Editors’ Note

Elizabeth Morrison leads the teams overseeing ongoing inclusion strategy, employee engagement and learning and development initiatives across CAA’s offices and divisions. Morrison was previously Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer, and Vice President, Global Talent Management at Levi Strauss & Co. where she launched #thepledge, a global inclusive learning and capability-building initiative and published their inaugural Global DE&I Impact Report. Prior, she oversaw Diversity & Belonging at Live Nation where she led the company in achieving its first-ever 100 percent score on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, and helped secure the coveted Great Place to Work certification. Before Live Nation, she managed Global Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at The Campbell’s Company and spent eight years at Comcast NBCUniversal in progressive roles driving employee engagement, change and culture. Early in her career, Morrison worked in public relations for the American Red Cross. Morrison is a practicing member of the i4cp Chief Diversity Officers Board and Executive Leadership Council (ELC). She is a graduate of Temple University where she received both her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Liberal Arts degrees in communications and mass media.

Agency Brief

Across film, television, music, sports, digital media, marketing, and beyond, CAA (caa.com) represents thousands of the world’s leading actors, directors, writers, producers, musical artists, comedians, authors, athletes, coaches, broadcasters, teams, leagues, chefs, designers, fashion talent, consumer brands, and more. Since its founding in 1975, CAA has continued to deliver on its promise that every client is represented by the whole agency. With a global network of employees and strategic partners in North America, Europe, Asia, and beyond, CAA taps its unequaled internal and external ecosystem of experts, relationships, access, and industry intelligence to help ensure that its clients achieve their goals.

Will you discuss your career journey?

I began my career as an Event Manager at B101 FM Radio (WBEB), the #1 soft rock station in Philadelphia at that time. Although my role was events, I was intuitively drawn to people and culture. In my role, which was originally designed to focus on event execution, I found myself attracted to hiring and developing employees and focusing on their overall experience – at the station and in the industry. An example of my passion in action was the creation of a rotational program to help our promotions assistants gain experience and exposure to a diversity of functions within the station – marketing, sales, operations, on-air experience, etc. I was deeply invested in their experience and their growth. It was then that I realized I enjoyed helping people learn and work in an environment where they felt included and appreciated, enabling them to be the best versions of themselves at work, adding value to the organizations who had committed to investing in them.

I spent eight years at Comcast NBCUniversal in progressive roles focused on employee engagement, change and culture. It was a dynamic, high-performing environment which really solidified my understanding of the value of culture and belonging and how that was a critical driver of engagement, performance and business impact. I spent five years at The Campbell’s Company leading Diversity, Equity & Inclusion where I launched the company’s first ever efficacy-based development program, before joining Live Nation, where I led Diversity & Belonging and helped the company achieve its first 100 percent score on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, as well as earn the Great Place to Work certification.

I later joined Levi Strauss & Co. as Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer and Vice President of Global Talent Management, where I integrated inclusion practices driving equity, transparency and meritocracy across Learning, Talent Management, Recruiting and HR Communications and published their inaugural Global DE&I Impact Report. Today, I serve as the Global Head of Inclusion, Engagement, and Development at leading entertainment and sports agency, Creative Artists Agency (CAA).

What excited you about the opportunity to join CAA and made you feel it was the right fit?

I am incredibly passionate about media, sports, entertainment, and creative expression in pretty much all forms. I’m a Native New Yorker and still remember the magic of my first Broadway play, sitting in the balcony of the movies with my mom, and cheering the New York Knicks on with my dad. I was also a broadcasting, telecommunications, and mass media major in college – suffice it to say, entertainment is pretty much in my blood. So, when the opportunity to rejoin the industry as a member of this incredibly diverse and successful organization was presented to me, I could not say no.

One thing to add – in addition to all that CAA is from a client and industry perspective, it was the people I met during my interview process that truly sold me. Their passion, expertise, love, and protectiveness of our culture was obvious and contagious.

Will you provide an overview of your role and areas of focus?

In my role at CAA, I serve as the Global Head of Inclusion, Engagement, and Development, where I lead the teams responsible for strengthening our inclusion strategy, enhancing employee engagement, and driving learning and development initiatives globally. My focus is on ensuring that our people across all offices and departments have the support, resources, and environment they need to grow and feel a strong sense of belonging. That includes everything from shaping long-term inclusion strategies, to designing talent development programs, to creating meaningful engagement experiences that reinforce our culture. Ultimately, my goal is to help make CAA a place where every colleague can contribute, develop, and thrive.

How do you define CAA’s mission and purpose?

At CAA we have an ethos – “when we take care of each other good things happen.” It’s so simple and yet so incredibly powerful. It means we return our colleagues phone calls first, we are team and service oriented, we walk the halls and say hello (we aren’t buried in our phones), we strive always and, in all ways, to be there for each other – and that “each other” includes our colleagues, clients, and communities – we are all CAA.

