General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, McDonald's Corporation
Desiree Ralls-Morrison joined McDonald’s in April 2020, where she oversees global legal operations and corporate governance. A Harvard Law School alum, she was named by Black Enterprise Magazine as one of the most powerful women in corporate America in 2019, and by the Financial Times as one of the top innovative GCs in the world in 2020. Throughout her career, she has helped navigate racial equity and social justice issues in a way that positively benefited employees, the company, and the community. Desiree tries to live by these words in her personal and professional life, ensuring that ethics and integrity are an important part of everything she does: “It’s never right to do wrong.”
In 2019, McDonald’s announced its Better Together strategy for gender equality; goals include representation of women at every level that are equal to or better than the representation of women in the external workplace, and improving gender balance in supplier diversity worldwide. The company provides internal diversity training, mentoring, and employee business networks to foster a feeling of inclusion and encourage their employees to advance in their careers.
In 2022, McDonald’s was named an LCLD Top Performer for the fourth consecutive year. The company also received the award in 2017.
Read about McDonald's 2017 LCLD Learning Experience here.
Joined LCLD 2021
Highlights of LCLD Participation
Fellows Program
Hosted Learning Experience (2017, 2012)
Fellows nominated:
2023: Ana Ayrempour, Russell King; 2022: Stephanie Hipp, Abiman Rajadurai; 2021: Tanya Miari, Rita Srivastava; 2020: Serena Pruitt, Ariane Panter; 2019: Krystin Hernandez, Valerie Manos; 2018: Melina Hipskind, Suheily Natal Davis; 2017: Savan Nagji Vaghani, Kimberly Wong; 2016: Layla Strothoff, Shilpa Upadhye; 2015: Lisa Kistler, Val Mathelier; 2014: Erica Dawn Brown, Jennifer L. Cohn; 2013: Kristann Carey, Noemi Flores; 2012: Sarah La Voi, Chad Walker; 2011: Christina Conlin, Jim Tu
Pathfinder Program
Pathfinders selected:
2023: Cameron Woods; 2022: Jessica Nwokocha; 2021: Keemya Maghsoudi; 2020: Erica McKinney; 2019: Carrie Johnson; 2018: Sheida Ahmadzadeh; 2017: Susan Lester
1L LCLD Scholars Program
Scholars hosted:
2013: Alejandro Montenegro
Success in Law School Mentoring Program
Mentors provided: 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012
Attendance
Annual Meeting (2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014)
Member: Desiree Ralls-Morrison
Diversity Professionals: Raven Moore, Mary Burrelle, Layla Strohoff
Communications: Mary Burrelle
