UW-Madison Alum Launches Consulting Firm, Focuses on Inclusion

Jasmia Hamilton, a Posse alumna of the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison), is the founder of Innovative DEI, a boutique consulting firm that offers diversity, equity, and inclusion training and organization development.

When Jasmia transitioned from high school to college, her responsibilities were already different than those of her peers. In addition to her Posse family, first-year Jasmia was joined on campus by her two children and partner. A constant source of inspiration and joy, her sons also gave her a unique perspective.

“For me, DEI isn’t the target—it’s the pathway to justice.”

“In my orientation to college, I was thinking about two generations,” Jasmia says. “For me, college was an opportunity to cultivate my own knowledge, skills, and interests, but also, to ensure that my own children would have opportunities to thrive academically.”

While at UW-Madison, Jasmia studied ways communities can establish strength at a systematic level, through policy and institutional changes.

“Being able to understand how race and economic policy shapes individual experiences allowed me to recognize that I have power,” Jasmia recalls. “Innovative DEI is an opportunity for me to put energy into designing a more contemporary, intersectional, Black feminist orientation towards organizational change,” she says.

In addition to her work with Innovative DEI, Jasmia is a program manager at the Wisconsin-based Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness. She looks forward to continuing to build a career focused on creating sustainable, long-term change.

“For me, DEI isn’t the target; it’s the pathway to justice,” Jasmia says. “I’m optimistic that we can create the society we want—one that is welcoming and inclusive for everyone. We just have to put the right resources, mental modes, and frameworks to it.”