Dekonti Mends-Cole is the inaugural head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives for Corporate Responsibility. She previously served as the Vice President for the Mid-Atlantic overseeing strategic grant making in the Greater Washington region, Carolinas, and Georgia.

Dekonti developed a comprehensive philanthropic strategy for the deployment of a $125M commitment in the Greater Washington region (MD, DC, VA) that positions the firm as a racial equity thought leader in the region. Previously, Dekonti served as a fellow with the White House Strong Cities, Strong Communities initiative in Detroit where she supported the city during municipal bankruptcy advising on improving operational efficiencies in the law department and streamlining code enforcement and blight elimination strategies.

She brings international experience and best practice to her role having previously worked on local economic development projects in UK, the Middle East, and Africa including infrastructure investment strategies in Iraq and Zambia for United Nations agencies and community development projects in historically underserved east London boroughs tied to the 2012 London Olympics.