Bio
Desiré Bennett joined the ACLU of Ohio as Senior Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Strategist, bringing more than 15 years of experience building cross-movement coalitions and advancing gender, reproductive, and racial equity through advocacy, grantmaking, and movement building. Before joining the ACLU, she served as Director of Participatory Design, Connection + Culture Building at Design Impact, a social innovation firm, where she designed equity-centered programs using participatory methods that center community voice and redistribute power to those most affected. Prior to that, she built YWCA Greater Cincinnati's first advocacy and movement-building function from the ground up, and co-founded the Cincinnati Regional Coalition Against Hate, uniting 25+ organizations across faith, LGBTQ+, immigrant rights, and racial justice movements.
Her civic and board service runs deep: she has served as a Commissioner on the Hamilton County Commission on Women & Girls, a national Ambassador for the United State of Women, a member of the City of Cincinnati Gender Equity Task Force, and a board member of the Citizen Complaint Authority. She is a published thought leader whose work appears in Forbes, Early Childhood Research Quarterly, and the University of Cincinnati Press, and holds an MA in Communication and Media Studies, a BA in Journalism (High Honors), and a Certificate in Women's, Gender & Sexuality Studies from the University of Cincinnati.
Desiré is passionate about building coalitions across difference, centering people with lived-expertise, and turning belonging from an aspiration into durable, structural change.
Desiré can provide expertise in:
• Equity-centered facilitation and participatory design
• Coalition-building and cross-movement strategy
• Gender, reproductive, and racial equity advocacy
• Strategic and narrative communications
• Building advocacy and EDIB infrastructure
Fun Facts About Desiré:
- She's never met a stranger, but she HAS met Oprah, the Dalai Lama, and she once helped Coretta Scott King sort out an issue with her Burdines account!
- She loves post-apocalyptic stories, including the Parable of the Sower series, and her latest obsession is the television series "Paradise."
- Her grandfather's handwriting lives on her forearm — the words "It's always better to smile." He was Jamaican, joyful, and unforgettable, and carrying his words (and his accent, in spirit) keeps her grounded in what matters.