Consulting Leads

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Strategist │ Leadership Consultant

Anees (She/They) is a DEI Leader at I Follow the Leader, a leadership consulting firm specializing in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). I Follow the Leader was launched in 2016 to heighten awareness and readiness of DEI initiatives within companies. Anees and the team partner with organizations to move them along the diversity continuum, improve their overall culture, and increase profitability, creativity, and innovation.  

Anees’s childhood existed at the intersection of Eid and Christmas, biryani and beef stew - her racial/ethnic, queer, disabled, and spiritual identities being both visible and invisible. As an ongoing learner of restorative and transformative justice, her steadfast hope that liberation is possible is rooted in rage, radical love, and expansive imagination. She is driven by an understanding that her very existence is the result of the joy, resistance, and right relationships of elders before her.  
 

Anees holds a Master of Arts in Education, with a focus on Organizational Leadership and Learning; and a B.A. in Sociology, with minors in Education, LGBT Studies, and Political Science. Her knowledge of social systems, structures, and how groups of people can more healthily collaborate with and learn alongside each other inform her approach to collaborating with organizations.  
 

Otherwise, you can find her marveling at street art and soaking up nature’s rich shades of green.

 Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Strategist │ Leadership Consultant

 Kevin Lewis is a Senior Partnership Leader at I Follow the Leader, a leadership consulting firm specializing in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). I Follow the Leader was launched in 2016 to heighten awareness and readiness of DEI initiatives within companies. Kevin and the team partner with organizations to move them along the diversity continuum, improve their overall culture, and increase profitability, creativity, and innovation. 

Kevin has been passionate about racial justice and equity since his time in college as an undergraduate student activist on campus. Through his deep investment in helping foster a more equitable and inclusive campus for students of color, he found the spark that would light the personal and professional journey he is currently on. He credits the many mentors, peers, and community organizers that have inspired him to continue carrying out DEI work today.

 Kevin holds a Master of Science in Education in Higher Education and Student Affairs from Indiana University-Bloomington in Bloomington, IN. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Family Studies from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, OH. Kevin has professional experiences in higher education, global k-12/education non-profit DEI curriculum and facilitation work, and currently serves as a full-time DEI consultant and facilitator at a racial and economic equity firm. 

Kevin is based on Indigenous land named Bulbancha (in the Choctaw language), also known as New Orleans, LA. You can typically catch Kevin running in parks, listening to music or a podcast, or spending time with friends in New Orleans. One of his future dreams is to start a podcast highlighting stories of how parents of queer children of color have navigated their parenting and support of their children.