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Brittany Janay
(she/her)
Director of People, Culture & Accountability
Black woman, wife, mother, creator and holder of space and community
When asked, “what is your why?” for engaging in justice, equity, diversity, inclusion (JEDI) work, Brittany’s answer (in the tune of Tank & The Bangas) is, “I love Black folk.” For more than a decade, Brittany has served in the capacity of strategist, consultant, learning experience designer, advocate and community builder. She experiences the question “why?” as a love language and strives to embody leadership as a love practice. In her role as Director of People, Culture, and Accountability, Brittany is responsible for stewarding a culture where BE is not only “doing the work,” but most importantly “BEing” the work in its institutional systems, policies, practices, and behaviors. Brittany’s experience consulting predominantly white institutions, coupled with her unique experiences leading within Black-led and owned institutions ignites her mission to support Black-led, equity focused organizations with co-creating strategies, systems, and cultures that align their good intentions with the impact they strive to have on the world… all in the spirit of loving accountability. Brittany is from Baltimore, land stolen from the Susquehannock and Piscataway tribes, where she currently lives and loves up on her husband, Randy and their blended family.
What belief took you the longest to unlearn?
“I am not my work” is a liberated love note to self that I am constantly affirming, specifically as someone who has largely defined their identity through the lens of work, career, and accomplishments. I am unlearning this! Even as someone whose work is deeply personal and connected to my lived experiences and identities, I am remembering the beautiful, loving nature of boundaries, stillness, and rest.
Who is part of your ancestral board of directors?
- My grandfather, Elmer Coppage, Sr., a man of BIG Faith.
- Ella Baker, her collective approach to leadership is admirable and…goals. When she says “a strong people don’t need a strong leader,” I feel that and I strive!
- Toni Morrison, who boldly and beautifully serves as possibility for what it means to create beyond the limitations of the white gaze.
- Audre Lorde, my constant reminder that “the master’s tools can never dismantle the master’s house.”
- bell hooks, who gifts us with a beautiful framework for love, not as a mere feeling, but ethic that reveres humanity and uproots harmful systems….at the same dang time.
