Our Facilitators
Amaia Arruabarrena
Amaia focuses on creating an inclusive environment that nourishes trust and encourages learning and vulnerability. In her experience as a DEI practitioner, she has worked closely with Executive teams to implement tools, programs, and initiatives that eliminate opportunities for bias in systems and culture. Amaia takes a data driven approach and translates this data and research into strategy. Using her background in Biology and Psychology, Amaia approaches her work through a neuroscience lens. She aims to achieve better understanding of the way our brains work and how this ties into the work of DEI, with the goal of better individual understanding, connection to this work, and ultimately driving long lasting change.
pronouns: she/herFatima Dainkeh
Fatima is dedicated to fostering inclusive spaces for individuals and groups seeking to uncover and challenge harmful narratives and systems of oppression. Her interest lies in collaboratively reimagining a more just, equitable, and joyful life experience for all. As a DEI practitioner, Fatima partners with organizations to drive positive change through facilitation, coaching, and implementing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) strategies and frameworks. As an integrative life coach, she specializes in helping individuals release themselves from stifling narratives and expectations, especially the pervasive grasp of perfectionism while addressing and navigating the impact of social conditions. Fatima received her Masters in Public Health from Boston University and earned her BA in Religious Studies and Anthropology from St. Mary’s College of Maryland. You can find her reading or writing poetry, dancing, singing, hanging out with her nieces, or embarking on her new journey as a life coach when she's not facilitating.
pronouns: she/herAli Kane
Ali Kane is a Queer nonprofit leader and lifelong learner, bringing over five years of experience leading inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility workshops for museum and business leaders. Ali champions intersectional inclusion as part of the Boston’s Future Leaders 2023 cohort, and as Treasurer of Love Your Labels. They have previously had active leadership roles with the Worcester Pride Coordinating Committee, No Evil Project, American Public Garden Association IDEA Committee, and founding New England Botanic Garden IDEA Committee and New England Museum Association’s LGBTQ+ Staff & Students PAG. Aside from educating and community-building, Ali enjoys playing board games and sampling local beers with her partner and cat in Worcester, MA.
pronouns: she/theyHeang Ly
Heang Ly is a seasoned leader and consultant specializing in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) with a track record of driving transformative change across various sectors. As the Director of Consulting and Training at a prominent capacity-building organization, Heang has spearheaded DEI initiatives that led to a 30% increase in staff diversity, redesigned five learning cohort programs to incorporate liberatory practices, and implemented a distributed decision-making process, advancing DEI across organizational practices and consulting services.
pronouns: she/herMinh Nguyen
Minh Nguyen is a trainer, facilitator, coach, and consultant specializing in the intersections of LGBTQ+ inclusion, youth development, and dismantling systemic oppression in the Greater Boston area. Minh spent 14 years directly working with youth in positive youth development organizations before transitioning to remote consulting in 2021, which has been a fascinating experience since. Minh's approach to facilitation is to first meet folks where they are at to shift mindsets and perspectives, which can lead to larger organizational and systemic shifts. Their facilitation style also includes storytelling, acknowledging our humanity, interactive collaboration, fun and laughter. Minh is very passionate about Mr. Rogers, language access, and helping folks find their voice to speak their truths. Minh has been a consultant trainer with the Safe Schools Program, a partnership between the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the MA Commission on LGBTQ Youth, since 2019. Minh has also been a trainer and program assessment quality coach with the Cambridge Agenda For Children Out-of-School Time since 2017. Minh lives in Jamaica Plain where she enjoys long walks in the Arboretum, building Lego sets, and watching movies with their two cats.
pronouns: she/theyDr. Erika Powell
Dr. Erika Powell is a seasoned executive facilitator, coach, and consultant dedicated to driving change and transformation in workplaces. With over 18 years of experience, she specializes in creating organizations where people thrive. Her mission is to empower individuals and organizations to thrive through learning and coaching interventions that drive their personal and professional growth. Dr. Powell has tackled some of business’ biggest challenges in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), Organizational Culture, Leadership Development, and Employee Engagement across various industries both nationally and globally. She is a leading expert at teaching people how to lead, connect, and collaborate effectively across differences while creating meaningful change and impact for leaders, their teams, and organizations. She creates safe and supportive environments where participants can explore their cultural identities, address differences, express strong emotions in healthy ways, and navigate challenges and conflict productively while feeling supported in taking the creative & interpersonal risks needed to create new possibilities and ways of being with each other. Dr. Powell holds a doctorate in Instructional Technology & Design and certifications as an ICF ACC Professional Diversity Coach, Points of You Practitioner, and Mindful Facilitator. She teaches MBA courses on leadership and innovation as well as employee engagement & motivation. She brings a wealth of expertise in Intercultural Communication and Cultural Anthropology as well as creative arts to her practice. In April 2024, she will be presenting her signature workshop, “Brushes for Change: Painting a Path to Cultural Understanding” at the 2024 Racial Justice at Work Summit, sponsored by The Winters Group.
pronouns: she/herRachel Sadler
Rachel advocates for educational equity with the belief that education can start to break the cycle of generational poverty. As a former classroom teacher and school leader, she has worked with students at the middle school level with successful social and academic outcomes. Her skills include coaching educators who work with underserved student populations to develop positive rapport and implement trauma-informed practices in the classroom. By working with educators, she aims to reduce racialized trauma that BIPOC students experience in schools. In addition to her work in classrooms, she understands that children are also largely impacted by their communities and lived experiences. To combat this, she facilitates DEI conversations in the academic and corporate setting to mitigate the effects of workplace trauma that often follow parents back into their homes. This includes topics such as microaggressions, race and gender discrimination, inclusive interviewing and hiring practices, and performative allyship. Rachel has a master’s degree in Lifespan & Digital Communication from Old Dominion University and a secondary concentration in Women’s Studies. She is passionate about women’s representation in sports and athletic spaces, working to address the intersections of gender, perception of athleticism, and acceptance. She works to dismantle the traditional ideas of what constitutes an athlete in order to create welcoming health and wellness spaces for all bodies.
pronouns: she/her