For Theresa Watts, diversity is about seeing people, not just counting them.

The senior vice president of human resources, diversity, equity and inclusion at True Religion joined the company in June 2020 when the country was at peak discontent: pandemic-weary as deaths continued to rise, and newly embroiled in a battle for racial equity that resurfaced in a big way after George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis police.

Her task? Right a ship that was already rocking, as that June marked merely months after the brand’s second bankruptcy filing in less than three years.

And admittedly, she said — as was the case with many, many companies in the country — things hadn’t been ideal when it came to diversity at the Los Angeles-based jeans company.

The first order of business was actually joining the team, which had grown tense and disconnected amid trials both at work and in the world.

“I had to go in and get their buy-in and let them know that regardless of my title, regardless of my background, I am concerned,” Watts told WWD. “Then, once I got the employees together, working side by side and saying ‘Hey, let’s heal together.’ Then it was, ‘How do we heal? What are some of the bigger issues that we face together?’ And, unfortunately, [some] of the biggest issues were issues with DEI, with diversity and all the upheavals that happened in the news and things like that, so that kind of joined us.”

With Watts’ leadership and guidance, the company…