Rhonda is the Corporate Diversity Lead for Illinois American Water. As Program Manager of both Workforce and Supplier Diversity, she spearheads the inclusion and diversity strategies for the organization.
Her most recent accolades include being recognized by the Illinois Utilities Business Diversity Council for Excellence in Supplier Diversity (2020), Small Business Monthly – Southern Illinois Top People to Know (2019); Who’s Who Diversity in Color – “Most Intriguing People” and “Champion of Diversity” (2019,2015); and the St. Louis Business Journal – “2015 Diverse Business Leader”.
Rhonda is an active community volunteer and advocate for under-served youth, women, and minority business enterprises in the region. She has served on numerous boards and committees including, but not limited to, the Boys & Girls Club of Greater St. Louis Women’s Leadership Circle, United Way’s De Tocqueville and Charmain Chapman Societies, and the Women’s Group on Race Relations. She is currently a board member with the Illinois Division of the United Way.
Her advocacy of the arts in this region began with her engagement with Grand Center’s Arts & Life Alliance Giving Circle. Since that time, she has become a serious arts advocate and has supported several organizations, advocacy groups and leadership circles. Rhonda has served on the board of directors of Center of Creative Arts (COCA), Ignite Theatre Company, St. Louis Tennessee Williams Festival, and Saint Louis Visionary Awards.
She is a proud member of the St. Louis Forum, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Jack and Jill of America, Inc., The Links, Incorporated, and the CARATS, Inc.
Rhonda Carter Adams is a native of Magnolia, MS, relocating in 2011 from Peoria, IL to the St. Louis area with her husband, Carlton, and now ten-year-old daughter, Riley.