Patricia J. Louison, Ed.D. Education Lead   Consult Dr. Louison:

Dr. Patricia Louison, Principal and Lead Education Consultant, is a founding partner of The Beanstalk Consulting Group.  The combination of her academic and professional experiences has enabled her to develop proven approaches that assist Black and Latino students in achieving at the highest level.   All of her efforts, focused on minority development, serve as a conduit for minorities to benefit personally and mentor future generations.   Dr. Louison is an accomplished educator with over 10 years of experience in college enrollment management, organizational development and strategic planning in higher education.  Dr. Louison has chaired the Binghamton University Equity Committee.  She has also served on the boards of the Broome County Urban League, Penn GSE Education Alumni Association, and Building an Inclusive University Community.  Dr. Louison's other organizational affiliations include the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, Association for the Study of Higher Education, Cornell Club of Greater Philadelphia, Cornell Black Alumni Association, Penn Black Alumni Society, and Pennsylvania Alumni Network.  She is also an active member of Christian Stronghold Baptist Church where she directs a four month SAT Academy for middle and high school students.     Dr. Louison received her undergraduate training at Cornell University and master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Pennsylvania.  She has served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Pennsylvania and The College of New Jersey.  She has committed her life to working on issues of equity and diversity in the pipeline from Kindergarten through graduate study, postsecondary training to work.

Ms. B. Bashir, MA, SPHR Human Resources Lead   Consult Ms. Bashir, SPHR:

Ms. Bashir, Lead HR Consultant, is a senior Human Resources Generalist with expertise in an array of HR functions including Training & Development, Performance Management, Employee Relations, Strategic Staffing and Retention. Throughout her HR career, she has worked closely with managers to drive diversity initiatives and participated in local diversity networks, developing leadership and awareness training, and building and maintaining strategic relationships with diverse recruiting sources. Ms. Bashir has at her fingertips the pulse of current market trends in diversity and its effects in the corporate environment. She has worked for such notable organizations as PricewaterhouseCoopers,  Liberty Mutual Insurance, Blockbuster Video, INROADS, Amerada Hess Corporation, Bloomberg, Washington Group International, MetLife and Johnson and Johnson.    Ms. Bashir is a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a Professional in Human Resources (PHR), both professional certifications granted by the Human Resources Certification Institute, which is associated with the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). As a SHRM member, she has participated in the NYS SHRM HR Manager Forum and continues to identify and utilize opportunities to discuss general HR management and diversity issues with colleagues. In previous roles, she has held titles ranging from HR Generalist to Corporate HR Manager and National Recruiter within the insurance/financial services, consulting, retail/entertainment, and non-profit industries. In these roles, she has built relationships with Deans and Career Services Directors for up to 43 universities and a myriad of profit and nonprofit organizations.    Ms. Bashir has served as the Chair of the Alumni Board of the New York City chapter of INROADS. She was responsible for creating and fostering avenues for mentoring of alumni to grow and develop professionally, build networks, and participate in corporate and community service projects. Most recently she served as the Volunteers Chair for the SHRM Northeast HR Games and Student Conference as well as an esteemed Volunteer Facilitator for the Garden State SHRM Conference. Her other affiliations include the American Anthropological Association, Prospect Park Volunteers, New York City Girl Scouts (NYC Delegate and Group Leader), Junior Achievement, Monster.com's Diversity Leadership Program, Camp Start-Up: An Entrepreneurial Program for Tween and Teen girls, the Golden Key National Honor Society, and McNair Graduate Scholars Program.    Ms. Bashir received a B.A. degree, cum laude, in social anthropology from Binghamton University and an M.A. degree in cultural theory anthropology from the New School for Social Research. As part of her thesis, she completed anthropological fieldwork in Ghana and Senegal, West Africa. Her work is published and housed in the Glenn L. Bartle Library at Binghamton University. Ms. Bashir recently taught an undergraduate Diversity Management course, as an Adjunct Professor, in the School of Business at the College of St. Rose in Albany, NY. She is a member of the Speaker's Bureau for Voices of Diversity and has served as a member of Howard University's Career Services Advisory Council in Washington, DC.