About

Nathan Baptiste – EDI Mindfulness Consulting

Founder & Principal

Nathan Baptiste is founder of EDI Mindfulness Consulting LLC, supporting organizations to create equitable and inclusive work environments in which employees of all different backgrounds thrive and diverse communities are represented and well-served. The greater purpose is to create a more equitable and peaceful society in which race and intersecting social identities do not predict disparate outcomes in life. Nathan is a specialist in organizational change advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion. He is also a mindfulness meditation instructor certified by MNDFL. As a practitioner for over 20 years, mindfulness is an integral component in his approach to training, coaching, and advising.

Previously, Nathan served as the Diversity Program Manager at Oregon Metro, the regional government for 25 cities based in Portland, OR. In this role, he managed the agency-wide Diversity Action Plan and a number of agency-wide initiatives, in which he delivered the design and launch of a racial equity, diversity, and inclusion (REDI) professional development training plan reaching over 1,000 employees. Other highlights of his work include: advising departmental leaders in the roll-out of their customized racial equity strategic plans, leading development of an equity lens for the agency-wide employee engagement survey, launching and co-facilitating employee resource groups, and partnering with recruitment and procurement leadership to enhance equity protocols in decision-making.

In prior experience in the field of higher education, Nathan led diversity programming as a Senior Assistant Dean of Admissions & Coordinator of Multicultural Recruitment, and later as the Director of Inclusion & Multicultural Engagement at Lewis & Clark College. In these capacities he drove initiatives to increase the diversity of enrollment at the college as well as retention through development of programs fostering a more inclusive environment. Nathan received his bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Occidental College and his master’s degree in Education Leadership from Columbia University. In his free time, Nathan enjoys meditation, outdoor family adventures, basketball, and dad-jokes with his 7- and 9-year-olds.

Nathan draws inspiration from the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh, bell hooks and Paolo Freire.

Finish this sentence: I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for…

Learn more about Nathan in his interview with WorkWider.

Vision

A world that is equitable, peaceful, and free from systemic racism and all forms of oppression

Diversity Program Manager:

As the the Diversity Program Manager at Metro, the regional government of the greater metropolitan area of Portland, Oregon, I served as an interdepartmental project manager and internal consultant for programs in recruitment, procurement, community engagement, communications, professional development, workplace conflict resolution and employee support, and EDI strategic planning. I directly managed the agency’s Diversity Action Plan and a number of agency-wide initiatives.

Notable accomplishments:

Advising for the COO, senior level leaders and other members of Metro on equity, diversity, and inclusion program implementation priorities
Design and launch of an equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) professional development training plan, and intercultural core competencies framework
Advisor integrating anti-bias policy measures in procurement evaluations, resulting in the largest public contract in Oregon state history to date ($27M) awarded to a People-of-Color-owned business
Redesign of the EDI annual workplace climate survey
Initiation and co-facilitation of employee resource groups (ERGs)
Design of equity tools for the development of recruitment and employee professional development initiatives
Bilingual community stakeholder engagement facilitation
Created recommended protocol for agency to enhance job description design with considerations for engagements with community partners and recruitment for diversity
Agency-wide racial equity, diversity, and inclusion strategic plan co-development

Lewis & Clark College:

At Lewis & Clark College I served as a Senior Assistant Dean of Admissions & Multicultural Recruitment, and later as the Director of Inclusion & Multicultural Engagement. In these capacities I helped drive initiatives to increase the diversity of enrollment at the college as well as retention through development of programs fostering a more inclusive environment. I also served on the college’s EDI institutional strategic planning committee.

Notable accomplishments:

Delivery of needed educational and professional development resources for racial/ethnic minority members, LGBTQ, and first generation college students, including peer mentorship program, EDI educational workshops, and annual intercultural leadership retreats
Chair of Student Life Diversity Committee, responsible for curricular planning and implementation of Intergroup Dialogue (IGD) educational cohort learning series, unconscious bias training series, and various professional development workshops well received by staff
Articulation of new vision and strategic plan for equity, diversity, and inclusion programming, positioning department to work more closely in collaboration with student organizations, peer departments, and external partners, in alignment with foci of Student Life division
Coordinated annual fall and spring multicultural recruitment fly-in programs, attracting increasingly large groups of prospective students via successful community outreach and engagement, resulting in high yield rates of underrepresented students attending the college, utilizing culturally sensitive practices

Theory of Change

The achievement of a racially equitable, diverse, and inclusive organization that thrives is dependent upon several key understandings grounded in mindfulness:

1) INTERSECTIONAL MINDFULNESS: We can’t change a problem that we can’t or won’t first recognize. Recognition that central to inequities and exclusion in an organization are the workings of systemic racism and other intersecting identity-oriented oppressions, including but not limited to sexism, heterosexism, ableism, classism, ageism, and nativism. Clearly identifying the structural and intersectional nature of inequities helps us develop a coordinated response.

