Crissy Ortiz

Crissy Ortiz serves as an Assistant Professor of Business at Charleston Southern University (CSU), teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), employment law, talent acquisition, onboarding, learning and development, leadership, and management. She chairs the university's newly formed diversity council and influences both emerging and strategic organizational leaders through experiential DEI education.

Her academic credentials include:

• PhD in Global Organizational Leadership and Human Resources Development from Regent University
• MA in Human Resources Management and Management from Webster University
• BS in Sociology from Charleston Southern University

Dr. Ortiz's research centers on neurodiverse workforce inclusion, particularly supporting autistic employees through evidence-based employment strategies. With 20 years of corporate DEI leadership experience across billion-dollar organizations, she develops sustainable frameworks that balance profitability with cultural belonging. Her doctoral work specifically investigated effective supports for meaningful employment of autistic talent, bridging academic theory with practical implementation.

Her professional recognition includes:

• 2010 Charleston Regional Business Journal Forty Under 40 Award

As founder and CEO of The Autism Platform Project, she drives systemic change in neurodiverse hiring practices. Her career spans executive roles at South Carolina Federal Credit Union ($2B financial cooperative) and collaboration with the Medical University of South Carolina on the Simons Foundation's SPARK autism genetics study, demonstrating translational impact from academic research to large-scale organizational transformation.