Jolene A. Lane has built a career in education promoting diversity, equity and
inclusion and has established a consulting practice in the DEI space working with
organizations and their leadership teams striving to broaden the impact of this
important work. Previously, Ms. Lane served as Vice President for Inclusion and Equity
and Chief Diversity Officer at the University of Akron and Senior Director for Diversity
and Community Affairs at Teachers College, Columbia University. A seasoned educator,
she has worked in higher education, elementary and secondary education, and in the
non-profit sector. Previous work includes Executive Director at Leadership Enterprise
for a Diverse America (LEDA), an educational non-profit organization whose mission is
to provide college access and leadership development for public high school students
from underrepresented backgrounds nationally and Founding Principal of Leadership
Public Schools’ first charter high school in Northern California.

Ms. Lane studied mathematics and pre-med at Harvard University, earned a Master of
Education from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education in Administration, Planning
and Social Policy with a focus in Higher Education and is currently completing her
dissertation from Teachers College, Columbia University in Adult Learning and
Leadership. Her doctoral research is focused on how women of color in academia
balance the complex issues of their professional and personal lives. She is also a
Qualified Administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) assessment of
intercultural competence.

Ms. Lane is actively involved in community initiatives supporting inclusivity and
building relationships that foster community involvement impacting race and gender
equity - especially working to further education and the dual tenets of economic and
social justice. She serves on several Boards including the Boards of the Akron Urban
League, the American Heart Association, Athena Akron, the Greater Akron Chamber,
and the International Soap Box Derby. She is currently Co-Chair of the Education
Subcommittee of the [Akron] Mayor’s Racial Equity and Social Justice Task Force. She
serves on the ArtsNow Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Access Advisory Committee,
Akron Racers Foundation Advisory Board, the Akron Latino Network, the Greater Akron
Chamber’s Diversity Professionals Roundtable, the Summit County Executive’s
Diversity Advisory Council, the Advisory Council for the Summit County Office of
Minority Health, the Elevate Akron: Opportunity Akron Strategy Team, and the
Sojourner Truth Statue Project. She is currently serving her twenty-seventh year as a
trustee of the Fountain Valley School of Colorado, her alma mater, which honored her
with the first Living the Mission Award. She is also a recipient of the 2020 Athena
Akron Leadership Award. She is a member of Kappa Delta Pi International Honor
Society in Education. Ms. Lane is especially interested in providing access to excellent
educational opportunities and mentoring to help provide students and young
professionals the cultural capital necessary for success.