ANGELA BIRTS, Ed.D., is Founder and CEO of Birts Equity and Inclusion Solutions LLC, a diversity consulting firm focused on training and consultation for organizations seeking to expand their commitment to diversity and equity and inclusion. Dr. Birts is also a part-time lecturer and Core Course Coordinator at the University of California Santa Cruz, Division of Undergraduate Education. She teaches courses on Social Justice in which students explore the injustices that many confront in their lives and possible policies for addressing social, political, and economic inequalities. She leads the College Ten program, reviews applications for new lecturers, interviews candidates, designs and evaluates social justice and community curriculum, and facilitates faculty meetings.
Hailing from East Palo Alto, CA, located in the San Francisco Bay Area, Angela has served in many leadership roles. These include Director of Diversity & Inclusion & Identity Course Instructor at Menlo School, Deputy Campus Director at Citizen Schools, Cesar Chavez Academy, and Academic Tutor Program Coordinator at College Track East Palo Alto. She has spoken on numerous panel discussions, fundraiser events, conducted 35+ workshops on DEI and has won awards for her commitment to educational access, diversity, and social justice. In 2006, she won College Summit's Let Talent Shine Award, "For Leadership and Commitment to Community Building, College Access, and Social Justice." In 2016, she received the Education Doctorate Leadership Program Award and the Phyllis H. Lindstrom Award from San Jose State University: "For significant achievement in the Ed.D. Leadership Program and for providing a model for Educational Leadership." In 2017, Angela became the first African American to earn an EdD in the inaugural Educational Leadership Program at San Jose State University. Her dissertation is entitled, The African American/Black Racial Tapestry: Black Adolescents' Private, Independent School Experiences and Racial Identity Development. Its' findings span from successful strategies for supporting African Americans and creating affinity group spaces for people of color within a wide range of social contexts.