Top Diversity Trainers Chicago New York City Houston Boston

Meet Our Training Team

Diversity Builder’s facilitators lead dynamic experiential classes that use industry-specific real-life exercises to produce optimal learning outcomes.

Building Better Workplace Cultures

“When learners see the workplace from others’ perspectives and set actionable diversity goals, true change begins. Our trainers’ engaging facilitation approach encourages a high level of participation and accelerates progress in building a culture of inclusion.”

Each Diversity Builder trainer brings a unique set of life experiences, expertise and passion for inclusion into each workshop.

What our Clients are Saying

“We are a global consulting company that needed a dynamic diversity trainer who would hold the attention of our group and help them move toward creating an environment of inclusion and respect. Diversity Builder was quick to respond and offered several trainers with strong diversity training bios. The trainer was amazing! He was prepared and customized the content specifically for us, considering not only the work we do but the roles of the employees who were signed up for the class. This was a challenging situation for our organization. I didn’t think anyone would be able to hold their interest and provide an interactive training, but he succeeded with flying colors. Thank you, Diversity Builder.”

Kim Ash | Employee Experience and Process Leader

J.S. Held, LLC

Jericho, New York

Locations Chicago New York City Houston San Diego Atlanta Seattle Boston *Washington DC

Diversity Builder facilitators and employee coaches are located across the nation in nearly every state. This geographical strategy reduces corporate travel expenses and helps us contribute to global sustainability. Locations include New York City, Washington DC, San Diego, Nashville, Seattle, Boston, Nashville, St. Louis, Atlanta, Oklahoma City, Dallas, San Francisco, Houston, Fort Worth, San Antonio, Austin, Los Angeles, Charlotte, Denver, Chicago, and Europe.

Training Manager

Our training programs are led by Dr. Leigh Gaskin. Leigh was previously an Instructor at Washington State University for 5 years while completing her doctorate in American Cultural Studies in 2019. She earned a master’s in Social Responsibility and Sustainable Communities concurrently with a Graduate Certificate in Gender and Women’s Studies. Leigh’s B.A. is in Psychology and Sociology, with a Women’s Studies minor. Leigh has an amazing ability to identify and document training needs within an organization and build a program that is focused on building a dynamic work environment where all employees can flourish inclusive of their identities and experiences.

Work Experience

Our trainers and consultants bring a variety of skills and life experiences into building the curriculum and facilitating engaging training. Several trainers have earned law or doctorate degrees and focus on compliance programs such as ADA training and harassment prevention. Other diversity trainers are world-wide travelers adept at facilitating global culturally-focused corporate on-boarding with a focus on achieving lasting inclusion. They have held corporate sales and leadership and/or human resources roles within corporate environments to include the following companies:

The Walt Disney Company
YMCA
Salesforce
Capgemini
Randstad
TripleLift (NYC)
IBM
Gaylord Entertainment
The American Bar Association
State Farm Insurance
CIGNA HealthCare
Laromme Hotels
ABB Optical Group
Aetna Inc.
Burberry
Fuze
National Grid
Macy’s
Dillards
ZOLL Medical Corporation
Apple
Disability Rights California
Banana Republic
General Motors
Re/Max Realty,
State of Oregon Vocational Rehabilitation
Seattle Children’s Hospital
Lotus United
T-Mobile,
Wells Fargo Bank
Nordstrom
Ste. Michelle Wine Estates
Bank of America

Several have worked as eLearning content and course-developers and curriculum designers.

Training in Spanish

Diversity Builder has trainers on our team who are fluent in Spanish and English and who can lead California mandated harassment training (SB 1343) in English and Spanish. Other topics available in Spanish are leadership, diversity and inclusion, respect in the workplace, and unconscious bias. Other classes may be available in Spanish. Please send an inquiry with specific questions or call us directly.

Higher Education Programs

Diversity Builder has instructors are accomplished in the academic space and have been instrumental in creating educational programs in colleges and universities such as the University of Chicago, Belmont University (Nashville), Lincoln University of Missouri, Rutgers University of New York, DePaul University School of Law and primary school environments in Chicago, Illinois, Eastern Illinois University, City University of New York (CUNY), Farmingdale State College, University of the South, City College of New York, and Columbia State Community College in Tennessee. They have learned about unconscious bias in the classroom and effective ways in how to address it. Diversity training in higher education often involves learning how to inclusively communicate with fellow faculty and staff along with the student population.

Chicago Facilitators

Our Chicago-based training instructors have led important projects and have notable accomplishments. One team member was part of the leadership group at the University of Chicago that developed the Office of LGBTQI Student Life. One of our trainers served as the Assistant Director of Student Life at Loyola University Chicago and as the Director of Multicultural Affairs at DePaul University. In the Chicago area we have facilitated D&I training for Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill’s architectural design and engineering employees, Buschman Homes, and Laramar Group’s real estate employees.

Published Works

One of our diversity leaders has written some best-selling books, published numerous journal papers, submitted published works to newspapers on the topic of workplace diversity. Simma Lieberman is the author of three books, Putting Diversity to Work, How to Successfully Lead a Diverse Workforce, The Diversity Calling, Building Community One Story at a Time, and 110 Ways to Champion Diversity and Build Inclusion.

Armida Russell coauthored the book The Diversity Directive: Why Some Initiatives Fail & What to Do About It.

Melody Fowler-Green has published works in several legal treatises, law-related journals, and newspapers. Her article entitled, “Syrian refugee question deserves a civil discussion” was published in The Tennessean. She has studied the science of unconscious bias extensively and weaves that knowledge into her education programs in a novel way. She served as Editor-in-Chief of the top law journal on the topic of poverty, Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law & Policy.

Training Certifications

Two of our facilitators are SHRM Senior Certified Professionals. Diversity Builder trainers hold the following advanced degrees:

Doctorate in Philosophy Higher Education from Loyola University of Chicago
Doctor of Law (J.D.), Law from Georgetown University
Master of Science, Human Resources Management
Master’s Degree in College Student Counseling from Loyola University of Chicago
Doctorate in Business Administration from California International University
Master’s Degree in Economics from University of South Florida and Western Kentucky University
Master’s Degree MBA in Organizational Leadership from Marylhurst University (Oregon)
Master’s Degree in Education from Lipscomb University
Master’s Degree in Family Therapy from Drexel University’s College of Nursing and Health Professions
Master’s Degree in English Literature from City University of New York City College
Master of Arts in Women’s Studies
MBA in Human Resources
Master’s Degree in College Student Affairs

Program and Assessment Certifications:

StrengthsFinder 2.0 assessment
Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode instrument
DISC assessment
SHRM-SCP
Strengths Performance Coach credentialized by Gallup University (StrengthsFinder)
CAEL – Career and Educational Advising
TESOL
SHRM-CP
Design Thinking Practitioner
Advanced Smartboards
SCRUM Master facilitator of agile development team that allows employees on teams to self-organize

One of our Chicago trainers completed the Harvard Kennedy program on Change Management Leadership (Effective Change Through Public Policy and Management), the Executive Leadership Program from National Hispana Leadership Institute (NHLI), Mediation education, and Executive Leadership Training Program from the Center for Creative Leadership.

Our time management trainer holds certifications in the following;

Certified Professional Organizer
Workplace Productivity Specialist

Our Charlotte, North Carolina-based instructor and coach completed the Predictive Index human resources certification program and our Maryland-based trainer has received certification as a Human Capital Strategist. One of our executive coaches is a certified StrengthsFinders Performance Coach, credentialized by Gallup University. She is also certified in Career and Education Advising.