The EBDI Team
Ahmmad Brown, PhD
President and Co-Founder | he / him
As President and Co-Founder of EBDI, Ahmmad works with client-partners to design engagements that support their diversity, equity, and inclusion goals. His approach to DEI integrates theoretical and methodological best practices from the academic literature, as well as narrative development and storytelling techniques. With EBDI, Ahmmad has worked directly with more than two dozen client-partners across the private, non-profit, and public sectors and has supported EBDI’s external research. His thought leadership appears in Forbes.
Prior to EBDI, Ahmmad was a consultant with The Bridgespan Group and served as the Diversity Recruitment Director at Williams College, where he defined institutional priorities with the College’s senior administration, and led efforts for the recruitment of first-generation, low-income and student of color populations.
In addition to leading EBDI, Ahmmad is an Assistant Professor at Northwestern's Masters of Science in Learning and Organizational Change (MSLOC) program where he leads the Leading Equity and Inclusion in Organizations Certificate (LEIOC) program. He also serves on Merit America's board of directors.
Ahmmad received a PhD in Organizational Behavior from Harvard University and holds an MBA and MA in Education from Stanford University, and a BA in Sociology & Anthropology and Japanese from Swarthmore College.
Dustin Liu
Principal Advisor | he / him
Dustin Liu's work is to inspire awe, wonder, and surprise by noticing the interconnectedness of seemingly disparate experiences, ideas, and domains. He is a guide and facilitator in a variety of educational settings, where he designs learning experiences and curriculum, as well as in organizations, where he develops innovations for systems to operate in more generous and humane ways.
Dustin has led data collection and analysis and facilitation of several EBDI engagements, including with the Pomona College Office of Admissions and Creative Goods. Outside of EBDI, Dustin is a fellow and lecturer at Stanford University and the founder of GatherEd, a boutique consultancy that partners with educational institutions and purpose-driven organizations to ideate, strategize and execute human-centered gatherings that catalyze transformation. Previously, Dustin has served as the Interim Director of Social Innovation at the MIT PKG Center, a Senior Facilitator with the Experience Institute, and a Research Associate at Ashoka U.
Dustin holds a BS in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University and an MA in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Leena Mathew
Advisor | she / her
Leena is a political organizer and social movement enthusiast who brings more than a decade of experience to her role at EBDI. Leena has supported work with America’s Essential Hospitals and CareerVillage.
In addition to her work at EBDI, Leena is the Director of Policy & Campaigns at the Matahari Women Workers Center, the largest non-union community organization representing women workers in the domestic and service industries in Massachusetts. Her practice also focuses on systems for leadership development at scale, and the conception of theories of change that are well-aligned with organizational structure and culture.
Leena holds a BA in International & Global Studies from Brandeis University.
Jéssica Oliveira
Co-Founder | they / she
Jéssica is a Co-Founder of EBDI who designs inclusive dialogic spaces and learning environments that encourage storytelling to transform the harm created by systems of oppression. With EBDI, Jéssica has led the creation and facilitation of dialogic spaces and employee resource groups with Nova Credit and designed and facilitated leadership and staff development exercise with Braven.
Outside of EBDI, Jéssica is the Director of People and Operations at the Matahari Women Workers Center, the largest non-union community organization representing women workers in the domestic and service industries in Massachusetts. They previously worked at The Bridgespan Group, where they served as the Boston Lead of the Black and Latinx employee resource group. Prior to that, they were a Teach for America fellow.
Jéssica holds a BA in Internal Relations from Brigham Young University - Idaho.
Alex Reisman
Assistant to the Founders | she / her
Alex brings a diverse work background in communications and service industries to her role at EBDI. As Assistant to the Founders, she handles a variety of behind-the-scenes work, including report editing, website design, and administrative upkeep.
Alex has an MA in Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning from Tufts University and a BA in Environmental Studies from Washington University in St. Louis.
Ande Reisman, PhD
Principal Researcher | she / her
Ande is a sociologist who works in the technology industry as a user experience (UX) researcher for Adobe. Having a foot in both technology and academia has given Ande an expansive understanding of privilege and social equity, as well as a variety of research tools and methods for charting a more equitable path forward.
With EBDI, Ande has supported data collection and analysis with Braven and led the research and writing of Voices of the Movement, a report produced in partnership with Encompass that documented the state of DEI in the farmed animal protection movement and outline states to move toward greater equity in the space.
Ande holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of Washington and a BA in Peace and Conflict Studies and Middle Eastern Studies from Colgate University.
Lauren Rollins
Principal Advisor | she / her
Lauren is an experienced public policy professional who has led EBDI client engagements with America’s Essential Hospitals and Boston Schools Fund. Her practice focuses on supporting leadership team members and leadership groups in identifying barriers—intrapersonally or organizationally—for deeper engagement on DEI issues, and conceiving and operationalizing strategies that support effective DEI work.
Outside of EBDI, Lauren is the CEO and Founder of the Western Massachusetts Policy Center, a grassroots non-profit think tank and policy center that centers people and communities who have historically or routinely been marginalized from power and influence.
Lauren previously led the research publications and editorial functions at a think tank in Washington, DC, and spent a decade teaching and mentoring students, many with minoritized identities, at community colleges and historically Black colleges and universities.
Lauren holds an MA in English Language and Literature from Georgetown University, a BA in English Language and Literature, as well as a BA in Government and International Policy and Legal Studies from George Mason University. She completed all-but-dissertation doctoral work at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where her research focused on political agency and power among disenfranchised people in early modern England.
Neha Sharma
Advisor | they / she
Neha (nay-ha) brings a decade of experience as a business and technology integration manager at Accenture Federal Services. She has also been the internal diversity, equity, and inclusion lead at Accenture Boston, where she led the LGBTQ employee resource group. With EBDI, Neha has supported data collection and analysis four our work with America’s Essential Hospitals and Braven.
Neha holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Boston University.