Jolene Lane

Director, Akron Innovation Team (i-team), Bloomberg American Sustainable Cities Initiative

Board Member Since

2025

About Jolene

Jolene is the director of the Akron Innovation Team for Bloomberg's American Sustainable Cities Initiative. Previously, Jolene founded her own consulting firm, Equity Lane LLC, which provided services related to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility strategy. Jolene has built a career in education promoting diversity, equity and inclusion. She previously served as Vice President for Inclusion and Equity and Chief Diversity Officer at the University of Akron and Senior Director for Diversity and Community Affairs at Teachers College, Columbia University. A seasoned educator, Jolene has worked in higher education administration and as an elementary and secondary school principal. She also worked in the nonprofit sector with a focus on college access and leadership development for first-generation and underrepresented students. Jolene serves on several nonprofit boards, including the Akron Urban League, Athena Akron, Women's Endowment Fund, American Heart Association, International Soap Box Derby, and Greater Akron Chamber's Diversity Professionals Council. She is a member of Leadership Akron Signature Class 35 and is a coach for Diversity on Board. Jolene studied mathematics and pre-med at Harvard University and earned a master's degree from Harvard's Graduate School of Education in Administration, Planning and Social Policy. She is currently completing her doctoral dissertation from Teachers College, Columbia University in Adult Learning and Leadership. Jolene is also a qualified administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory assessment of intercultural competence and is a member of the Kappa Delta Pi International Honor Society in Education.