Danaé Jones Aicher

Senior DEI Consultant | Director of History & Analysis

Danaé Jones Aicher (she/her) identifies as an African American and Black woman, a native of Florida where she is from and grew up, and is now living again, and a southerner. Raised talking about race, and with a really strong discussion of being Black in America as being excellent in America, Danae went to college to study history, with a specialty in 20th century US and European diplomacy - about the furthest you could get from an explicit discussion about race! She went on to have an almost 20 year career as a journalist covering politics, and then handling press, media and messaging for large political campaigns.

Upon becoming a mother to two children who are now 8 and 12, Danaé made the intentional decision to become a stay-at-home mom as a revolutionary act, given that Black women have specifically and historically been tasked with taking care of other people’s families and kids. In many ways, it was her role as a mother that brought her into the work of more explicitly focusing on race as a social/racial justice educator.

Danaé considers herself to be a STRATEGIST at heart, utilizing all of her experience to help teams understand how racist systems and policies replicate and perpetuate themselves in an ongoing cycle unless they are intentionally interrupted. She has a gift for creating brave spaces for people to address difficult topics around race within their organizations and guiding them through a collaborative process of shifting organizational culture and positioning themselves to be industry leaders with an equitable lens.

Danaé chartered a local chapter of Mocha Moms, Inc., a national sisterhood, support and service organization for mothers of color. She now sits on the national Board of Directors as the National Director for Communication, Advocacy and Public Policy. She also served for a time as the Equity Director at Rainbow Institute and Rainbow Community School, a holistic independent school in Asheville, NC. Danaé continues to volunteer her time working closely with a western North Carolina grassroots team that organizes ongoing REI (Racial Equity Institute) workshops for the community, as well as follow-up caucusing that is working to transform the culture of the community. She also has her own DEI consultancy, CultureValue, LLC, which continues her focus on communities in western North Carolina as well as offering unique equity immersion travel experiences.