Dr. Lisa M. Coleman is New York University’s (NYU) inaugural Senior VP for Global Inclusion and Strategic Innovation and in the role serves as the institutions’ Chief Diversity Officer. Reporting to the President, Dr. Coleman works with Deans, internal stakeholders, external partners, and constituents to advance, promote and build capacity for strategic global inclusion, diversity, equity, belonging and innovation initiatives across NYU globally and this includes New, York, Shanghai and Abu Dhabi, and NYU’s other thirteen sites, and numerous global centers.  Prior to NYU, Dr. Coleman served as the first Chief Diversity Officer and Special Assistant to the President at Harvard University, 2010-2017, and during her tenure, she and her team developed some of the first initiatives focused on the intersections of technology, disability, and access. 

Dr. Coleman’s scholarly work was sparked by early professional and research experiences including working with the Association of American Medical Colleges, Merrill Lynch Inc., and as an independent computer and analytics consultant with various for-profit organizations.  Dr. Coleman has spent 20+ years working with numerous colleges and universities, for-profit, and non-profit organizations on leadership, global inclusion and diversity (GID), innovation and technology initiatives. These include, and are not limited to, collaborations with global stakeholders and university partners in New Zealand, South Africa, China, Thailand, UK, and Germany. Prior to NYU and Harvard, she directed the Africana program at Tufts University, and was later appointed to serve as that institution’s first senior global inclusion & diversity executive working with the C-Suite executives and reporting to the President of the university. Currently, Dr. Coleman continues to advise and consult with C-Suite leaders globally and sits on various national and international boards. Her current research focuses on the intersections of innovation, inclusion, science and technology, art and humanities, data analytics and digitization for diverse cultures globally.

 Dr. Coleman is the recipient of numerous awards, recognitions, and honors for her outstanding leadership and teaching efforts, and for her work on diversity, inclusion, belonging, equity, and innovation globally. Dr. Coleman earned her doctorate in Social and Cultural Analysis, American Studies from NYU, and three master’s degrees from the Ohio State University in African and African American Studies; Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; and also in Communication Studies. Her undergraduate foci were sociology/anthropology and computer science.