Dr. Janice Underwood's Biography

As the government-wide Chief Diversity Officer for the Biden-Harris administration, Dr. Janice Bell Underwood shares her expertise in diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) across multiple sectors. She has made measurable impact for the public and private sector as a federal and state official, a university administrator, faculty member, researcher, national board-certified special education science teacher, and diversity leader.

Dr. Underwood is a national expert working as the Director of the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (ODEIA) at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Dr. Underwood exemplifies the principles of servant leadership. She guides both her team and other federal agencies in the implementation of White House DEIA Executive Order 14035. This includes convening the U.S. Chief Diversity Officer Executive Council, providing technical assistance to all federal agencies, and supervising an online Learning Community for more than 2,300 practitioners. She also publishes government-wide reports and policy documents, leads an interagency team for oversight of agency DEIA strategic plans, and provides strategic vision for the national DEIA mission, which touches more than 2.3 million in the federal workforce, the largest employer in the nation.

Dr. Underwood earned her Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Hampton University in Psychology and Behavior/Learning Disorders. In 2015, she earned her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from Old Dominion University, where her research focused on ways to use the culturally relevant pedagogy framework to reform the public and private sectors. Dr. Underwood is a beloved national thought leader in DEIA, belonging, and organizational health. Given her national profile, she is a highly sought after problem-solver and steadfast #DEIAvenger.