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Bridging
the Divides.

"What we must do is commit ourselves to some future that can include each other and to work toward that future with the particular strengths of our individual identities."
- Audre Lorde

About Dax-Devlon Ross

Dax-Devlon Ross is the author of six books and his journalism has been featured in Time, The Guardian, The New York Times, Virginia Quarterly Review, Nonprofit Quarterly, The Washington Post Magazine and other national publications. He won the National Association of Black Journalists’ Investigative Reporting Award for his coverage of jury exclusion in North Carolina courts and is currently a Puffin Writing Fellow at Type Media Center.

His most recent book Letters to My White Male Friends, published by St. Martin’s Press, is a call to action and a reflection on race.

A New York City teaching fellow turned non-profit executive, Dax is now a principal at the social impact consultancies, Dax-Dev and Third Settlements, both of which focus on designing disruptive strategies to generate equity in workplaces and education spaces alike. His work leverages quantitative and qualitative data to facilitate culture building, values alignment, leadership development, strategic planning all with an adaptive change lens. His clients and partners have included the National Urban League, UnidosUS, Grantmakers for Education, the Wallace Foundation, Amnesty International, Results for America, Fund II| Foundation, Vera Institute of Justice, Community Wealth Partners, Imagine.Us, Bard College and many others.

Dax received his Juris Doctor from George Washington University. He currently resides in Washington, D.C. with his wife, Alana, and their young children.

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Cherice Hopkins

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Effective.

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Emely Martinez

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Emely Martinez

Is a leader in talent development, programming, facilitation, and education, with a passion for building organizations to be diverse, equitable, and inclusive.

Emely graduated with a degree in Psychology from Yale University and began her career with Teach for America as a Kindergarten teacher in Washington, DC. Focused on equity work through education, Emely then joined the national headquarters of After-School All-Stars (ASAS), a federated non-profit.

As National Program Director, she was charged with co-creating four signature initiatives, focusing on high school graduation, health and safety, career exploration, and service-learning, including the accompanying curriculum, staff, and youth development experiences. In 2014, Emely became the first Senior Director of Talent Development and part of the leadership team that launched six new ASAS chapters throughout the country over a three-year period. As Sr. Director of Talent Development, she established an entire Human Resources team and structure to support the growth of the organization, as ASAS grew from 13 to 300 employees. Emely led efforts to revamp the recruiting process to reflect the priorities of building a diverse and inclusive team, review organizational values and policies, and implement leadership development practices.

As a consultant Emely’s main projects focus on building equity-based workshops for organizational leaders, DEI discovery processes, strategic planning, talent acquisition and development, and the creation of DEI councils. Emely also holds a Master’s in Education from George Mason University and currently resides in Long Beach, California.

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Jason Spector

Dax-Dev Values

  • Bravery: We believe in facing each other, ourselves and that which divides and discomforts us. We strive to create and hold space so that we can be and remain brave in each other’s presence.
  • Community: We believe people in proximity and relationship can solve their own problems. We strive to create and maintain the common ground for genuine community building.
  • History: We believe human constructed structures and systems have created barriers and boosts that have held some of us back and propelled others of us forward. We also believe our attitudes and ideas have been shaped by what has and has not happened to us. We strive to give visibility to the unseen forces and phenomena shaping our shared experience.
  • Honesty: We believe in truth telling and seeking. We strive to center our words and actions, and those with whom we partner, in truthfulness.
  • Humility: We believe that no one has all of the answers. We strive to listen more than we speak.
  • Inquiry: We believe that the only way we get answers is by asking questions.
  • Story: We believe that everyone has a story and then once we bear witness to one another’s, we become bonded. We use storytelling as a tool for change making.

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