|
Rippi Karda is a seasoned legal executive and champion of diversity with more than 25 years of experience advising Fortune 50 companies across a range of corporate functions. As Associate General Counsel at Verizon for the past 11+ years, she plays a pivotal role in negotiating complex commercial agreements spanning human resources, supplier diversity, executive recruiting, marketing, and technology. A multilingual attorney with deep expertise in regulatory compliance, risk mitigation, and corporate governance, Karda is known for her strategic counsel to executive leadership and her ability to manage high-stakes, multi- billion-dollar transactions with precision and vision.
Beyond her legal acumen, Karda is a nationally recognized advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion. She has helped shape Verizon’s internal and external DEI policies, ensuring accountability in supplier diversity and outside counsel selection. Karda contributes her time and talents to numerous mentorship and community-building initiatives, including Verizon’s employee resource groups Women’s Alliance of Verizon Employees (WAVE) and Pan Asian Corporate Excellence (PACE), and leads by example through her pro bono work supporting victims of domestic violence across North America and promoting economic empowerment in New Jersey’s Punjabi business community. In 2023, she was appointed Chair of the New Jersey Asian American and Pacific Islander Commission by Governor Phil Murphy and has held leadership roles in several professional organizations, including the South Asian Bar Association of New Jersey, NJ Women’s Lawyers Association, and the Women’s Excellence Network.
Karda’s commitment to service is deeply personal. Born in India and raised in Toronto, she draws on her own experiences navigating marginalization to inspire her advocacy and leadership. In her presidential year, 2023, of the South Asian Bar Association of New Jersey, she advocated for her chapter to sign on with NAPABA and since 2023, they have been active members. SABA-NJ members attend the annual conference, participate in regional events and most importantly, have recognized NAPABA leaders such as Anna Mercado Clark at their annual gala. Karda has been the creator and chair of the Women’s Committee for SABA-NJ since 2023. She amplifies, connects, mentors, and assists women in various disciplines.
Her many accolades include the ROI-NJ Women in Business Award, the Rutgers Law MAPS Groundbreaker Award, and Corporate Counsel Business Journal’s Top 50 Women to Watch. As the sole founder/creator of the "Attorney of the Week" series on LinkedIn, Karda continues to spotlight legal talent and empower the next generation of diverse professionals and has featured more than 260 worldwide attorneys thus far in five years. She earned her Juris Doctor from Thurgood Marshall School of Law, complemented by studies at Oxford University, and holds an Honors B.A. in Economics and Labor Relations from the University of Toronto.
|
