There was a time early in Roderick Palmore’s legal career when his father became concerned Palmore couldn’t hold down a job. Having spent his whole career at Pittsburgh’s Westinghouse Air Brake Co., Palmore’s father worried when Palmore left his first job at a small Pittsburgh law firm after just three years for a federal prosecutor gig in Chicago.

But the leaps of faith Palmore has made, time and again in his career, have been a key element to his success. And his biggest leap of faith has been fighting for diversity.