Ombudsman of Neighborhoods, City of Atlanta; CEO, Diplomacy Inc.
Dr. Jodi Merriday is the Ombudsman of Neighborhoods for the City of Atlanta and the Chief Executive Officer of Diplomacy, Inc. She is a civility, fairness, alternative dispute resolution, and equity subject matter expert, curriculum developer, trainer, speaker, and curator. Over 100 Universities, Corporations and School Districts have utilized her curated content for Trainings, Leadership and Professional Development Programming. Notable clients have included the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, The NFL, Beam Suntory, Atlanta Board of Education, City of Atlanta, Penn State University, Indiana University, and University of Tampa. Dr. Merriday has over 30 years of experience working in higher education, public education, and government. Her past decade of service as an Ombudsman commenced with her Appointment in 2014 following the largest public education cheating scandal in US history. She is often called upon to moderate crucial conversations and create safe spaces for unpacking bias, prejudice, microaggression, and incidents of organizational or community fracture. She earned her M.A. from Temple University in Sociology, M.Sc. from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and Ph.D. from Temple University in African American Studies.