Meet Yanika Smith-Bartley

Yanika (“Nikki”) Smith-Bartley is Vice President & Special Counsel – Diversity & Inclusion at Asurion and will be speaking about unconscious bias in recruitment and internal practices at this year’s Red Letter Day on August 17th.   At Asurion, she is a trailblazer in the development and implementation of global diversity and inclusion practices.  She is their first diversity and inclusion officer and spearheaded the initiative that won Asurion the 2018 “Diversity Game Changer” award from the Nashville Technology Council.

Nikki is originally from Cleveland, Ohio.  She is married to Brian Bartley and they have two sons, Grayson (6) and Harper (4). She received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Fisk University and her Juris Doctorate from Vanderbilt University Law School.  She currently holds the position of Vice President & Special Counsel – Diversity and Inclusion at Asurion where she is responsible for development and implementation of global diversity and inclusion strategies for Asurion.  She also serves on Human Resources Leadership team providing legal advice and counsel and oversight on matters of equality, employment law compliance & HR policies and processes.

Before joining Asurion, Nikki practiced employment law at Baker Donelson, where she also served as a diversity inclusion trainer, Vice-Chair of the Diversity Committee and as a member of the Recruiting Committee.  She served as secretary for the Nashville and Napier Looby Bar Associations, is an alumnus of Tennessee Bar Association Leadership Law, Young Leaders Council, and Harry Phillips American Inn of Court, and a past board member of Bethlehem Centers of Nashville and Nashville Electric Service, where she served as Vice-Chairman of the Board.

Currently, Nikki serves on the board of Nashville Public Television and the board of the Marion Griffin Chapter of the Lawyers’ Association for Women as Immediate Past President.  She is also an active member of the Kappa Lambda Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and served as their past parliamentarian and held the regional position of Tennessee Connections Chair. She served mock trial coach for the Harpeth Hall’s High School Mock Trial team for many years and regularly mentors young lawyers and women.

She also was a 2013 honoree for Nashville Business Journal’s “Top Forty under 40” and a 2017 honoree for Nashville Business Journal’s “Best of The Bar.”

We can’t wait to hear her speak at Red Letter Day on August 17th at City Winery in Nashville. Want to hear her speak? Get your ticket here.