BIO
Michele Hudgins Ozumba is principal and founder of Michele Ozumba and Associates, a consulting firm which helps organizations develop effective programs to advance diversity, equity and inclusion.
She is the former President of the Women’s College Coalition and past CEO of Women’s Funding Network, a global philanthropic organization representing 166 women-led foundations. She has over 25 years of international experience and expertise in executive leadership, academic teaching and research, women-led philanthropy and innovative program development.
Prior to her leadership positions at Women’s College Coalition and Women’s Funding Network, she was for ten years the CEO and President of the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Power and Potential (GCAPP), a nationally recognized nonprofit organization focused on adolescent reproductive health and youth development.
In recognition of her nonprofit leadership, Michele was named, along with Oprah Winfrey, to the Fast Company 2012 League of Extraordinary Women. In 2021, she was selected to the 2021 Douglas College Alumni Association Society of Excellence for her lifelong work on racial and social justice and women's education.
Earlier in her career, Michele was a program director for the State of Georgia in the Department of Human Resources and was department chair and senior lecturer at the University of Nigeria in Enugu, Nigeria. She was also a planning consultant for New Brunswick Tomorrow, Inc.
Michele recently served as a member of the Bennett College Re-Engineering Committee to develop a comprehensive set of strategic recommendations to guide the institution’s strategic plan for institutional sustainability. She co-edited a new book, Junctures in Women’s Leadership: Higher Education, published by Rutgers University Press in 2020.
Michele’s current board service includes the Jeannette Rankin Scholarship Fund for Women, The Conversation US (TCUS), a global online media organization that brings academic research to the public square, and the Dean’s Advisory Board, Douglass College at Rutgers University. She is also a member of the International Women’s Forum (IWF), a global organization of women leaders and influencers.
She graduated from Douglass College with a bachelor’s degree in History and Political Science, and earned a Masters Degree in City and Regional Planning from Rutgers University