Dr. Derrick Gay

Keynote Title: Reframing Diversity to Drive Belonging in International Schools

Biography:

Dr. Derrick Gay is an internationally recognized Diversity and Inclusion expert and Intercultural Strategist who has worked with more than 800 businesses, non-profits, schools, and arts organizations around the world. Recent business clients include Phantom of the Opera, Tom Ford, Columbia Business School, Grosvenor GCM, Barilla, and Business of Fashion. Recent education clients include Sesame Street, Seoul International School, Canadian International School of Hong Kong, EARCOS, NESA, American International School of Chennai, Enrollment Management Association, and AMISA. Dr. Gay lectures MBA students at Columbia Business School and the International Fashion Academy in Paris.

Dr. Gay has been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, Business of Fashion, The Huffington Post, El Tiempo Latino and on NPR, The Brian Lehrer Show, and 60 Minutes.  He is also a Forbes contributor.

Dr. Gay has also produced two TEDx Talks: "The Double-Edged Sword," which explores the irony that the word diversity often undermines diversity goals ; and "Why Elephants Hold the Key to Success in the 21st Century," which explores the nature of racial discourse in the United States.  

Dr. Gay is a proud graduate of Whitney Young Magnet High School; Merit School of Music; Oberlin College, Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Columbia University, and The University of Pennsylvania.

With businesses, Dr. Gay supports companies to cultivate organization-specific business rationales for engaging in Diversity and Inclusion work in ways that align D&I Strategy with the overall Business Strategy and Value Proposition. Recent clients include GCM Grosvenor, Barilla, Tom Ford, and Business of Fashion. Dr. Gay’s services include Inclusive Leadership trainings and Executive Coachings with C-Suite and Directors; designing and supporting Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, including Communication Strategy; delivering Town Halls and keynotes; designing and facilitating Inclusion workshop for all employees; designing and executing Climate Assessments to measure the ways in which employees perceive a sense of belonging; partnering with HR professionals to ensure that practices and policies are inclusive; and evaluating recruiting, interviewing and onboard processes. Dr. Gay’s work in 23 years of experience and is grounded in scholarship, research, and data. Dr. Gay is an experienced researcher and an Intercultural Developmental Inventory (IDI) Certified Administrator.

Fluent in English, French, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese, Dr. Gay works around the world in these languages, primarily in the United States, France, Colombia, and Brazil. His approach with global organizations is informed by having traveled and lived around the world,  which informs the design of a meaningful global strategy that resonates with audiences beyond the United States.

Dr. Gay has lived and worked in Argentina, Belgium, Spain, France, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Turkey, Australia, Brazil, Venezuela, Mexico, Canada, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Ecuador, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Jamaica, Guadalupe, Lebanon, Uganda, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Indonesia.

Music has always been a vital part of Dr. Gay's life since the age of 7. He trained as a violinist, violist, vocalist as well as an orchestral and choral conductor at the MERIT School of Music, a conservatory in Chicago, IL that leverages music to promote peace and inclusion. His later studies at Oberlin College and Conservatory, an institution renowned for its long-standing commitment to inclusion, followed in this vein. Dr. Gay regards his current work as a continuation of the values instilled in him throughout his education and often incorporates music into student programs in addition to moderating discussions between young international musicians on the intersection of music and peace. As a vocalist, Dr. Gay also maintains an active operatic and oratorio career.