Dr. Elavie Ndura is a dedicated professional with 30+ years of leadership, scholarship and practice, blending passion and policy to create and implement effective programming and innovative Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs in diverse and complex academic settings. She is a collaborative communicator in English, French, Kirundi, and Swahili who continually enhances relationships and effectively engages stakeholders by breaking barriers to promote diverse yet cohesive, DEI approaches. A talented educator who is well-versed in curriculum design, instruction, research, and student support programs, she is a strategic visionary executive leader, with extraordinary management skills and a keen ability to bring together creative and technical talent to yield impressive results. She is a trusted innovator and mentor who leads cross-functional teams, including colleagues from across the organization, as well as external stakeholders and contractors.

Dr. Ndura’s areas of expertise include academic programming; diversity, equity and inclusion; equity program and policy development; community outreach; research; curriculum design; program design and management; communication; stakeholder engagement; cross-functional team leadership; change management; coaching and mentoring; intercultural competency training and development; budget management; external partner cultivation and relationship management; visioning and strategic planning; employee diversity training and cultural competency development; conflict management and transformation; and restorative justice practices.

Dr. Ndura boasts many notable career accomplishments. She currently leads the visioning and implementation of inclusive excellence strategic goals at Humboldt State University (HSU) where she serves as Associate Vice President and Campus Diversity Officer. Within her first two months, she invested over 120 hours in a listening tour which informed the re-imagined vision and purpose of the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ODEI); HSU’s institutional six-pilar framework of inclusive excellence; and principles of community for inclusive excellence. She has focused her ODEI Team to elevate the visibility and impact of their work to advance equity and racial justice at HSU and the community. She engaged 3,000+ employees, students, alumni, and Board of Trustees members in diversity and implicit bias training, cross-cultural conversations, mindful facilitation training, and culturally responsive curriculum development and teaching in just three years at Gallaudet University where she served as Vice President for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer. She designed and delivered innovative Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion training for more than 1,000 employees and students, guiding conversations effectively at George Mason University while serving as Presidential Fellow for Diversity and Inclusion. As tenured Professor of Advanced Teacher Professional Development and International Education at George Mason University, her professional home for 12 years. She bolstered teaching and learning and elevated social cohesion by engaging 5,000+ educators and community members in professional development and peacebuilding activities in Burundi, Africa. Her signature interdisciplinary research, scholarship, and practice that integrate intercultural peace education and conflict prevention and transformation have been featured in six books; more than 40 book chapters and professional journal articles; as well as over 200 invited presentations, workshops, and keynotes, including two testimonies to United States Congress. She has transformed the lives of thousands of students through diversity-focused teaching in secondary schools and higher education in the United States and Burundi, Africa.

A Fulbright Scholar and Senior Specialist for education, peace education, and conflict prevention & transformation, Dr. Ndura is the recipient of many awards including the 2010-2011 Woodrow Wilson Fellowship at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the Peace and Justice Studies Association’s 2011 Peace Educator of the Year Award, the 2008 United Burundian Community Association Imboneza Award, and the 2004 Reno-Sparks NAACP Brown v. Board of Education 50th Anniversary Award.

An Alumna of the American Academic Leadership Institute’s Executive Leadership Academy, Dr. Ndura holds a Doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction with emphasis in Bilingual and Multicultural Education from Northern Arizona University, USA; a Masters of Education in Teaching English for Specific Purposes from the University of Exeter, England; a Bachelor’s degree in Humanities and Social Sciences with emphasis in English Language and Literature from the University of Burundi, Africa; a Graduate Certificate in Conflict Resolution Advanced Skills from George Mason University; and a certificate in Mindful Facilitation from StirFry Seminars & Consulting based in Berkeley, California.