Elisa van Dam

Vice President, Allyship & Inclusion
Simmons University Institute of Inclusive Leadership

https://www.linkedin.com/in/elisavandam/

Elisa van Dam brings a wealth of experience in gender equity and inclusion to her role with the Simmons University Institute for Inclusive Leadership. As the leader of the Allyship and Inclusion practice area, Elisa works with organizations and individual leaders to increase their understanding and practice of inclusive leadership behaviors. In collaboration with Institute Fellows, she creates and delivers research-based content and programming, including a new framework that demystifies the Work of the Inclusive Leader™.

Elisa is a co-author on several publications, including Professional Women and Confidence: A New Understanding of the “Gap” (October 2017) and Women’s Experiences with “Male Allies” (November 2018).

Outside of Simmons, Elisa maintains a private coaching practice, working with women on successfully navigating maternity leave.

Prior to joining Simmons, Elisa was the Director of the Information Technology Programs at the Boston University Corporate Education Center. In this role, she oversaw design, marketing, sales, and operations for their IT training business, featuring open enrollment and custom education programs, as well as certificate programs. She also has extensive experience in the corporate conference arena. Most recently, she was the Vice President, Content and Learning for a global corporate event management company.

Elisa is a member of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Women’s Network Advisory Board, and the Boston Women’s Workforce Council’s HR Advisory Board. She was the co-founder and chair of the Simmons Women’s Initiative Forum, a networking group for people who are responsible for women’s networks and employee resource groups. She is an IPEC Certified Professional Coach, and holds an ICF (International Coach Federation), ACC certification. She is also a Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach. She earned her BA in International Relations at Brown and received her MBA with Honors from Boston University. She is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, the business honor society.

Elisa lives in the Boston area with her choreographer husband, their young adult son, and a willful rescue cat.