Dr. Esmilda Abreu (Lead Presenter)
Dr. Esmilda Abreu received her master's degree in Psychology, her doctorate in Organization and Management, and focuses her research on leadership, corporate culture, and mentoring. Dr. Abreu received the Governor Whitman’s Pride Award for working with diverse populations, developed the first hospital credentialing program for complementary medicine in the country, served as Co-Chair of the Mentoring Committee on the Presidential Commission of Affirmative Action and Diversity at Montclair State University, and established Bias Education Response Team at Pratt Institute. She teaches at Pratt Institute and at Montclair State University as core faculty in the MBA program of the School of Business. Dr. Abreu is the President of the New Jersey Coalition Against Human Trafficking, serves on the Alliance for Arts and Health New Jersey Steering Committee, and is a founding member of North Jersey GLSEN. She established the Women’s Leadership Committee for the North Jersey Regional Chamber of Commerce and served as Co-President of the New Jersey Consortium of Women and Gender Studies. Dr. Abreu has trained a wide variety of not-for-profit organizations including the Linda and Rudy Slucker Center, ACE-Network, New York Presbyterian Hospital, Athena Collaborative Group, American Conference of Diversity, and Latino Psychological Association. She is the recipient of the Made in NYC Fellowship for her program leveraging creativity in the manufacturing industry, Mindful Makers. Formerly, she served as Director of Equity and Diversity at Montclair State University and the Executive Director of Women’s Rights Information Center in Englewood, NJ. Dr. Abreu is now Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs and Title IX Coordinator, chairs Student Affairs Research and Assessment Team, serves on Professional Development Committee, and established the Center for Equity and Inclusion at Pratt Institute.

   Kirsten Richert (Co-Presenter)
Kirsten Richert is an innovation expert who works with leaders on transformational efforts. Kirsten teaches Design Thinking and Communication and Innovation at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY. Her teaching draws upon her experience in three core disciplines—business management, ideation methodology, and facilitation. She received her undergraduate degree in Social Science from Hampshire College, her master’s degree in Social Studies Education from Teacher’s College at Columbia University, and her training in innovation and facilitation methods from SIT (Systematic Inventive Thinking) and ToP (Technology of Participation). Formerly Vice President of Product Management and Marketing at Pearson, the world’s leading educational textbook publisher, Kirsten oversaw the creation of breakthrough “digital-first” K-12 curriculum. Trained as a corporate on-call innovation coach, she helped teams plan new efforts, generate ideas, and execute on strategies. Now an innovation catalyst, Kirsten guides change efforts for organizations, especially in the areas of education and human development.