2) RACIAL EQUITY PRINCIPLES: Racial equity, diversity, and inclusion work is not a one-and-done affair. It is based on a set of principles that embrace people’s humanity and must be embedded in organizational culture to achieve sustainable results. Centering racial equity principles in use of an intersectional decision-making lens is essential for culture change that dismantles institutional inequities and barriers for all identity groups.

3) ACCOUNTABILITY: Action can only be meaningful when we take personal, collective, and structural accountability for change. Coupling accountability for self-examination at the individual and interpersonal levels with accountability for equitable policy outcomes at the structural level is critical to dismantle institutional inequities for transformational change.

Testimonials

Nathan Baptiste has proven himself to be a talented coach, consultant and guide to our Racial Equity, Diversity and Inclusion work. His well informed and life experienced approach lead to effective, interactive and engaging all-staff training, and issues specific equity-driven advising. He is well skilled in facilitating meaningful conversations, applying learnings in the most relevant ways, and in navigating groups into understanding how, why and where disparities show up. He helped move us to apply an ongoing equity lens for assessing conditions present in the workplace, to identify steps toward dismantling systems and ways of thinking and working that propagate inequities, and to establish equity guidelines for all our activities going forward. Nathan has the ability to encourage positive, albeit challenging change. His talents include the ability to draw out and name individual and corporate actions that can be addressed, for leading into a more inclusive work environment, as well as advising on planning and implementing strategic steps needed to reach more equitable outcomes. Nathan brings a wealth of resources to facilitate and promote learning and understanding, including insightful research, eye-opening and relatable training materials and useful principles to adopt permanently. I highly recommend Nathan and his firm, EDI Mindfulness.

Ken Trigueiro

CEO & President at Peoples' Self-Help Housing

I had the pleasure working with Nathan during his tenure at Oregon Metro. I found that Nathan’s intentional and thoughtful approach enhanced our collaboration and centered projects with clear next steps. Nathan’s positive and relationship focused approach acted as a catalyst in bringing groups with competing interests together even through tough conversations. His strategic thinking and practical application helps to foster actionable steps for any project he interacts with. Nathan is a delight to work with and would add value to any project he is associated with.

Kyle Weraky

Human Resources Business Partner, Oregon Department of Education

Nathan Baptiste is second to none as a collaborating partner. Having worked with him during his tenure at Metro, the regional government of Portland, Oregon, I found him to be a deliberative and creative systems thinker who often thought beyond obvious inclusion practices to ensure the fullest embrace of the most diverse populations. He walks his talk.

Dr. Alison Allen-Hall

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Training Consultant

As a Dean of Students at a large, diverse community college, I have worked with many equity consultants and trainers — Nathan Baptiste is among the best. He is gifted at meeting individuals and organizations where they are at, while nudging them along. He balances strong emotional intelligence with professional acumen, particularly on issues of intersectionality. His style is strategic, high engagement, outcomes-focused, and fun. Every person at your organization will love working with Nathan, and you will see results.

Cath Busha

Dean of Student Engagement

Nathan’s calm, focused attention to the topic and participants was invaluable for challenging conversations. Combined with his seamless integration of both data and personal experiences, participants in Nathan’s workshop will feel supported, challenged, and inspired. I left the workshop with new vocabulary, strategies, and actionable ideas for our recruitment and onboarding processes. Thanks, Nathan!

Veronica Schleihauf

Human Capital Manager

EDI in the workplace is a long journey that requires a strong start. Nathan’s advice is a great starting point to then together build the foundations to become more inclusive.

Cristina Rodriguez

Manager, Global Leadership Development, Special Olympics

Nathan’s workshop “How to Build a Anti-Racist Workplace” resonated with me on many levels, with great content covered. Whilst D&I is now widely en-vouge, I now understand the importance to capture ‘Equity’ in my programme (EDI). I really loved his summary clearly distinguishing diversity, inclusion, belonging, and equity. And the additional resources he provided will allow me to further educate myself on this important conversation. Thanks Nathan

Janet Houlis

Consultant (MCIPD)

When I think of Nathan and his work with our rapidly growing nonprofit in 2021, the word that comes to mind is “partner.” Over the course of a year, I had the pleasure of working closely with Nathan as he supported our organization—by (1) delivering an interactive racial equity, diversity, and inclusion (REDI) training series for our staff, and (2) serving as an active thought partner with the leadership team and staff DEI Committee to help ensure we were centering REDI in our strategic planning process and outcomes.

