Melanie A. Graham, MSW
Pronouns: She/Her
Melanie SEL Founder and national non-profit leader with over 17 years in the non-profit sector with missions
focused on marginalized community of color.
Melanie, daughter of a white mother and Black father who presents as racially ambiguous, is Black identified, and lends her first-hand experience with white supremacy and Black internalized oppression, both of which inform the lens through which she understands her own experience with racism on a systemic level.
Melanie’s personal racial experience has forced her to confront racist practices on a daily basis which in turn informs how she builds the capacity of organizations and inspired the creation of SEL.
Melanie is a certified Gallup Strengths Finder coach, certified Transformation coach, certified in Organizational Development from the internationally recognized Institute of Organizational Development, and holds a Master’s degree in Clinical Social Work.
Kelly Stevens, MSOD
Pronouns: She/Her
SEL Partner, Kelly Stevens has over 10 years of experience supporting human centered approaches, innovative visioning, and strategic planning within organizations. The daughter of a Caribbean mother and an African American father, Kelly spent her formative years confronting the nuanced dynamics of biculturalism while negotiating her identity as a Black cis-woman in the U.S. It is this foundational work that underscores her professional passion for cultivating and contributing to wholistic self-reflection, systemic accountability and restorative and healing justice practices within work spaces.
A skilled trainer, curriculum developer and group facilitator, Kelly has a demonstrated history of providing personalized, capacity strengthening services in the areas of racial, gender and social justice, creative problem solving, harm reduction, implicit bias, conflict mediation and leadership development to federal, state and community-facing organizations across the country.
Kelly is a certified cultural humility trainer under Dr. Melanie Tervalon, and holds a Master’s degree in organizational development with a concentration in organizational psychology.
Michael Diaz, MA
Pronouns: He/Him
Michael Diaz, SEL Partner is a Certified Gallup Strengths Finder Coach (2019) with over eight years building the capacity of organizations across the country. Michael is a bilingual Cis-Gay-Latinx man of mixed-race who approaches DEI work with an intersectional lens.
He has led multiple DEI discussions and presentations at national conferences across the country including “Exploring Internalized Oppression at the Intersections of our Various Identities” and “Engaging Race, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation across People of Color Communities;” moreover, he’s been recurring Faculty facilitating sessions at the Racial Justice Institute of Creating Change Conference.
Michael’s expertise in sexuality studies, critical race theory, and gender along with his strength-based coaching uniquely informs SEL’s perspective promoting workforce equity, cultivating a DEI organizational culture, and clarifying DEI values in a culturally responsible manner.
Jamila Shipp MPH, CPC
Pronouns: She/Her
SEL Partner, Jamila Ship An Oakland native and nationally respected leader in public health, community advocacy and capacity-building, Jamila brings a heart for social and racial justice, nearly two decades of experience, and a track-record of innovation in an always changing HIV sector.
Jamila has extensive experience in program development, implementation, research, and evaluation of HIV/AIDS prevention programs. She specializes in underserved populations, particularly sex workers, homeless, and substance users. She has served as the chair of the California HIV planning group. Jamila holds a Masters of Public Health from San Francisco State University, and a B.S. in Health Care Management from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University.