LISA COLEMAN, PH.D.

• President Coleman began her tenure at Adler University on Sept. 1, 2024, becoming the institution’s first female and first Black president.
• She previously served as New York University’s inaugural senior vice president for global inclusion and strategic innovation and Harvard University’s first chief diversity officer.
• Her career spans higher education, health care, finance, and consulting, with leadership roles in innovation, organizational culture change, and global partnerships.

President Coleman’s career reflects a legacy of innovation at the intersection of inclusion, technology, and community engagement. At New York University (NYU), she served as the inaugural senior vice president for Global Inclusion and Strategic Innovation. She led initiatives across a worldwide network, emphasizing research-driven collaboration, leadership development, and alum engagement. At Harvard University, she served as the institution’s first chief diversity officer and special assistant to the president, pioneering programs at the forefront of technology, accessibility, and institutional culture change. Earlier, she directed the Africana program at Tufts University and served as the University’s first senior diversity officer.

Beyond academia, President Coleman has expanded alum, donor, corporate, and foundation partnerships, driving major fundraising and research campaigns. Her leadership builds bridges across sectors to foster innovation, global citizenship, and systemic change.

Throughout her career, President Coleman has collaborated with governmental systems, nonprofits, and global partners, earning national and international recognition. Her work spans initiatives in artificial intelligence, biomedicine, arts and technology, and health innovation.

Early professional experiences with the Association of American Medical Colleges and Merrill Lynch, as well as consultancy roles in data analytics and organizational strategy, sharpened her interdisciplinary expertise. Across every role, she has cultivated cultures of innovation, inclusion, and sustained impact, always centering communities, students, and faculty in the work of transformation.

President Coleman holds a doctorate from the Department of Social and Cultural Analysis (American Studies) from NYU and three master’s degrees from the Ohio State University in African and African American studies; women’s, gender, and sexuality studies; and communication. She earned her undergraduate degree in sociology and anthropology with a focus on women’s studies and computer science from Denison University.

This interdisciplinary background informs her leadership, which combines rigorous scholarship, systemic analysis, and a commitment to diversity across every sector she engages with.

President Coleman is deeply passionate about the arts, travel, music, and community. She enjoys photography, gardening, and cooking, and is currently pursuing flying lessons.

Through every endeavor, she models a life of curiosity, creativity, and continual growth – qualities that mirror Adler University’s mission to nurture breakaway thinkers who lead with courage, creativity, and heart.