“The staff vocalized their appreciation for Nathan’s trainings, the theoretical and practical frameworks they provided, and the collaborative space Nathan created for team members to vocalize concerns and opportunities. Throughout all of my interactions with Nathan, he was highly organized and flexible, he asked generative questions, and he met our team members where they were at while encouraging growth and learning. He sets the standard in meeting and training preparation, and he actively sought feedback and adapted his approach based on our organization’s unique context.” (More below)

Kelly Stevens

Nonprofit Executive Director

Nathan demonstrates an incredible balance between being prepared and being present: doing the pre-work necessary yet being mindful enough to be flexible and pivot when necessary. He balances a necessary deep sense of urgency to end injustice while not losing a sense of awareness of what each moment may need. Partnering with Nathan has deepened my ability to collaborate as I attempt to emulate his example of discipline, caring and a strong commitment to moving us all forward.

Scott Winn

Racial Equity Consultant

Testimonials In Focus

“When I think of Nathan and his work with our rapidly growing nonprofit in 2021, the word that comes to mind is “partner.” Over the course of a year, I had the pleasure of working closely with Nathan as he supported our organization—by (1) delivering an interactive racial equity, diversity, and inclusion (REDI) training series for our staff, and (2) serving as an active thought partner with the leadership team and staff DEI Committee to help ensure we were centering REDI in our strategic planning process and outcomes.

The staff vocalized their appreciation for Nathan’s trainings, the theoretical and practical frameworks they provided, and the collaborative space Nathan created for team members to vocalize concerns and opportunities. Throughout all of my interactions with Nathan, he was highly organized and flexible, he asked generative questions, and he met our team members where they were at while encouraging growth and learning. He sets the standard in meeting and training preparation, and he actively sought feedback and adapted his approach based on our organization’s unique context.

I’ve worked with multiple DEI consultants while in leadership roles at nonprofits, and Nathan stands out in how he graciously balances patience, warmth, and understanding with not tip-toeing around tough conversations. He listens intently to and values everyone’s input, whether they are the seasoned CEO or the newest staff associate.

As a member of a team working in an all-virtual setting, even from many miles away it felt like Nathan was a part of our team. I appreciated Nathan’s incorporation of mindfulness (and great break music!) into our trainings, and I was inspired by his presence of mind, passion, and curiosity. He helped our organization grow immensely through his time with us, and that’s why we continued to explore additional ways to partner with Nathan beyond the trainings.

As a result of our work with Nathan, the team gained shared learning and experience from which to propel REDI forward at the organization, and we collaboratively created a strategic plan that will hold us accountable to equitable outcomes.

Now that I am Executive Director at a new nonprofit since working with Nathan, I am looking forward to partnering with him again in new capacities. His experience with small to very large organizations shines through the services and sage partnership he offers to anyone who hires him as a consultant. Nathan cares deeply about his work and the work of others. He is a valued ally to those pursing deeper commitment, more effective strategic planning, and more impactful action at their organizations to advance racial equity, diversity, and inclusion.”

Kelly Stevens | Nonprofit Executive Director

Incredibly insightful is one way that I would describe Nathan, and his insight into the work of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion made the trainings he provided very effective. Nathan led my nonprofit team – staff and board of directors – through four workshops – each workshop was split into two part – that grounded us in the key concepts of racial equity, bias, and diversity and left us with the perfect jumping off point to start our work to be an anti-racist organization.

Nathan’s combination of professionalism and personal engagement put everyone at ease, while keeping us on track for each training. He was able to tune into the tone of each workshop and adjust as needed. I truly enjoyed Nathan’s partner-based approach to designing the trainings for us which adjusting as we went along. And the meditation breaks were a bonus!

If you are looking for someone to guide your organization through DEI work, I can confidently recommend Nathan as a DEI consultant for your nonprofit organization, large or small.

Laura Golina de Lovato | Executive Director | Northwest Pilot Project

Contact EDI Mindfulness Consulting today!

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About

Nathan Baptiste – EDI Mindfulness Consulting

Founder & Principal

Vision

A world that is equitable, peaceful, and free from systemic racism and all forms of oppression

Diversity Program Manager:​

Notable accomplishments:

​​Lewis & Clark College:

​​Notable accomplishments:​

Theory of Change

The achievement of a racially equitable, diverse, and inclusive organization that thrives is dependent upon several key understandings grounded in mindfulness:

Testimonials

Testimonials In Focus

Kelly Stevens | Nonprofit Executive Director

Laura Golina de Lovato | Executive Director | Northwest Pilot Project

Contact EDI Mindfulness Consulting today!

HELPING ORGANIZATIONS ACHIEVE TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE TO BECOME MORE SUSTAINABLY EQUITABLE, DIVERSE, AND INCLUSIVE

Diversity Program Manager:

Lewis & Clark College:

Notable accomplishments: