Amy Lazarus is the inaugural Executive Director of the Sustained Dialogue Campus Network (SDCN). SDCN, an initiative of the International Institute for Sustained Dialogue, develops everyday leaders who engage differences as strengths to improve their campuses, workplaces, and communities. Amy brings a passion for, and over a dozen years of experience working with, individuals and organizations to create inclusive and effective environments. Previously, Amy worked at ICF International, consulting with federal agencies on leadership development, diversity and inclusion, and human capital. After participating in the Coro Fellowship in Public Affairs, she earned an M.S. in Public Policy and Management at Carnegie Mellon’s Heinz School, where she received the Dean’s Diversity Fellowship and Dean’s Leadership Fellowship. At Duke University, Amy co-founded the student-run Center for Race Relations and Common Ground. Amy’s research has focused on best practices for training change agents in inclusion, and on the relationship between social entrepreneurship and economic development. She has developed and conducted strategy sessions, facilitations, and keynotes internationally for country leaders, senior-level officers, and students for clients in the nonprofit, public, and private sectors.
From Shaker Heights, Ohio, Amy lives in Washington, DC and serves on the board of Operation Understanding DC, a nonprofit that trains Black and Jewish high school students to be civil rights change agents. Recent awards include: World Economic Forum Global Shaper, USA Networks Characters Unite Award, Facing History’s Upstander Award, and the American Express NGen Leadership Fellowship through Independent Sector. Amy practices tai chi and has sung back up for Aretha Franklin.