Mikal Anderson

Dr. Anderson holds 20-years of experience as a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) leader, strategist, international consultant, and educational practitioner, and has witnessed and encountered first-hand the complex issues that perpetuate educational inequity and economic disparities within urban communities. As a DEI practitioner and Eisenhower Fellow, his research and practice have taken him to Africa, Europe, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East where he has investigated across various political and cultural landscapes system-wide solutions to address education and workforce development inequities. Additionally, he has worked with numerous organizations in the K-12 education, higher education, nonprofit, philanthropic, and government sectors, as well as corporations and fintechs, to build, operationalize, execute, and measure DEI agendas that yielded impact for minoritized populations.

Dr. Anderson holds the knowledge of decades of national reforms aimed at improving the quality of teaching, increasing accountability for districts and schools, and creating more and better choices for families through the creation of new schools and investments in human capital. Understanding that economic justice sits at the intersection of education and workforce development, he has managed relationships between universities and K-12 institutions to enhance teacher preparation and community-based programs, guided partnerships between local educational agencies and the private sector in the areas of career and technical education and workforce development, and supported organizations with their diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, strategic planning, talent acquisition and management, talent development, program evaluation, and instructional processes. As faculty in the John Lewis Master of Public Administration program, he trains aspiring leaders on matters pertaining to equity, diversity, and inclusion in the public and private sectors.

Dr. Anderson is an active member of the community who deeply supports initiatives that further the development of youth. He previously served as the Youth and Education Network Facilitator for the Greater New Orleans Funders Network where he convened regional and national philanthropic leaders to strategize and implement sustainable solutions to challenges faced by adolescents in the region. Additionally, he serves on the City of New Orleans Workforce Development Board, the Bernard C. Watson Research Advisory Board at Temple University, and the Board of Trustees Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee at the Episcopal Academy located in the Greater Philadelphia area.

Dr. Anderson holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Sociology from the University of Pennsylvania, a Master of Education in Secondary Education from Temple University, and a Doctor of Education degree in Global Education from the University of Southern California. Additionally, he obtained a Certificate in Education Policy and Program Evaluation as well as an Executive Certificate in Nonprofit Management from the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University, completed graduate studies in Special Education at Saint Joseph's University, and holds a Certificate in Entrepreneurship Essentials from Harvard Business School.