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Dr. Janice Underwood, Ph.D.
Executive Director of the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility
U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
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Janice Underwood, Ph.D. joins the Biden-Harris administration having most recently served as the inaugural Virginia Chief Diversity Officer in Governor Ralph Northam’s cabinet, leading the DEI agenda and the COVID-19 equity leadership task force. As a national expert in diversity leadership across multiple sectors, Dr. Underwood has worked for 20+ years to make structural inequity visible in government and education as a state official, teacher educator, a nationally certified special education teacher, academic researcher, higher education administrator, and diversity trainer. Most notably, she has been nationally recognized for her contribution to advancing equity initiatives at the intersection of government and politics, including launching the first statewide DEI strategy across 100+ state agencies in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Dr. Underwood has been appointed to the role of Executive Director of the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility at OPM, where her primary responsibility will be to lead the government-wide White House initiative on DEIA.
Janice is a graduate of Hampton University and Old Dominion University.
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Sesha Joi Moon, Ph.D.
Director, Office of Diversity and Inclusion
U.S. House of Representatives
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Dr. Sesha Joi Moon [she/her/hers] is the Director of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion where she serves as the Chief Diversity Officer with the U.S. House of Representatives at the United States Congress. Prior to her appointment by Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, she served in positions at the U.S. Department of Commerce within the Office of the Secretary and U.S. Patent and Trademark Office – concluding her tenure as the inaugural Chief Diversity Officer at the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
In addition to completing executive education programs at Harvard University, Dr. Moon holds a Ph.D. in Public Administration and Policy from Old Dominion University, as well as a M.S. from the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs and B.A. in African American Studies from Virginia Commonwealth University [VCU]. She is also a Senior Research Fellow with The Conference Board’s Engagement Institute and a Senior Fellow of the Excellence in Government Fellowship Program with the Partnership for Public Service.
Dr. Moon, who has appeared in Essence, Politico, The Hill, Roll Call, and Punchbowl News and on C-SPAN, has been recognized by Blacks in Government at the 2023 Annual National Training Institute and CNN at the United Nations as one of "100 Most Influential People of African Descent", is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and has held board positions with the African American Federal Executive Association, Commonwealth of Virginia's Criminal Justice Services Board and VCU President's Campaign Cabinet. She is also Executive Director of The JXN Project, which is a grantee of the Mellon Foundation's "Monuments Project" and has been highlighted by PBS NewsHour, TIME, The Boston Globe, and 2021 Pulitzer Prize Winner Richmond Times-Dispatch. Axios named her and her sister, Enjoli Moon, as the second "Most Powerful Richmonders of 2022" and she was named "Top 40 Under 40" by Style Weekly in 2023.
Dr. Moon, who hails from Richmond, Virginia, is the proud daughter of the late Mr. August Moon and Dr. Michon Moon and resides in Northern Virginia with her wife and cockapoo.
