About – Culture Principles

“I believe that every organization – and each individual within it – deserves to thrive. No one needs to prove their worth to belong. The greatest successes I have seen in my work were achieved by those who deliberately chose and committed to diversity, inclusion, and the centering of racial equity.

As humans, we have this incredible capacity to problem solve; yet, we often solve for the wrong problems. Our own internal lens is limited. When we create space for diverse experiences and perspectives to be included – and valued – our best solutions emerge. I am focused on and committed to helping those who are open to uncovering their blindspots to become accountable in operationalizing racial equity.”

Culture Principles Founder Danielle Marshall

Honest and inspiring. Collaborative and strategic. She leads with passion and an unyielding commitment to racial equity, diversity and inclusion (REDI) as she guides leaders, teams and businesses to center racial equity in their daily practices. She’s earned a reputation for hearing what is unspoken, for uncovering blind spots, and for guiding practical transformations built on a shared consciousness of equity and inclusiveness.

Her work is shaped by her passion for the nonprofit sector, including a two-year stint with AmeriCorps — which helped her embrace a commitment to service and shifted her career trajectory — and where she learned how teams can both support, cocreate, and respond to the communities they engage with. Prior to founding Culture Principles, Danielle served as the Executive Director of Playworks Mid-Atlantic, where she was a key member of the national organization’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiative.

She co-created and co-facilitates “Reimagining Racial Equity,” an eight-week learning intensive in conjunction with the Conscious Collaboratory, for business leaders to learn how to infuse the work of racial equity into their organizations and lives.

Danielle is a Certified Diversity Professional (CDP), a certified ICF Executive Coach (ACC), and she holds certifications to deliver the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) and Cultural Intelligence (CQ). She holds a B.S. from Howard University and a M.A. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from Louisiana Tech University and draws on her background as an I/O psychologist in applying a racial equity lens to organizational policies, practices, and protocols. Danielle has participated in Coach Diversity, The National Coalition Building Institute Leadership for Diversity, and trained with the Center for Equity and Inclusion.

As committed to her own racial journey as she is to her clients, Danielle is currently reflecting on the question “In what ways will advancing my own cultural competencies support my goals?”

Mapping Equity™.

Mapping Equity™, Culture Principles’ unique approach that guides the multi-stage process of assessing, unearthing, amending, navigating, and elevating leaders and teams in and through the transformation of not only their racial equity plans and practices, but their overall workplace culture.

You’ve determined a need for and have committed resources to Mapping Equity™. We start with where you are and establish a baseline of individual and organizational cultural competencies. Assessments help bring awareness to current strengths and growth opportunities while shining light on how individuals and teams experience and act on cultural similarities and differences.

Discovery can be so rich. Here, we conduct equity audits and facilitate discussions that identify organizational blind spots around values, customs, policies, and practices that may have the unintended consequence of perpetuating inequities. Staying curious and open helps bring important truths to light.

Then it’s time to recreate and cocreate. Rebuilding internal cultural competencies, racial equity understanding, and capacity to address policies, programs, and practices that might include creating a REDI committee and facilitating courageous conversations to support these efforts.

Building on opportunities and gaps uncovered in the discovery and unearthing, we help you develop an equity framework outlining strategic goals and metrics and other important actions steps and communicate appropriately with your stakeholders.

When it comes to the work of transforming workplace culture, operationalizing equity must be sustainable. We make sure that expectations are communicated and the equity framework is shared at all levels of the organization, ensuring each department, team, and individual is clear about their role in implementation. Using data and feedback from stakeholders, progress is tracked, assessed and evaluated to revise and guide next steps.

Repeat.

Speaking Requests.

A seasoned public speaker, Danielle is available for conference keynotes, radio and podcast interviews, group presentations, facilitations and more.

There is no shortage of conversations going on related to REDI. Unfortunately, we are often not speaking the same language. Developing a shared understanding of key concepts extends well beyond having “definitions” and ventures into examining ideas in a real-world context. Danielle uses the power of story to illustrate some of today’s most talked-about topics leaving audiences with key questions they can reflect on as they deepen their own cultural understanding.

Recent Engagements

Beyond Carving Out Space for Race-Based Conversations American Express Leadership Academy Global Summit
The last few years have brought on a new awareness of the need not only to focus on racial equity but to begin normalizing race-based conversations in the workplace. Yet, many well-intentioned organizations are still missing the mark. This talk explores patterns that limit our ability to hold crucial conversations and provide a framework to support organizations in building the muscle to facilitate conversations, build community, and stay in conversation over time.
This is the Moment to Care about Race, Equity and Belonging for Maryland Nonprofits
Moving away from a culture that harms, and becoming a culture that cares requires self and collective work. It necessitates letting go of cultural norms that facilitate inequity, like perfectionism, and embracing cultural norms that encourage a sense of belonging, like empathy. The nonprofit sector, like all sectors, is challenged to understand when harm occurs, how to prevent it and repair when it happens, and also how to heal in the workplace.
Getting Unstuck (nonprofit board facilitation)
You’ve done some work on the strategic level, you’ve got a plan or framework, but how do you best begin weaving racial equity, diversity and inclusion work into not just policies, but your organizations culture. Danielle helps organizations remove the barriers and dive deeper into the plan. She helps leaders and teams see and address their blindspots with an outside, and expert, perspective.

Danielle can speak to racial equity, cultural competencies, inclusivity in the workplace, transforming workplace culture, creating an organization WHY for DEI work, and more. Fill out our contact form to connect.