About Us
Meet our Founder & CEO
Dr. Washington is an organizational psychologist and DEI expert with a wealth of experience through her involvement as the Founder and CEO of Ellavate Solutions, a Professor of Practice at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, the Co-host of Gallup's Center of Black Voices Cultural Competence Podcast, and the Author of "The Necessary Journey: Making Real Progress on Equity and Inclusion". Dr. Washington continues to deepen her research pipeline and thought leadership as a Gallup Senior Scientist studying race, strengths and other DEI workplace topics.
Dr. Washington’s global human capital consulting experience has allowed her to impact clients across a myriad of industries including financial services, sports & entertainment, oil & gas, higher education and government. Previously, Dr. Washington led the Diversity and Inclusion function Gallup as a subject matter expert where she provided insight to clients on issues of inclusion, culture, strategic diversity and engagement. Her research and client work focuses on women in the workplace, barriers to inclusion for diverse groups, and working with organizations to build inclusive cultures. She has conducted inclusiveness audits, developed learning workshops, and facilitates strategic planning sessions with executive leadership teams who have goals of intentionally improving diversity and inclusion.
These experiences inspired the 2016 founding of Ellavate Solutions, an integrated DEI strategy firm. Ellavate Solutions provides dynamic diversity and inclusion strategy and training for organizations looking to commit to systematic cultural changes in how they recruit, develop, engage and assess performance. Dr. Washington's in-depth experience in this area stems from both her research on racial and gender disparities in corporate leadership positions as well as her global DEI consulting experience with Fortune 100, government and non-profit organizations.
Growing up in Durham, North Carolina with a tight-knit family gave Dr. Washington her roots. She proudly attended Spelman College, a historically Black women’s institution in Atlanta which led to her passion for maximizing the success of women and minorities. After earning her PhD in 2014 at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, she moved to Washington, DC where she currently resides. Dr. Washington is passionate about teaching and she truly loves the impact that she is able to make on the lives of future business leaders every day as a professor at Georgetown. Her impact is powerful as she received the Excellence in Teaching Award from Georgetown's MBA Class of 2021.
While eagerly anticipating the publication of her first solo book published by the Harvard Business Review titled "The Necessary Journey: Making Real Progress on Equity and Inclusion", Dr. Washington enjoys being active in her church, giving back to her local community, traveling the world and staying closely connected with loved ones.
Dr. Ella F. Washington
“MY MISSION IN LIFE IS NOT MERELY TO SURVIVE, BUT TO THRIVE; AND TO DO SO WITH SOME PASSION, SOME COMPASSION, SOME HUMOR, AND SOME STYLE.”
– MAYA ANGELOU
Our Mission
Our Vision
To provide diversity, equity, and inclusion solutions that elevate leaders to be unbiased and ignite company cultures to be a place for all.
To create a workplace utopia where systems of conformity, bias and exclusion have been dismantled and replaced with solutions for elevating originality.
Carolyn Adkerson
Vice President
Carolyn earned her Bachelor’s degree in Economics with a minor in Psychology from Spelman College in 2009. After spending a year teaching English in Spain, Carolyn returned to school to complete a Master in Business Administration at Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management with a concentration in Marketing and a specialization in Brand Management in 2014.
Carolyn is a Nashville native who is passionate about unifying, empowering, and investing in the Black community. Carolyn seeks to eradicate the systemic and economic constraints that plague the Black community. She is a highly-motivated and results-oriented Strategy, Consulting & Business Development Professional who thrives working in a fast-paced,
collaborative, or Global Delivery Model (GDM). She has a proven track record of selling and managing large-scale enterprise consulting projects and developing deep client relationships.
In her spare time, Carolyn enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, and finding ways to be a change agent within the community. Spelman College gave Carolyn “The Choice to Change the World", Owen Graduate School of Management made Carolyn into a 'World Shaper’, and now Ellavate Solutions is allowing Carolyn to humbly live her purpose.
#WorkplaceUtopia™ is an environment that embraces innovation, cultivates my strengths, encourages a work-life balance, and empowers me to grow professionally and individually.
Hildana Haileyesus
DEI Jr Consultant
Hildana is a DEI Consultant who is committed to education and action. At Ellavate Solutions, Hildana supports in DEI research, workshop development, workshop facilitation and client strategy. With a background in higher education, her experiences at the Mary Lou Williams Center for Black Culture at Duke University as well as her role as an Admissions Officer have contributed to her broad DEI lens. Having experience with grassroots DEI approaches as well as working with organizational leadership to develop strong DEI policy from the top down, she is perfectly positioned to support DEI strategy for clients across the spectrum.
With a strong belief in community building, equity and cultural understanding, Hildana sees DEI as an avenue for empowering humanity through strong business practices. She is grounded in the sociological lens through which she sees the impact of DEI locally and globally. In her time at Duke, she supported as a co-lead for an Anti-Racist Working Group and served on a University Committee for Diversity and Inclusion.
Hildana received her B.A. in Sociology and German from Duke University and values working to offer clients custom strategy support on their DEI journeys. Born in Ethiopia and raised in Atlanta, GA, Hildana is strongly connected to her cultural heritage and simultaneously considers herself a Southerner at heart. She enjoys spending quality time with her sisters, road tripping with friends and is an avid movie theater lover.
#WorkplaceUtopia™ is when the systems and culture of a workplace align to value the contributions of all employees and equally elicit an authentic commitment from team members to the goals and vision of the organization.
Trinity Johnson
Assistant Director of Ellavate Charity Foundation and Associate DEI Consultant
Trinity earned her Bachelor’s degree in Business Management with a minor in Sociology from Georgetown University. At Georgetown, Trinity was honored with the William J. Curtin Award for Academic Excellence in Leadership for her contributions to DEI work at her on-campus job. In her trailblazing role, she designed a new hiring model that prioritized equity from outreach to onboarding, established partnerships with affinity groups across campus, and hosted trainings for employees participating in the hiring cycles.
At Ellavate Solutions, Trinity conducts DEI research, designs learning content, and collects and analyzes data for client projects. Guided by the belief that businesses miss out when their employees do not feel that they can bring their full, authentic selves to the workplace, Trinity views DEI as a key component to any successful business ecosystem. Trinity prides herself in being a creative problem-solver and a catalytic innovator.
Outside of the office, Trinity enjoys spending time with family and friends, running, singing at her church, and creating ceramics. She currently lives in Washington, DC.