This article appeared in the December 2006 issue of DiversityInc magazine. To read the digital edition, click here.

Even as a child, Alicin Reidy-Williamson, the newly appointed chair of the National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC), rejected "life's not fair" as an excuse for inequity. Encouraged early on by her parents to think independently, she believes it's not that life's not fair, "it's that you have a role in trying to make it fair." 

Reidy-Williamson, senior vice president of corporate responsibility and public affairs for MTV Networks and Viacom, has integrated this mindset into her career, which has spanned both public and private sectors.

"My professional path, even though it seems different from most who end up in a media conglomerate, has been relatively consistent because it's always been about providing as much access to all entities as possible," she says.

From working to prevent teen pregnancy, revise educational policy, develop public-private partnerships and assist military service members and their families, Reidy-Williamson has focused on maximizing resources—both human and financial—to empower underserved communities, especially the youth.

Last month, Reidy-Williamson put her nine-year MTV career on hold to have her first child. She says it will be difficult to separate from the constantly evolving industry, but she knows both NAMIC and MTV will be there when she returns. "There's an understanding that what makes you a great colleague and worker and advocate is also what makes you a great parent," she says. "It'll be trial and error [at first]. I'll be working on a balance, but there's enough support in all corners that I think I'll be successful in that."