Doretha Polite
Doretha Polite is a Human Resources and Operations Director with more than 25 years of progressive leadership experience across both nonprofit and corporate environments. She currently serves at the Texas Civil Rights Project, where she plays a critical role in advancing immigration, criminal legal, and civil rights initiatives. In this capacity, she helps strengthen organizational effectiveness while supporting a mission centered on justice, equity, and advocacy for underserved communities. Her work is grounded in a deep commitment to people, culture, and building systems that enable both individuals and organizations to thrive.
Throughout her career in Human Resources, Doretha has developed extensive expertise in transformative organizational initiatives, employee engagement, performance management strategy, labor relations, compliance, and total rewards. She spent 23 years with GEICO insurance company, where she held a series of progressively senior management and executive roles at both regional and national levels. During her tenure, she led end to end human resources functions supporting large and complex workforces, including employee experience strategy, onboarding programs, leadership development, and compliance oversight. Her leadership was instrumental in designing scalable HR programs that improved engagement, strengthened operational efficiency, and supported organizational growth.
Earlier in her career, Doretha worked with 21st Century Scholars, a nonprofit organization in Indiana dedicated to helping students prepare for college through scholarships, mentoring, and academic support. This early experience reinforced her passion for service and laid the foundation for her lifelong commitment to empowering others. In 2023, following a layoff from GEICO, she turned a period of transition into an opportunity for reinvention and authorship. She wrote two books titled From Layoff to Layup Finding Your Upshot and The Job Search Blueprint, both of which provide practical guidance and encouragement for individuals navigating career transitions, rebuilding confidence, and positioning themselves for future success.
Doretha holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business from the University of Phoenix and maintains SHRM CP certification along with additional credentials in diversity and labor management. In addition to her executive leadership roles, she is also an executive coach, author, facilitator, and speaker. She is widely recognized for her ability to inspire leaders and organizations to embrace resilience, lead with authenticity, and create workplaces where people feel valued, supported, and empowered to reach their fullest potential.
• SHRM CP
• Diversity Certification
• Labor Management Certification
• Labor Relations Certificate
• Creating a Culture That Inspires Your Employees
• Certificate in Diversity and Inclusion in HR Management
• University of Phoenix - BSBA
• Featured as one of Texas' Most Influential Women of 2026
• SHRM
• Dallas HR
• Texas Civil Rights Project
What do you attribute your success to?
I would say a strong faith in God, number one. And number two, God blessed me with what I would say is my Naomi, which was my mom, who was a very good teacher, trainer, and mentor. I would say, while I've learned very valuable lessons in corporate America that have been beneficial, none of them have been more rewarding and have prepared me more than having that mentor and that presence of my mom as I've navigated my career.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say care very deeply about people. When you think about human resources, it's more than just an administrative process, right? You're making policies and procedures and providing tools for individuals that are very complicated. And so, one, I would say, if you're going to go into HR, have a love for people, and have a passion for helping to create excellent cultures for them to thrive in every day. So, that would be the first bit of advice that I would give. And the second bit of advice I would give is to do that work with confidence. In HR, you're working with multiple levels of management and leadership, and so it's not uncommon for those individuals' titles to exceed your title, but you still have to have confidence in the professional that you are and your level of knowledge and understanding when providing feedback, and you can't become small in those conversations about employees that require you to have a larger voice to be able to help support them. Because sometimes HR is all the employees have to help them thrive, right, and be successful in that organization.