Ella F. Washington

Ella F. Washington is Professor in the Practice of Organization & Management at Emory University's Goizueta Business School. She received her BA in Psychology from Spelman College and her MS and PhD in Management and Organizations from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. She previously served on the faculty at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business, where she was also an inclusive student experience advisor to the Dean's Office. Washington was recognized as one of Poets & Quants' "Top 40 Under 40 MBA Professors" and has been featured on NPR's Fresh Air, CNN, Forbes, and Bloomberg.

Before entering academia, Washington spent more than a decade as an organizational psychologist and consultant. She served as practice leader for diversity and inclusion consulting and executive strengths coach at Gallup, advising Fortune 500 companies on culture, engagement, and leadership strategy. Earlier, she was a talent management and strategy consultant at EY and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Her academic training and industry experience enable her to translate research into practical strategies for leaders and organizations.

Washington is a two-time published author of Unspoken: A Guide to Cracking the Hidden Corporate Code (Forbes Books, 2024), an Amazon bestseller that draws on nearly 20 years of experience to help professionals navigate power, politics, and belonging at work, and The Necessary Journey: Making Real Progress on Equity and Inclusion (Harvard Business Review Press, 2022). Her work has appeared in Harvard Business Review, while her academic research has been published in Psychological Science and the Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior.

A sought-after global keynote speaker, Washington has delivered main stage addresses for organizations including Apple, McDonald's, PepsiCo, Moët Hennessy, and the Gallup at Work Summit, as well as international events including the World Happiness Summit in Lake Como, Italy, and executive leadership programs for the Saudi Central Bank. Through her consulting firm, she has worked with more than 300 organizations, from Fortune 500 companies to government agencies. She is also the founder of the Ellavate Charity Foundation, which funds scholarships for first-generation college students and students with demonstrated financial need.