Our Founder

Leah Dozier Walker (She|Her)

Leader, strategist, speaker, and DEI practitioner, Leah Dozier Walker possesses a relentless drive to deliver organizational advancement and operational excellence. With a personal and professional dedication to impactful and inclusive results, Leah possesses more than twenty years of leadership experience across the human services portfolio.

A Record of Exceptional Public Service

A strategic change management leader, Leah served as Executive Vice President at Waterford.org, a national early education nonprofit reaching over 300,000 children across 43 states each year. There, she spearheaded the organization’s Strategy & Inclusion efforts, driving impactful initiatives to expand access and equity in early learning.

Leah previously served as the inaugural Director of Equity and Community Engagement at the Virginia Department of Education where she led education policy development and professional learning initiatives to advance culturally responsive educator practices.

Professional Expertise

As a sought after thought partner and public speaker, Leah is recognized for her communication savvy, impact driven leadership, community relations expertise and steadfast commitment to excellence. A transformational leader, she has successfully led strategic planning, managed cross functional teams, pioneered responsive engagement strategies, and amplified discourse on signature initiatives and programs across the non-profit, human services and education ecosystems.

Professional Bio

Leah Dozier Walker, Founder & Principal Consultant

Leah is the founder and serves as principal consultant at Modern Impact Solutions, an innovative professional services practice providing an array of strategy, management, communications, research, organizational development, and DEI advising services to corporate, non-profit, and public sector organizations and executives.

Prior to launching her consultancy practice, Leah served as the inaugural Director of Equity and Community Engagement at the Virginia Department of Education. In this role, she led education policy development and professional learning initiatives to promote culturally responsive teaching practices. A strategic change management leader, Leah also served as an Executive Vice President at Waterford.org, a national early education nonprofit reaching over 300,000 children across 43 states each year. There, she spearheaded the organization’s Strategy & Inclusion efforts, driving impactful initiatives to expand access and equity in early learning.

With a personal and professional dedication to equitable and inclusive impact, Leah possesses more than twenty years of leadership experience across the human services portfolio. Leah has worked as a program administrator and policy advisor in the administrations of Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine, Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones, and Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott, Ranking Member of the Education and Workforce Committee. She is an appointed Trustee and Vice Chair for the Virginia Commonwealth University Foundation and serves on a variety of education and human services advisory committees.

In 2018, Style Weekly named Leah to its annual "Power List" as one of the most influential people in education in the Richmond region followed by Virginia Commonwealth University naming her to its annual "Alumni Power List" in 2019.

A proud HBCU graduate, Leah is a Certified Diversity Executive (CDE) and earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Hampton University, and a Master of Public Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University. She resides in central Virginia with her two daughters and one feisty chihuahua.

Professional Committees

Trustee & Vice Chair: Virginia Commonwealth University Foundation
Expert Advisor: Equity in Virginia’s Public Education System: A Longitudinal Examination Spanning the Covid-19 Shutdown
National Stakeholder Committee Member: KnowledgeWorks - REMIQS (Robust & Equitable Measures to Inspire Quality Schools)
State Advisor: Intercultural Developmental Research Association's Equity Assistance Center (EAC)
Member: Strategic Engagement Advisory Council, School of Education - Virginia Commonwealth University
Member: Commonwealth Learning Partnership
Past Vice Chair: Governor’s Advisory Board for Service and Volunteerism
Past Member (ex-officio): Virginia Indian Advisory Board
Founder & Member: African American Superintendent's Advisory Council (Virginia)
Member: Virginia Culturally Relevant and Inclusive Education Practices Advisory Committee
Staff Lead & Report Co-Author: African American History Education Commission
Staff Lead & Member: Taskforce on Diversifying Virginia's Educator Pipeline.