When people don’t have to spend energy wondering if they’re actually welcome, that energy flows to creativity and collaboration

I offer custom workshops or diversity and inclusion consulting services for enterprises, SMBs, nonprofits, and universities seeking to create inclusive, values-aligned, human-focused, and trauma-informed environments.

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Photo of Crystal, a Black woman with shoulder length dark brown curly hair, wearing a black dress and black heels, holding a microphone, smiling while she speaks

Hi, I’m Crystal (she/her)

Diversity and Inclusion Consultant | Creator of The Aligned Values Framework® | Trauma-Informed | Author | Speaker | Neurodivergent

One of my clients told me that even when I’m across the room, I still feel “up close” to everyone listening and watching. 

I thought that was a beautiful way to describe my approach as a workshop facilitator and inclusion consultant: I make big spaces feel intimate through emotional attunement, radical presence, and truly seeing the individuals in the room. 

To me, this energy is part of my work — what I’m here to teach, facilitate, and guide your people and organization through. It’s modeling what it looks like to co-create safer, human-focused environments, and a space where everyone feels like they belong.

Photo of Crystal, a Black woman with short curly dark brown hair, wearing a dark teal top and barbie pink blazer, smiling at the camera

Experience and Expertise

I bring 20+ years of creative and relational work across industries, with experience that helps me meet teams and organizations where they are and guide them forward.

  • Higher education, nonprofits, executive recruiting, and creative industries — direct experience inside complex systems that shaped how I understand leadership, culture, and inclusion

  • Brand consulting and leadership development — supporting leaders and organizations in aligning their values with their decisions, culture, and marketing

  • Entrepreneurship and photography — building a thriving, representation-focused creative business that continues to inform how I see brand, identity, and belonging

  • Certified yoga teacher and trauma-informed training — grounding my coaching and facilitation in practices that center human experience, resilience, and care

  • Author of Brave Leadership is a Choice and creator of The Aligned Values Framework® — practical tools that organizations use to clarify values, strengthen leadership, and create cultures of belonging

For a full breakdown of my experience and certifications, visit my About page.

Choose the level of support you need

Workshops and speaking

  • One-time talks or workshops that spark transformation 

  • Custom series of workshops designed to shift culture over time

  • Expert guest inside masterminds and programs

  • Engaging, values-driven keynotes for conferences and events

  • Two to three-day custom retreats where your team can dive deep into wellness and inclusivity

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Diversity and inclusion consulting services 

  • Ongoing consulting on your public presence: brand, messaging, and marketing through an inclusivity lens

  • Ongoing consulting on your internal culture: ensuring your employees experience a truly inclusive workplace

  • Ongoing leadership development coaching or consulting for your executive team and top leaders through an inclusivity lens

  • A combination of all three!

INQUIRE ABOUT CONSULTING
“My director said Crystal’s workshop was one of the best workshops she had been in, and she’s been in academia a long time. Overall, everyone was interacting throughout the workshop and left feeling like they had learned something. And many people came up to me over the course of a few weeks, telling me how much they learned!”
— Cory Quailes, Associate Professor and Committee Chair, University of Arizona
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“It is refreshing to have the complex conversation broken down into manageable and doable strategies that can have profound impacts. She also emphasized the need for focusing on our internal selves and silencing our minds as relevant and necessary elements of “exercising” our ability to include everyone. Thank you for the insights and the wisdom! Everyone should be calling Crystal Whiteaker!”
— Arthur Padilla, DEIA Consultant
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My Promises to you

I adapt everything to your team

My work is so effective because it’s personal. Every engagement begins with understanding what your team needs.

I’m radically present and attuned

Lectures or top-down approaches are not my style. Instead, I create space for your team to respond, interact, and ask questions.

I don’t judge or shame anyone

This is healing work done out of love. I don’t look down on anyone for not knowing the “right” response. Having questions means you’re doing it right.

Client Reflections

  • Headshot of a white, nonbinary person wearing a teal blazer, smiling at the camera

    "I first met Crystal when she facilitated a session on brave leadership, and it was one of the best workshops I'd ever attended. She had a seamless way of weaving in nervous system regulation with social justice education that left me feeling grounded, and curious for more.

    At a time when DEI and leadership language can feel like jargon, Crystal left me thinking, wow — this is someone who genuinely lives their values.

    I eventually hired Crystal as a co-facilitator, providing sessions like allyship in the modern world for Planned Parenthood. Her facilitation style is rooted in validating people's experiences while offering perspectives that expand their worldview.

    Crystal holds an incredible amount of space and emotional capacity. She has a rare ability to meet people where they are without shaming them for not knowing differently. That kind of compassionate, grounded leadership is one of many qualities that makes her extraordinary.

    —Rex Wilde, LGBTQ+ speaker, educator, and business consultant

  • Headshot of a Black woman with curly hair

    "She’s calm and open, and when she explains things, people really feel it. She doesn’t talk at you, she talks with you.

