Tanya M. Odom, Ed.M. is director of the Equity & Inclusion Program at the Walton Family Foundation. She is a global consultant, writer, coach, and diversity, equity, and inclusion and civil rights thought leader.

She has worked globally for more than 20 years, in more than 40 countries, as a consultant, coach, storyteller, and facilitator focusing on areas including: Diversity and Inclusion, Inclusive Leadership, Race/Racism, Challenging Conversations, Mindfulness, Coaching, Innovation and Creativity, Educational Equity, and Youth Empowerment/mentoring. 

Tanya’s unique portfolio career has allowed her to work in the education, private sector/corporate, not-for-profit/NGO, law enforcement, and in university/college arenas.

She is the co-author of "Evaluation in the Field of Education for Democracy, Human Rights and Tolerance.” 

Tanya is a frequent contributor to the Huffington Post, where she has written posts about diversity, leadership, self-compassion, and mindfulness. Tanya also writes for cnn.com. Tanya’s work and commentary has also appeared in several publications including Diversity Woman Magazine, Bloomberg News, and The Village Voice. 

Tanya was named by Diversity Best Practices as “A Diversity Thought Leader to Follow on Twitter.

As a mindfulness practitioner, Tanya weaves in mindfulness research and practice in her work with individuals and groups and connects it to leadership, teams, intentional inclusion, and the mitigating of unconscious bias. 

A recent area of focus has been supporting the United Nations in their gender equity by 2030 pledge. Tanya has worked with 15 UN entities in nine different countries focusing on inclusive leadership, unconscious bias, and women in leadership.

Tanya is passionate about working with youth, and engaging them in meaningful, relevant conversations. She has combined her global diversity  and inclusion work with her  youth development/youth leadership focused work. She has worked with youth in the U.S, and on projects in Northern Ireland, where she worked with Catholic and Protestant Youth; and in Israel, where she worked with Palestinian and Israeli youth on topics including bias, dialogue, community building, and youth leadership. She has also worked with young people from different ethnic groups in Myanmar, where the program focused on women’s empowerment and increased inclusion in the political process.

Over the last three years, Tanya has spent a great deal of time globally facilitating sessions, and moderating panels focused on "Challenging Conversations," where she has been creating spaces for honest and courageous dialogues and sharing.

Entrepreneur Magazine recently featured Tanya as one of the "3 Women Entrepreneurs Who Unleash Their Energy for the Greater Good."

Tanya has a master’s degree in education from Harvard University, where she focused on administration, planning, and social policy. She received her B.A. in anthropology/sociology with a correlate sequence in women’s studies from Vassar College. 

In addition to the NSHSS Foundation Board, Tanya is a member of the Board of Trustees for Vassar College, and a Board Member of the Institute for Mindful Leadership. She is also a national volunteer with the American Heart Association and a committee member of the Presidential Advisory on Structural Racism.