Tayo Clyburn :  Chief Strategy Officer and Senior Advisor to the President

As chief strategy officer and senior advisor to the president, Tayo Clyburn will serve as a guide and resource to staff in carrying out the foundation’s new strategic plan. He will work across the senior team and program leadership to identify strategic opportunities to innovate and create change through the foundation’s programs. Acting as a trusted advisor to the president, this role will provide guidance on internal priorities, challenges, culture, and decisions.

Clyburn has held leadership roles at Colby College as the dean of diversity, equity, and inclusion and St. Mary’s College of Maryland as the vice president for inclusive diversity and equity. Prior to these positions, he served as the executive director for mission and strategic partnerships in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) at The Ohio State University. Throughout Clyburn’s career, his work has been cross-functional, interfacing with senior leaders, staff, and local community members to strategically integrate inclusive and equitable practices.

Clyburn earned his MA and PhD from Ohio State’s Department of English, where his work focused on critical race theory, post racialism, and post-civil rights African American literature.