Our mission and vision is to work each day to bring that value to life in tangible ways that positively impact us all and empower our success.

How are inclusion, engagement, and development ingrained in CAA’s culture and values?

Inclusion, engagement, and development are deeply woven into CAA’s culture and values. They’re not separate initiatives, but truly part of how we show up as an agency. Long before I joined, CAA had already built a strong foundation and a clear commitment to creating an environment where people from all backgrounds feel seen, supported, and positioned to grow. My role as an expert is to build on that legacy, yet the work belongs to all of us across the agency.

Internally, we continue to grow a community where people can thrive. Driven by our inclusion, engagement, and development team, we are focused on building cultural competencies, celebrating identity diversity, striving for inclusive and merit driven talent practices, delivering learning and development to fuel personal and professional growth, and cultivating and investing in a robust network of employee committees and resource groups to help foster belonging, engagement, and performance. We’re proud that this work continues to be recognized, including multiple perfect scores on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index.

Externally, we work closely with key industry partners, our Community and Impact team, and the CAA Foundation, to positively impact the communities where we live and work.

At CAA, inclusion, engagement, and development aren’t ancillary to what we do; they’re strategic priorities that guide how we develop talent, build community, partner with the entertainment and sports industry, and help shape culture. They are central to who we are as an agency and to the impact we aim to have on our colleagues, clients, and communities around us.

Will you highlight some of CAA’s inclusion efforts?

We invest heavily in developing future generations of industry leaders through programs like CAA Scholars, an employee giving program that provides multi-year scholarships, fellowships, year-round programming, and mentorship to a diverse group of high-potential students attending college; CAA Elevate, our state of the art agent and executive trainee program; and our many partnerships with organizations such as the Entertainment Industry College Outreach Program (EICOP), College Track, and school districts in Los Angeles, Nashville, New York, and beyond. These initiatives help create equitable pathways into entertainment, sports, and media, ensuring that our talent pipeline reflects the diversity of our communities and the audiences we serve.

Inclusion also shows up in how we use our platform. Through efforts like CAA Latino, we amplify voices, deepen representation, and support economic and creative opportunities across industries. With CAA Amplify, we bring together multicultural thought leaders and changemakers to drive dialogue, innovation, and transformation change on screens and in rooms of business. We also recognize that storytelling shapes culture. That’s why we launched the Full Story Initiative and continue to invest in research like the AIR study and the Television Diversity Study that help the industry understand the business case for inclusive representation. These insights push our partners and clients to tell richer, more authentic stories.

Will you discuss CAA’s commitment to learning and development, and its investment in its workforce?

CAA is deeply committed to enabling, growing and developing our global workforce. A key lever for us in this effort is learning and development across our employee lifecycle, “from hire to retire.” We are focused on assessing career and skill development needs, being attuned to trends and innovation in learning and talent, and staying focused on the fundamental capabilities and ways of working that drove CAA’s historical and current success.

We deliver learning and talent solutions which range from specific hard-skills training, to people manager and executive development, cohort development programs, talent management tools and processes, and coaching and mentorship. We are also an organization that has grown and remains committed to apprenticeship learning. It stands at the core of our development practice and involves leveraging our most impactful and inspirational agents and executives to drive home our critical focus on collaboration, teamwork, responsiveness, excellence, and service delivery.

Do you feel that there are strong opportunities for women in leadership roles in the industry?

I am proud that at CAA, women lead or co-lead business units across the agency from Television and Motion Pictures, to the CAA Foundation, Tech, Legal, and beyond. I also believe those opportunities exist because many women, and allies, have been intentional and persistent in creating them. We’re seeing more women leading studios, agencies, production companies, sports organizations, and creative enterprises than ever before, and their impact is transforming the business in meaningful ways.

That said, the work isn’t finished. While the opportunities are growing, we still need to ensure that access is equitable, that women – especially women of color – are not only entering the pipeline but advancing, and that they are supported at every stage of their careers.

What advice do you offer to young people beginning their career?

My dad always used to say to me, “if you stay ready, you don’t have to get ready.” That translated to me as always be prepared. This means continually doing my homework and honing my craft. I stay current on trends across Inclusion, Engagement, and Development by reading articles, following key influencers, and building and maintaining relationships with peers across industries and specialties. I also consistently socialize ideas, programs, and strategy within my organization and those outside my world to see what resonates, will add value to the business, and enhance the employee experience.

I also spent years building what I call my trusted “board of directors.” This is a collection of mentors, sponsors, friends, and family members who can deliver hard truths, be my cheerleader or gut checker, and are 100 percent on my side. They want me to win and always deliver advice and insights that help me navigate my career, work, and all the wins and challenges it contains.

These elements, combined with my personal commitment to excellence, support me in overcoming challenges, maintaining resilience, fighting imposter syndrome (yes, it’s real and can rear its head no matter how senior you are), and most importantly, help me feel and be confident in myself, my expertise, and my personal commitment to what I know is my calling.