    One of the big reasons I brought Crystal in was her approach to examining bias. We work with individuals with physical disabilities, and if we don’t understand our own biases, we can’t understand how we’re showing up for them. Crystal had such a clear, thoughtful way of presenting this that it really resonated.

    I liked her personality right away. She’s calm and open, and when she explains things, people really feel it. She doesn’t talk at you, she talks with you. That makes it easy for people to engage, and I noticed afterward that staff would repeat little things she said. That’s when you know they took something with them.

    For me, that’s the kind of facilitator I look for — someone who can connect with staff in a way that stays with them long after the session ends.”

    —Kari Miller-Ortiz, Director of People and Culture, Move United

  • Headshot of a Black woman with honey brown hair

    "Crystal is about the person, down to the core. She’s authentic and genuine, able to peel back layers in such a positive and delicate way.

    "When we bring in speakers, we’re trying to give students the chance to have ‘aha’ moments for themselves. At the core, it’s about making sure their values drive what they do next — and Crystal delivered that with such insight.

    From the beginning, we were very selective about who we brought in because we wanted alignment and a dynamic experience. Crystal was the perfect fit because she understands the power of community, and she brings that into how she teaches you to be a better leader.

    She is super respectful and creates a safe space where walls just melt away. I saw students journaling and reflecting deeply in her sessions, even when they weren’t engaging out loud. And then, by the end, the questions would start pouring out because they were so locked in.

    Crystal is about the person, down to the core. She’s authentic and genuine, able to peel back layers in such a positive and delicate way."

    —Kesha Knighten Hughes, founder, Grace and Wisdom Institute

  • Headshot of an Asian woman, with long dark brown hair

    "Crystal is an expert in training and facilitating conversations with organizations, small business owners and entrepreneurs who want to make diversity, equity and inclusion a cornerstone of their messaging and branding.

    Crystal's approach in motivating leaders to identify core values and create clear messaging and tangible action plans allows for the experience to obtain a higher level of intention and self awareness applicable to any professional format and practicing those elements learned.

    I highly recommend Crystal's education program as well as guest speaker services to train and touch on imperative discussions surrounding diversity, equity, inclusion and human-focused initiatives.”

    —Courtney “Dazzler” Ibarra, Beatsource

Themes for workshops

Brave Leadership is a Choice

Rooting Your Brand in Core Values

Our Roles in Creating Inclusive Environments

Conflict Repair for Healthy Boundaries and Belonging

Building Aligned Relationships

How to Be An Inclusive, Inspiring Leader

How to Identify and Disrupt Implicit Bias

How to Manage Discomfort When Identifying Bias

How to Build A Genuinely Inclusive, Welcoming Brand

How to Incorporate Inclusive Language Into Your Messaging

Questions are always welcome

  • I work with socially conscious leaders, teams, and organizations who care about their impact. That includes creative entrepreneurs, coaches, educators, nonprofits, and corporate teams — any group ready to move beyond performative gestures and lean into values-aligned, inclusive leadership.

  • Yes! Every workshop or keynote is tailored to your team or event. I’ll spend time understanding your goals, your audience, and the challenges you’re navigating so what I deliver speaks directly to your people.

  • Yes! I’ve facilitated powerful sessions in person, virtually, and in hybrid formats. The medium may change, but the goal is the same: creating a brave, engaging space for connection, reflection, and growth.

  • This is such a great question, and the answer is no, they won’t feel called out. My approach is compassionate and trauma-informed. No one learns well when they feel shamed. Instead, I create environments where people feel safe enough to be honest, get curious, and take meaningful steps forward, even if they’re starting from the very beginning.

  • Think of me as an embedded partner. I meet with you and your leadership team regularly — monthly, quarterly, or on a custom rhythm — to help you apply an inclusivity lens to both your internal culture and external presence. We’ll use The Aligned Values Framework® to guide decision-making, strengthen leadership, and embed belonging into everyday practice.

  • Yes. One of my unique strengths is bridging the inner and outer work. That means I can help your leaders build inclusive practices inside your organization and make sure your brand, marketing, and messaging reflect those values outside. Our engagement can be both or just one or the other — wherever you need support.

  • With compassion and clarity! Discomfort is a natural part of growth, and I create space for people to process without letting the conversation derail. The goal isn’t to avoid hard truths but to navigate them in a way that keeps the group grounded and moving forward.

  • I partner with small businesses, enterprises, nonprofits, university departments, and creative teams, from groups of five to 100+.

  • Always interactive. I believe learning sticks when people are actively engaged, not just listening. Whether it’s a keynote or a workshop or consulting session, I weave in reflection, dialogue, and practical exercises so participants leave with tools they can actually use and multiple “aha” moments.

There is freedom in belonging…

And you have the power to create it for your people. 

You might just need an experienced guide to help. 

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