Clarissa Love: Vice President, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging
Chicago, IL – Clarissa Love has been announced as Vice President, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) of Start Early, a public-private partnership advancing quality early learning and care for families with children, before birth through their earliest years, to help close the opportunity gap.
Previously, Love served as the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Consultant at the University of Michigan Medical School’s Office for Health, Equity and Inclusion. In that position, she enlisted over 5,000 voices (students, staff and faculty) to develop a DEIB strategic plan that created opportunities for individual growth and development, enhanced team culture, and strengthened networks to build internal and external community equity.
She also established a trauma-informed leadership program that taught leaders cultural humility and daring leadership, led the design of an implicit bias, anti-racism, belonging and well-being tool, and ran a weekly community engagement program reaching more than 20,000 people.
Love is a trained facilitator in unconscious bias, hiring and selection best practices and Intergroup dialogue, and practices restorative justice. Her research interests include DEI strategy, organizational engagement, anti-racism, disability and health equity.
Start Early (formerly known as the Ounce) is a champion for quality early learning and care, focused on closing the opportunity gap for the youngest learners. It delivers best-in-class doula, home visiting, Early Head Start and Head Start programs, supports and trains the early childhood workforce, and partners at the local, state and federal levels to ensure policies put families first.
