Arts & Culture Inclusion Council – Jolene A. Lane

Jolene A. Lane has built a career in education promoting diversity, equity and inclusion and is
now working as a consultant in the DEI space with organizations and their leadership teams
striving to broaden the impact of this important work. 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 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 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 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 the cultural capital necessary for success.