Staff
Strategic Execution
Anika Rahman
Anika knows that individuals and organizations inspire movements that benefit us by advancing human rights for all and promoting a just society. These ideals are crucial to addressing the challenges of marginalized communities and women, particularly as they relate to an intersectional approach to gender and racial justice. She has dedicated her life to championing gender justice, reproductive rights, and sustainable global development, and to fighting racism in all its forms.
Throughout her career, with leadership positions at the Center for Reproductive Rights, USA for UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund), the Ms. Foundation for Women, the Rainforest Alliance, and NRDC, Anika has been a voice—and a catalyst—for change. Her commitment to advancing equality is also reflected in the boards on which she serves, including the Bangladesh International Tutorial (BIT) School and MADRE, as well as her role as management consultant to progressive nonprofits.
Anika has spoken and published on topics of leadership, public service, nonprofit management, gender justice, reproductive rights, DEIB, and sustainable development at venues ranging from the United Nations to universities and international conferences. In addition, her writings have been published by the New York Times, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Crain’s New York Business, Philanthropy News Digest, Rewire, and CNN.com. A lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Anika has received the Women’s eNews “21 Leaders for the 21st Century” award and Columbia Law School’s Lawrence A. Wien Prize for Social Responsibility. She was also recognized as “21 Desi Women Who Are Game Changers.” Anika practiced law at Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton.
Anika earned her Bachelor of Arts from Princeton University's School of Public and International Affairs and her Juris Doctorate from Columbia Law School. She lives in New York City and enjoys spending time with her daughter and cat, traveling, the visual arts, cooking and reading. Additional information on Anika can be found at http://www.anikarahman.org.
Cecilia Orellana-Rojas, Ph.D.
Cecilia Orellana-Rojas serves as senior vice president of strategy and research for the National Diversity Council. In this role, she oversees the execution of the organization’s strategic goals to generate new revenue streams. She leads the consulting function as well as innovative, high-quality educational and research initiatives in diversity and inclusion. She is the creator of the NDC Certification Program curriculum, which prepares professionals for successful careers in the DEI space, and the NDC Index, a tool that measures organizational commitment to diversity and inclusion among companies in the United States. She is also the developer of the NDC Toolkit, a unique diversity reference portal and research consolidator.
Cecilia brings 15 years of experience at AT&T, where she started as a manager in diversity marketing. She spent most of her career at the telecommunications giant as associate director and lead consultant of corporate diversity. In this role, she offered support in the formulation, implementation and direction of AT&T’s diversity and inclusion strategy including metrics, communications, and training. She also provided consulting in all aspects of workforce diversity. Prior to her corporate role, she worked as a journalist and later taught in academia for more than 10 years in the area of sociology, with emphasis on U.S. race relations, gender, Latin America, and research methods.
Cecilia is a passionate advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion. She was instrumental in the launch of the Texas Diversity Council and served as the first president of the San Antonio Advisory Board. As a founding member of the Texas Hispanic/Latino Summit, she played a leadership role in establishing the mission of the summit as a venue for Latino/a voices within the Texas Leadership and Diversity Conference. She has been recognized numerous times with the Diversity Champion Award and Diversity Leadership Award for her commitment and dedication to diversity business practices.
Cecilia has served on the Emeritus Board of Directors for the Masters Leadership Program of Greater San Antonio and as an external member of the Workforce and Diversity Committee for the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA). In addition, she has served on the Immigration and Refugees Action Team for the City of San Antonio’s Faith-Based Initiative.
A native of Chile, Cecilia earned a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Texas at Austin and a master’s degree in Latin American studies from the University of New Mexico. She graduated Summa Cum Laude with a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of North Dakota. She resides in San Antonio, Texas, with her husband, Henry, and their son, Rodrigo.
Yalitza Carrillo
Yalitza Carrillo serves as supervisor of strategic initiatives at the National Diversity Council. She works closely with the Senior Vice President of Strategy to support the implementation of high-impact initiatives including the oversight of the NCD Certification Program, which prepares professionals for successful careers in the DEI space. Prior to this role, she managed the NDC Virtual Suite, which features learning solutions on a range of DEI topics, and the NDC Toolkit, a diversity reference portal.
Yalitza graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from the University of California, Irvine. She trained in anthropological methods, approaches, and theories to understand and appreciate cultural differences. She brings to the National Diversity Council nearly 10 years of experience in the healthcare industry as a Registered Dental Assistant and a patient health coordinator.
Yalitza is from Los Angeles, California, and currently resides in Prescott Valley, Arizona, with her husband and daughter, and their dogs.
