Our Team
Serwah
she/her
Areas of expertise: Anti-racism, decolonial engagement, international organizational change management, centering love, care, and fear-free truth-telling as a praxis for engagement with people and planet.
Serwah Asante is a human soul trying to navigate this existence with as much grace, love, alignment, and healing as possible.
After 20 years of working on international development, civil rights advocacy, decolonial practice, and diversity, equity, & inclusion initiatives with organizations such as the United Nations, the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, & the International Rescue Committee. In 2023, Serwah co-conceptualized Beyond DEI to help people in a cross-section of organizations deepen their understanding of and develop a praxis of decolonial liberation that is layered, responsive, engaged, and prepared.
Central to Serwah’s approach to DEI engagement is the understanding that an environment of care and honesty must serve as an undergirding pillar to effectively create DEI initiatives that are impactful. Additionally, decoloniality provides an important framework for effective, robust, and future-oriented change. Many modern-day DEI initiatives center around efforts to create images of multicultural communities with minimal assessment of the historic and present-day power dynamics that create and perpetuate inequities in the first place. As such, successful diversity programs must be tied to rigorous assessments of power, access, and privilege to address deep societal wounds that require extensive excavation of and reconfiguration of our spiritual, personal, interpersonal, institutional, interstate, regional, and systemic belief systems and structures.
Serwah serves as a lead consultant at Beyond DEI and works to center decoloniality, DEI, healing, and anti-racism in the programming, operations, and culture of organizations across a wide sector of fields. To connect further, please feel free to reach out at [email protected] or at www.linkedin.com/in/serwah-asante/
All About Love by bell hooks, Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi, The 1619 Project by Nikole Hannah-Jones, Get a Life Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert, Black Skin White Masks by Frantz Fanon
Give Thanks by FACESOUL, Closer by Goapele, Angel by Anita Baker, Never Too Much by Luther Vandross, The Seeker & The Sage by Londrelle, Good Day by Nappy Roots
Staying open & learning, resting, seeking balance, exploring different cultures, and questioning deeply ingrained patterns, behaviors, and beliefs
Related Work
- Organising towards a practice of decoloniality, refugee/IDP leadership, and power redistribution in humanitarian aid: experiences from inside the international humanitarian aid sector
- Analyzing the Extent to which Self-Articulated Cultural and Creative Arts Expressions Create Spaces of Decoloniality: A Case Study of Ghana
Stanikos
they/them
Areas of expertise: Anthropocentrism, more-than-human centralization, Indigenisation, decoloniality, and gender and sexuality beyond the binary
Stanikos Jordan is a person continually attempting to build a truthful life in relation to and beyond the structures that surround and inform us. Their academic background has been marked by a passion for the intersections between the more-than-human, gender, and Indigenous ways of being and thinking. Drawing from these studies and personal experiences has enabled them to bring alternative and disruptive perspectives to the forefront in their professional work, effecting change in the sphere of international consulting within such organizations as the United Nations Development Programme. A gifted writer and orator in addition to sustainability strategist that champions truly transformative development beyond current restrictive systems, Nikos is determined to build a life transcendent of colonial, binary limitations to center marginalized voices and knowledges that are essential to the development of a world that enables the thriving of all.
Nikos serves as a lead consultant at Beyond DEI and works with other marginalized voices to center those whose lives have been relegated to the subterranean. By fostering our own decolonial self-determination, we can build a reality grounded in love and progress outside of predominant systems. To connect further, please feel free to reach out at [email protected].
The Tree of Life, My Own Private Idaho
Billie Holiday, John Coltrane, Mary Lou Williams, James Baldwin, Sylvia Plath, Lucille Clifton, Anne Carson, Mary Oliver
Barbara
she/her
Areas of expertise: Development communications, research and evaluation, stakeholder engagement
Barbara Asunka is all about making a real difference in the world by focusing on development, diversity, equity, and community empowerment with a fresh and inclusive approach. Her journey, shaped by her personal experiences and academic studies zeroes in on deep engagement with social justice and effective communication strategies aimed at fostering meaningful change and enhancing community development.
Barbara’s career has been marked by her impactful work with organizations such as Plan International Ghana, WaterAid, and Days for Girls International. In these roles, she has successfully developed and implemented frameworks that prioritize local perspectives and address community-specific needs. Her expertise in development communication strategies and stakeholder engagement has been instrumental in bridging traditional structures with innovative, equitable solutions.
With a focus on leveraging communication to drive progress, Barbara is dedicated to creating and managing programs that not only address but also anticipate the evolving needs of communities. She is dedicated to transforming how community issues are addressed, ensuring that initiatives not only make a difference but also reflect and uplift local and marginalized voices.
Count of Monte Cristo, 3 Idiots
We Dance On by N-Dubz
Connect with Beyond DE&I
Reach out to us for inquiries, collaborations, and to join our decolonial mission.