Reginald "Reggie" Parker, after climbing the ladder at Walmart, is now paving the way for other Black compliance and risk management professionals.

Parker, director of U.S. health and wellness compliance program management for Walmart Inc., credits his faith-based foundation with propelling him to reach educational and professional goals. And it was Parker's tenure in the U.S. Air Force that introduced him to "the compliance world," he said.

The road to compliance

"Chicago is home where family is and really just a place where I think I got my foundation," said Parker, who was born and raised in the city. "I would say any Black child growing up in a city is rooted in the church." His family attended Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church, where the late civil rights activist Dr. Reverend Clay Evans was pastor, Parker said. "I just learned so much and was nurtured in that environment," he added.

Parker joined the military after high school, and earned a bachelor's degree at Loyola University, "through the Air Force and their programs," he said. Parker eventually earned a Master of Laws in intellectual property from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a juris doctor from Texas Southern University.  

When he became an officer in the Air Force, one of his first assignments was to review a unit self-inspection program, "which prepares us for the inspector general's programs,"he said. But it "really is nothing but a compliance program," Parker added. He would later take on the role of a health service administrator.

[For more on Reggie's story, visit HR Dive]

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