I work with purpose-driven companies and organizations to create and implement inclusive and mission-led employee engagement strategies —
everything from candidate experience to thoughtful onboarding processes, internal communications to external messaging, and extensive talent development offerings to high-impact DEI strategy.
I'm passionate about helping my clients find concrete ways to weave equitable and inclusive practices into everyday life at work.
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Our company worked with Viva to do an equity audit of our internal systems. She made every step of the process focused, joyful, and insightful. She provided an amazing balance of curiosity and questions, with sharing her deep expertise and recommendations. I left every interaction with a new idea and insight. I highly recommend working with Viva (and honestly wish she could be a part of our team forever!).
Keara Mascareñaz | Management Consultant, August Public
It's more than siloed DEI.
It's holistic employee well-being.
Something incoming talent is rightfully expecting from their workplaces. It cultivates emotional intelligence, promotes true innovation, and leads to collective—and measurable—success for all.
Are you ready to shift the vision and approach for your entire employee life cycle, and develop a sustainable culture where everyone has a voice?
It's more than siloed DEI.
It's holistic employee well-being.
Something incoming talent is rightfully expecting from their workplaces. It cultivates emotional intelligence, promotes true innovation, and leads to collective—and measurable—success for all.
Are you ready to shift the vision and approach for your entire employee life cycle, and develop a sustainable culture where everyone has a voice?
Candidate Experience & Onboarding Processes
I specialize in helping clients conduct thorough audits and redesign their candidate journeys and new hire onboarding processes. These initial interactions serve as powerful statements about your culture. Let's make sure every touchpoint is crafted to engage newcomers in a meaningful way.
Talent Development & Employee Education
I facilitate the growth and empowerment of diverse leadership styles through strategic educational initiatives and engaging experiences. Topics include developing cultural competence and personal adaptability, fostering psychological safety, creating inclusive meeting culture, DEI education, and more.
Interested in having a multi-racial, multi-identity facilitation team for your workforce?
Consider collaborating with my partner, Michael Gregor, and me to integrate equitable and inclusive principles at the start of internal training and development efforts!
Check out our work at Liberation Labs and see why leaders are choosing us to catalyze strategic transformation in their teams.
Meet Your Employee Experience & DEI Consultant
Viva Asmelash
I’m a passionate workplace consultant and certified inclusion strategist specializing in forward-thinking employee engagement, equity-centered strategic planning, values-driven branding, and critical team conversations.
My professional purpose is to create environments where people feel truly seen and are inspired to be their best and most authentic selves. I often facilitate inclusive executive group coaching, deliver engaging keynotes and panel discussions, and craft org-wide education experiences for clients like IDEO U, MiQ, and Reading Partners.
As the co-founder of Liberation Labs, I proudly co-designed the first-of-its-kind Culturally-Aware Feedback Training™.
I also co-authored the viral 2023 Harvard Business Review article, Creating Psychological Safety for Black Women at Your Company.
Meet Your Employee Experience & DEI Consultant
Viva Asmelash
I’m a passionate workplace consultant and certified inclusion strategist specializing in forward-thinking employee engagement, equity-centered strategic planning, values-driven branding, and critical team conversations.
My professional purpose is to create environments where people feel truly seen and are inspired to be their best and most authentic selves. I often facilitate inclusive executive group coaching, deliver engaging keynotes and panel discussions, and craft org-wide education experiences for clients like IDEO U, MiQ, and Reading Partners.
As the co-founder of Liberation Labs, I proudly co-designed the first-of-its-kind Culturally-Aware Feedback Training™.
I also co-authored the viral 2023 Harvard Business Review article, Creating Psychological Safety for Black Women at Your Company.
"
Working with Viva is a privilege and a joy. She is an active listener who attunes herself to an organization's needs and then identifies where she can plug to provide maximum support and impact. She provides thoughtful, clear, and actionable, expert feedback in a collaborative and engaging manner. Her work cannot be understated; she is a change agent and her work fosters individual and organizational reflection.
Alexis Acciani | Sr. Manager of National Community Engagement, Reading Partners
Where I’ve Been Featured
Read My Co-Authored Article at Harvard Business Review
Feelings of inclusion, connection, and trust with colleagues and managers are harder to come by for Black women due to the historical and sociocultural context of the U.S. workplace, and more broadly, our country. My co-author, Agatha Agbanobi, and I show that Black women require differentiated solutions to feel psychologically safe at work and offer strategies for how to do it.
Checklist for Inclusive Employee Engagement
Every single employee brings a unique set of identities, traits, and preferences to every interaction. Use this checklist to round out your approach in creating more inclusive spaces, either in-person or virtually!
Something better exists.
Are you ready to operate from a place where everyone can thrive?
Let’s craft an empowering experience for your people.
"
Stacey Lewis | CHRO/Director of HR, Port of Long Beach
Working with Viva has been nothing short of amazing! She deftly led our leadership team in a foundational education series; she’s skilled at both acknowledging the spectrum of perspectives AND never minimizing the experiences of the most marginalized. Viva is a kind, tenacious teacher whose unapologetic delivery makes everyone around her want to know and DO better.