reducing those that erect mental and physical separations that divide and discriminate.

Soo earned an MBA from Darden School of Business, University of Virginia; a master’s degree in biochemistry from Boston University Medical Center; and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from College of Notre Dame of Maryland. In addition, she has a Leadership Coaching Certification from Georgetown University and is International Coach Federation certified.

Companies Soo has been affiliated with as an employee, strategy consultant, or executive coach include: Bell Canada; Booz, Allen & Hamilton; CNN/Turner; Comsat; ExxonMobil; Global One (Deutsche Telekom, France Telecom, Sprint Alliance); IBM; Inter-American Development Bank; Leo Burnett Worldwide; Mars; MetLife HealthCare; and Ogilvy & Mather.

Married for thirty-seven years with two grown children, Soo and her husband live in Park City, Utah.

What people say about Soo's book, The Essential Diversity Mindset

An intelligent approach to the subject using research and personal narratives. This book is well-organized, easy to read, and thought-provoking. There is no preaching and no rules; Peer just asks for readers' willingness to think and grow when it comes to their diversity mindset.

Booklist Review
Soo Bong Peer offers The Essential Diversity Mindset, a rich combination of personal stories, research data, and excellent advice to help us think and talk beyond the limits of labels to see, respect, and appreciate the individuals within.

Clarence Page Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist
The Essential Diversity Mindset is an incredible guide to understanding racism, unconscious bias, and other toxic mindsets that pervade our society, and teaches us how we can create businesses that celebrate diversity, connection, openness and inclusion. With engaging storytelling and actionable practices to implement in your business, Soo Bong Peer ‘s new book is the one that needed to be written for our society.

Marshall Goldsmith #1 New York Times best selling author of What Got You Here Won't Get You There, and Thinkers 50 #1 Executive Coach
The Essential Diversity Mindset by Soo Bong Peer delves into the psychology of diversity and inclusion as a transformative approach to human connection and the dismantling of systemic biases. This book resonated with my drive to increase equitable best-practices in workplaces and communities, which spearheaded the launch of the National Diversity Council. I highly recommend this book that will change your perspective on race, ethnicity and diversity beyond America's mental constructs.

Dennis Kennedy Founder and Chair of the National Diversity Council
In The Essential Diversity Mindset, Soo Bong Peer brings her engaging and provocative voice to the global discussion on equity, inclusion and diversity. She wisely purports that an expanded approach – and new mindset – is needed to create organizations and communities where each person can thrive and where new heights of accomplishment are achieved. I highly recommend this book not only for evangelists of equity, diversity and inclusion but also, for anyone who wishes to increase their impact as a leader.

Kristin Colber-Baker Global Director, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Mars, Inc.
Soo Bong Peer eloquently weaves lifetime stories of her experiences from around the world to portray a path to bring people together in a rich fabric of diversity. This book should be of interest to leaders, managers, academics, or anyone else who want to explore alternate ways to thrive in differences

Deepa Purushothaman Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity Leader and Former Deloitte Partner
There has never been a more important time than now for the valuable insights in The Essential Diversity Mindset. This book is a gift for anyone who works with people.

Barbara Mitchell Coauthor of The Big Book of HR and The Essential HR Handbook