Welcome to Michele Ozumba and Associates! We help clients create workplace cultures that embrace and integrate values of inclusiveness and equity across their entire organization.

Our work is inspired by one very deep passion – to contribute to The Beloved Community envisioned by the late U.S. Congressman John Lewis. There are many paths toward creating a world in which every person lives a life free from racism, discrimination, and marginalization. We will help you find your path.

The field of diversity, equity, and inclusion has evolved beyond the notion of simply hiring minority individuals to achieve ethnic and racial diversity. Achieving inclusive diversity is more than a numbers game. And it is hard to do. We will help you do this work.

So much of our unconscious biases, stereotypes, and discomfort with courageous conversations stems from a lack of understanding of the historical underpinnings that are reflected in contemporary systems and institutions that define pillars of power and social inequities. Martin Luther King said, “We are not makers of history, we are made by history”.

In America, the history of the institution of slavery and the post-Reconstruction era are the threads of the tapestry which make up today’s economic and power hierarchies. The maritime dominance of western Europe was the essential ingredient in shipping enslaved Africans to the Caribbean islands and Brazil. The legacy of European colonialism continues to cast shadows on today’s economic disparities and ethnic tensions in Africa. It is not a stretch to assert that the architecture of the slave trade fueled the emergence of the western hemisphere’s economy that continues to define systemic disadvantages that are at the root of inequities and discrimination.

Ozumba and Associates brings a crucial historical and global cultural context to diversity and inclusion that moves the process from a training event to a learning journey. Through a combination of experiential and cognitive learning, we create space for intellectual and emotional engagement that enables deep listening, nonjudgmental exchange, and moments when it’s okay not to have the answer. The result is a cultural competence that provides a strong foundation for transforming organizational cultures into environments where all are truly valued, and where all feel they are in a place where they truly belong.

Her global approach and practice is reflected in her collaborations with Kay Formanek on Diversity and Performance on Inclusive Leadership, Mitigating Unconscious Bias, Anti-Racism Training for multi-national corporations and governments.

If you are looking for a creative and effective approach to engaging your team in diversity, equity and inclusion, give me a call.