Hussain Alabdulmuhsin
Santeiu Griffin
Communications
Katrina Glenn
Katrina Glenn is the Communications Manager for the National Diversity Council (NDC). She oversees our communications department, social media marketing, public relations, and internal/external communications efforts. Under her oversight, the NDC was published as a brand contributor for Forbes and featured on Grammarly.com for their nonprofit communications program.
During her professional communications career she has worked in community engagement with the CW network in Houston, NBA All-Star Game production, and communications team for the Diversity & Leadership Conference with President Barack Obama. Katrina’s passion for diversity, equity and inclusion, stems from her belief that representation is important for the advancement of all. As she continues in her role, she works towards bridging the gap between representation, media content and providing DEI resources on a larger scale.
Katrina is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma with a B.A in Communications with an emphasis in media. She is also a proud member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Incorporated. When she is not keeping busy with NDC you can find her being an all-star cheerleading coach, content creator and a mom to her daughter Makenna.
Kamaria Monmouth
Kamaria Monmouth, MBA, PMP, CDP is the Sr. Communications Specialist for the National Diversity Council (NDC). She utilizes a project management based approach to creating effective systems and processes for internal and external relations for the council and its partners. Under her leadership, she managed a partnership with Forbes EQ Brand Voice, secured a DEI digital multimedia partnership with various stakeholders, led a cross-functional team in various iterations of website development projects and secured features in various publications for the NDC leadership team including USA Today and Forbes/Fortune.
During her career, she has focused on combining her background in communications and marketing with implementation and delivery of agile methodology for the b2b space, along with coaching scrum teams to ensure projects are delivered within budget and time constraints in accordance with both organizational and external stakeholder requirements. Through her combined experience, she has ensured successful delivery of projects with Google Business Group and a range of enterprises across sectors. Kamaria believes that diverse teams create innovation, increased project efficiency and delivery and in turn, successful projects. Kamaria is passionate about creating an environment where diverse ideas are valued and everyone is given a platform.
Kamaria graduated from Loyola University New Orleans with a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication: Public Relations and a minor in marketing. She also holds a Master of Business Administration in project management and process improvement from the University of Houston System and is a DiversityFIRST ™ Certified Diversity Professional (CDP).
Dhenebb Coull
Dhenebb is currently a graphic designer for the strategy and research team. She oversees NDC Services branding and marketing. She joined the NDC in 2021 as a graphic design intern for the NDC Emerging Leaders Program where she worked on the I am an emerging leader social media campaign, as well as other branding projects for the launch of the program. She then transitioned to intern for the strategy and research team where she began to update some of the branding assets for their NDC Services. She has since continued to expand on its branding assets.
Prior to the NDC, Dhenebb volunteered for Destino a Cru Ministry where she would design print media for the Destino San Antonio team. She currently volunteers for their annual conference Legacia on their social media team.
Dhenebb is a graduate of the University of Texas-San Antonio with a Bachelor of Science in Architecture. She also graduated from San Antonio College where she obtained graphic design certifications. When she is not designing, you can find her cooking, running, or exploring San Antonio with her husband.
Jackie Williams
Jackie is a native of the Texas Gulf Coast region and currently lives in Houston, Texas. She has been working for the National Diversity Council since 2012. She also works as a freelance graphic designer and illustrator. Her design style is focused on illustration as a graphic design medium and its ability to create narrative driven projects.
Jackie graduated from the University of Houston with a bachelor's degree in Art and a minor in Art History. Her personal interests include illustration, writing poems and short stories, genealogy, Southern Black folk culture, ghost stories, hiking, yoga, and most recently, a podcast called Juncture discussing films and dream interpretation.
Eboni Arnold
Eboni is currently the Graphic Design Team Lead for the National Diversity Council (NDC) graphics department. She oversees national team projects, generates graphics for marketing campaigns, provides leadership, motivation, and mentoring to the Graphic Design Team, and supports departmental goals and performance management. Eboni began working with NDC in 2018, shortly after moving to Houston, TX, with her family. What initially brought Eboni to NDC was the opportunity to work as a contract graphic designer however, what has largely contributed to her commitment to the council years later is the aligning mission to be both a resource and an advocate in her community.
Before NDC, Eboni worked as the Lead Prepress Technician and Graphic Designer at ViaTech Publishing in Atlanta, Ga. As a Prepress Tech, Eboni onboarded new clients, managed digital assets, created templates, and prepared designs for brands such as Delta Air Lines, IBM, Doosan, YUM!, & SavaSeniorCare.
Eboni received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2013 from the Art Institute of Atlanta (AIA), majoring in Media Arts and Animation. When she is not designing, singing, or dancing, Eboni cooks and spends time with her husband, Martinez Arnold, and daughter, Amara Arnold. Eboni takes pride in being heavily involved in her daughters’ education and teaches her the importance of being smart, loving god, and being kind by leading by example.
