Dr. Raja Gopal Bhattar (they/them) is the Founder and CEO of Bhattar Consulting Group. They are a diversity, equity and belonging strategist, organization development facilitator, and transformative leadership coach.

S. Rae Peoples is the founder of Red Lotus Consulting, an inclusion, equity, and justice service boutique. She is an Associate Director of Diversity & Inclusion Education at Tufts University. A native of California with a Midwest upbringing, S. Rae is currently rooted in motherhood, love, and community in Somerville, MA.

Dr. John L. Hoffman (he/him/his) serves as the president of Bemidji State University and Northwest Technical College in Bemidji, MN.

Dr. Hoffman has served as the vice chancellor for academic and student affairs at the University of Minnesota Crookston since 2018, and he also assumed duties as acting senior vice chancellor in 2021. His responsibilities have spanned all of academics, student affairs and enrollment management. His prior work spans professional roles as professor, department chair, doctoral program director, and dean of students.

Jinann Bitar is a higher education practitioner, researcher, and policy wonk. She spent over a decade working and learning at state universities, including Montana, UC Davis, and UCLA. Currently, she serves as the Director of Higher Education Research and Data Analytics for The Education Trust. To learn more, visit: LinkedIn.com/in/jinannbitar.

Lemuel W. Watson is a seasoned leader whose career spans more than three dacades across various industries, which include educational, non-profit organizations, private, and entrepreneurship/small businesses. He has worked as a consultant on public policy and talent management issues around the world with Watson Consulting Services, LLC. He is a recognized scholar on leadership, underrepresented populations, LGBTQ+, public policy, and human development. He is currently the Associate Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Multicultural Affairs, Provost Professor and Senior Scientist at the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University. http://lemuelwatson.com.

Abrahán (Ab) Monzón (they/them y elle) is an scholar-practitioner, activist, and social justice educator with over ten years of experience building community and supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in higher education. Ab works as a supervisor in Student Equity and Inclusion Programs at the University of Southern California.

Dr. Joy Hoffman (pronouns: she, her, hers) is a consultant/trainer with a focus on advancing equitable, inclusive, and socially-just practice. She previously served in higher education for 24 years, 17 of which were in areas specific to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). She has spoken at national and regional conferences and facilitated workshops for colleges, universities, and community organizations that focus on inclusive practice, organizational change, and leadership. Joy was honored as a NASPA Pillar of the Profession in 2019 and holds a doctorate in Higher Education Leadership from Cal Lutheran University (2011).

Dr. Lilith Mahmud (she/her/hers) is an internationally recognized scholar and award-winning author whose research has focused on equity, gender, race, and migration. Serving on the boards of academic journals and professional associations, and as a reviewer for institutional grants in both the United States and in the EU, Dr. Mahmud has been committed to fostering excellence through inclusion in academia. She is a faculty member at the University of California, Irvine, where for many years she served as director of an interdisciplinary graduate degree program, and currently supervises DEI-informed efforts to recruit, support, and retain underrepresented doctoral students.

Dr. Chantal Weaver (she/her/hers) is a higher education and organizational change researcher. Dr. Weaver believes that all data holds a story which can be connected to the political, legal, social, and economic history of a place in order to illuminate systemic patterns and create change. Dr. Weaver’s research engages the ways higher education is connected to these systems, with a focus on affirmative action, law schools, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and the experiences of Black students and faculty. Dr. Weaver received her doctoral and Master of Arts degrees from the Higher Education and Organizational Change program at the University of California, Los Angeles. She also received a Master of Education from the University of Southern California, and Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting from Arizona State University.

Dr. Kealiʻi Kukahiko is an institutional analyst for the Office of Hawaiian Education, and a lecturer in the Ethnic Studies Department for the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. His research investigates the historical context of contemporary circumstances in Hawai’i, which helps to inform the Educational P4 (practices, projects, programs and policies) that recalibrate the course of Hawaiian Education towards a desired futurity. Other published research includes issues of Pacific Islanders in College Football, and Critical Service Learning in Higher Education. Keali‘i received his BA, MA and PhD from UCLA in Higher Education and Organizational Change (HEOC), and currently lives in Kea‘au on moku o Keawe. Keali‘i enjoys spending time with his four sons (Kekoa, Makoa, Kaleimamo‘oka‘ala and Kaleiwaihonahalia), daughter (Kau‘ilaniowaipunalei) and wife (Kalehua).