Fargol Hasani
Fargol has a B.A. and an M.S. in electronic engineering, and a Ph.D.. in Electronics, which she received from the University of Wollongong in Australia. She was also a research fellow there before moving to US. She has been teaching several engineering and programming courses at University of Wollongong since she started doing her Ph.D. there.
Since arriving in the U.S in 2015, she started applying her programming skills to user interface design and web development. She has extensive knowledge of HTML, CSS, bootstrap, JavaScript, WordPress, PHP, Python, ReactJS, and AngularJS. As a Web Developer, she has designed, coded, implemented, and managed websites for a variety of clients.
She has always been passionate about web development, and she is constantly seeking out new technologies and staying up to date on trends in the industry.
Mohammad Erjaei
Field Support
Dawn Hooper
Sofia Anthony
As the Chief of Strategic Partnerships for the National Diversity Council (NDC), Sofia Anthony works to ensure that the NDC caters to partners' needs and remains at the forefront of the diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) arena. Ever since joining the NDC in 2011, Sofia has successfully raised over $1.1 million individually in new fundraising revenue, more than $600,000 of which continues to come into the organization as current revenue. In her current position, Sofia leads the national Partnerships & Events team, which comprises all team members who spearhead market expansion, business development, and event revenue generation efforts organization wide. She builds strategic partnerships with organizations across industries and sectors to help sustain the NDC via revenue generation, community engagement, and in-kind support. In collaboration with the CEO, Sofia also serves as a primary point of contact for the NDC’s Board of Directors and spearheads data collection and analysis to provide quarterly reports to the Board on organizational goals.
Prior to becoming the Chief of Strategic Partnerships, Sofia was selected by the NDC’s Board of Directors to serve as the Interim CEO and lead the organization through transition for the first half of 2023. She successfully navigated the NDC through crisis management and change, demonstrating leadership, strategic thinking, operational oversight, and resilience. During the latter part of 2023, Sofia onboarded the NDC’s new CEO and CFO, working closely with them to develop and execute leadership transition plans for a smooth handover of responsibilities.
Sofia graduated magna cum laude from Brown University with a B.A. in Anthropology and Ethnic Studies and obtained an M.S. in Human Resource Management from Nova Southeastern University. She has been recognized as a Top 100 Under 50 Emerging Leader in DEI by DiversityMBA a Top 20 Latino Leader by the Council for Latino Workplace Equity a Nonprofit Leadership Center Fellow for the Advancing Racial Equity on Nonprofit Boards Fellowship a Hispanics in Philanthropy Fellow for the Next Generation Latino Philanthropy Leadership Fellowship and HR Tampa’s Young Professional of the Year. Sofia is a DEIB leader with NDC Certified Diversity Professional and Executive Diversity Professional credentials. She is also an HR leader certified as a PHR and SHRM-CP.
Sofia was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, yet spent the majority of her life in Tampa, Florida. She currently lives in the Tampa Bay area, happily married to her soul mate and loves spending time with their sheltie, Bodhi.
Kelsea Haught
Matthew Rivera
Matthew Rivera is the Coordinator for People and Culture for the National Diversity Council (NDC). He is responsible for the overall administration, coordination, and evaluation of the human resource function for the NDC. .
Matthew is a first-generation graduate of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga with a B.S. in Psychology. He also graduated with honors from Austin Peay State University with a Master's degree in Industrial-Organizational Psychology. When he is not keeping busy with the NDC, you can find him attending concerts, music festivals, or sporting events.
Darlene King
Darlene King began her career with the Michigan Diversity Council-MIDC (a division of the National Diversity Council) in 2015. As the Executive Director, her charge is working with corporations and organizations in developing Diversity and Inclusion initiatives, programs, processes and procedures. Growing the organization in the area of business development as well as growing the organization throughout the entire state of Michigan.
Prior to her tenure with the MIDC, she held the role as Director of Event/Consultant Services/Training and Development for all 34 school districts under the Wayne County Regional Educational Service Agency for over 10 years. Her territory covered implementation and execution of all workshops and conference as well as maintaining CEU’s for teachers and administrators within Wayne County MI. Although she managed more than 60+ consultants, county wide events such as the Teacher Job Fair, County K-12 Art Fair and the Cultural Collaborative for Learning were signature events managed by her department as well. Darlene was also an inaugural member of the Diversity Strategic Planning committee which rolled out a county wide Diversity plan for all districts. Darlene’s background is widespread. She spent 6 years as a national concert promoter, traveling around the world with some of today’s most popular artist in the industry. She has produced and promoted shows at every concert venue in Detroit and beyond.
In 2008 she launched her consulting company, Life’s Journey Training and Consulting. They are competing in today’s competitive global market – in industries ranging from education, automotive, medical, non-profits and manufacturing. Their area of expertise consist of diversity and inclusion, leadership development, marketing and public relations.
Life’s Journey has provided service deliverables to: Wayne County Head Start Programs, Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency, The Order of the Fisherman, The Detroit Medical Center, Revival Home Health Care, RTM Music Group, Real Times Media, Stonecrest Behavioral Health, Detroit Area Agency on Aging, Universal Studios, Detroit Community Schools, MASCO Corporation, Diversity Lansing plus many more.
She is a native of Michigan and enjoys spending time with her family, nephews and niece. She says her faith in God, family, passion for people and her love of traveling and gardening are the dri Darlene has a passion for people and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Relations and Marketing from Wayne State University, Detroit MI. She has been operating in this capacity as well as education and organizational development for 25 years.
Santeiu Griffin
Laura Grajczyk
Laura Grajczyk joined the Ohio Diversity Council in July 2019 as the Event Programmer - where she plans all logistics and execution for all Ohio Diversity Council events. Laura has over ten years of event planning, coordinating, and programming experience. Previously she was the Event Coordinator for the Glass City Center, formerly known as the SeaGate Centre in Toledo, Ohio.
Before that, Laura Grajczyk worked in collegiate athletics at various universities as one of their Athletic Event Managers, including the University of Oklahoma and Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.
To further her experience after graduating from Bowling Green State University (2012) with a Sport Management degree - she interned at the Athletic Departments of the University of Tennessee, the University of Detroit Mercy, and the University of Georgia.
Laura is from Ypsilanti, Michigan, and now resides in Maumee, Ohio. Laura is a proud alum of Omega Phi Alpha National Service Sorority and is currently a Junior League of Toledo member.
TyKiah Wright - Wilson
TyKiah Wright - Wilson is a Columbus, Ohio native and respected leader with 18+ years experience in nonprofit executive leadership, workforce development and relationship management. Known for her smile, TyKiah is passionate about connecting with people.. Adept with business operations, partnership development, stakeholder engagement and DEI. She is committed to helping organizations understand that differences drive innovation and is intentional about creating environments where people feel empowered to be their authentic selves. TyKiah is a champion for disability-inclusive diversity and strives to normalize the conversation.
In 2016, Wright was recognized as a YWCA of Central Ohio “Woman of Achievement”. She also was appointed and served as a Commissioner for President Obama’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for African Americans and is a past member of the Alumni Board of Directors for Wright State University. TyKiah is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated.
Onjalai Brown
Emily Pfister
Emily (she/her) currently serves as the Event Programmer for the Tri State Diversity Council, a chapter of the National Diversity Council, serving New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut. Emily works to plan and oversee Tri State Area events, in addition to managing the chapter’s three Advisory Boards and Board of Directors. She has a background in education and comes to the NDC after teaching special education in the state of New Jersey for six years. Emily graduated from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, with her bachelor’s degree in Arts and Sciences in 2015, and master’s degree in Elementary and Special Education in 2017. Emily resides in Northern, NJ, and is passionate about the field of DE&I. Emily, a woman of color, with the unique perspective of being adopted from China as an infant, is inspired by the vision of the NDC to '[transform] our work places and communities into inclusive environments where individuals are valued for their talents and empowered to reach their fullest potential.'
Ivy Hunter
Josephine DiRusso
Jo (she/her) is a nonprofit professional from central Florida. Throughout her career, she has served in professional event management and volunteer coordination positions, four nonprofit and social enterprise internships, and a variety of community service leadership roles. She is getting a dual graduate degree in Nonprofit Management and Public Administration at the University of Central Florida (UCF) where she also completed her undergrad in International Studies and Nonprofit Management. When she is not working, she loves spending time with her fiancee and three cats, exploring local places, and hosting board game nights with friends.
Kunal Kaushal
Kunal Kaushal (he/him/his) currently serves as the Business Development and Event Programmer for the Georgia Diversity Council and the Jacksonville Diversity Council. Kunal oversees and spearheads the development and events for both councils, supporting additional projects as needed. Kunal graduated from the University of Florida with a Masters of Science in Management and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. He resides in Atlanta, Georgia and has a background working in employee engagement, talent development, and various other HR initiatives through his prior experience at Salesloft and Southeastern Grocers. He is passionate about fostering an inclusive work environment where all individuals can truly feel included and valued. In his free time, Kunal loves to play sports, work on his personal fashion brand Let The World Know, and spend time with his close friends and family.