ABOUT US

Experience You Can Count On

We provide consultative support in the areas of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Recruitment and Retention, Education across business, academic, and government, with emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and math and other commercial and business entities.  Specifically our target audience is company stakeholders who are charged with strategic initiatives related to diversity, equity and inclusion, recruiting and sourcing a diverse workforce, developing company retention strategies that promote inclusivity, or are charged with workforce training and development to achieve the previously mentioned strategic initiatives.

As necessitated by the emerging demographic trends in population worldwide, our clients will be primed for recruiting, sourcing, and retaining a workforce that is reflective of the future.  In order to create and maintain high functioning teams, executive leaders will be guided in strategies to bring together team members from diverse backgrounds so as to be better able to innovate, solve complex business problems, and create community in the workplace. Clients will also learn how to create equity and a healthy and inclusive work culture in which employees will thrive.

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OUR TEAM

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Dr. Wayne Gersie

CEO/Founder
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Wayne Gersie, PhD,  is the owner and principal of Oasis Strategic Consulting LLC. Dr. Gersie is an expert facilitator and coach in organizational development, inclusive change management practices, and culturally responsive strategic planning.

Dr. Gersie has specific focus and experience in assisting organizations to develop enduring equity responsive strategies and practices which build high performance 21st century teams.  Through his coaching philosophy, Dr. Gersie facilitates winning outcomes that enhance a sense of belonging for all stakeholders and increase innovation, efficiency, and industry relevancy. Dr. Gersie’s coaching is centered on preparing those who have the privilege of influence to lead the way in their organizations through techniques that are inclusive and responsive to the diverse needs and identities of their stakeholders.

Dr. Gersie has earned his PhD in Workforce Education and Development, with an emphasis on Human Resource Management, and a MEd in Counselor Education, both from the Pennsylvania State University.  Additionally, he holds certificates from the Harvard University Institute for Management and Leadership Education, Cornell University and the Center for Creative Leadership in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Dr. Gersie currently serves as the inaugural Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion at Michigan Technological University. In this role, he works to identify and address organizational and systemic challenges related to diversity, equity and inclusion on Michigan Tech’s campus.  This includes developing policies and practices in collaboration with academic colleges, and operational areas including human resources, finance, student and academic affairs.

Dr. Gersie served as the inaugural Chief Diversity Officer at the Pennsylvania State University Applied Research Laboratory.  At the ARL, he led and facilitated the development of a strategic and comprehensive diversity, equity, inclusion and sense of belonging strategy.  This strategy included a successful national recruiting, sourcing, and retention plan as well as strategic initiatives that positively influenced organizational climate.  Specific initiatives led by Dr. Gersie included the development of  DEIS strategic talent management strategies such as pipelining strategy for a summer internship and academic year COOP program,  the formation of employee resource groups and other coaching and development programs.

Kellie Raffaelli

Associate
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Kellie Raffaelli is an associate with Oasis Strategic Consulting LLC. With a background in anthropology and education, Kellie is deeply committed to empowering others to ensure that everyone is given opportunities to excel in a safe, supportive, and inclusive environment.

For the last 15 years, Kellie has worked in higher education focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion. She developed numerous workshops and trainings, including an eight-step cultural competency training curriculum, diverse dialogues workshop series, an LGBTQIA+ Safe Place training, any many more designed to engage, challenge, and provoke serious conversations related to diversity, equity, and inclusions. Kellie has presented nationally on best practices for diversity, equity, and inclusion practitioners including presenting at NCORE and the ASEE regional conference. Her work has also included creating new and updating old policies and processes to ensure a more equitable campus such as a preferred name policy, pronoun policy, all gender restroom implementation, and the children in the workplace policy.

Kellie has severed in many DEI roles, director of diversity and inclusion and as special assistant to the president for diversity and inclusion at Michigan Technological University. In these roles, she directed the University’s efforts to advance the shared value of diversity and inclusion, including directing investments, programmatic initiatives, and contributing to the university direction. During this time, she secured a five year, one-million-dollar grant, and formed a task force implementing impactful changes including recommending to the President and the Board of Trustees to hire a Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion, adding to the existing team of diversity officers, to develop a university wide DEI strategic plan and lead the campus in creating a more inclusive and diverse environment.

Kellie currently serves as the Associate Dean for Student Engagement at Michigan Technological University where she continues to uphold her deeply held commitment to the values and principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion. She is an inclusive and empathetic leader who consistently looks for opportunities to break down barriers and improve equitable access for all.

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Raphael Jordan

Diversity Associate
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With a background in business and communication, Raphael is a passionate diversity ambassador that is devoted to diversity education and promoting inclusive work environments for organizations.

For over 10 years, Raphael has worked in public and private sectors focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Over his career in Human Resources, he has established credibility building and leading corporate workforce programs that influence recruiting, performance management, internal mobility, and talent management. He has developed numerous workshops that allowed organizations to effectively hire diverse teams, allowing employees to become better culturally competent, and inclusive leaders within organizations.

Raphael has served in many talent acquisition program manager DEI roles respectively at Under Armour and Northrop Grumman. While at Under Armour, he led the diversity and inclusion programming to drive global and national recruitment efforts and was responsible for many student programming accolades that included the top rank in 2019 for the best internship program. Under his direction, the organization developed proactive and non-traditional diversity sourcing efforts to source and hire diverse qualified talent. During his time at Northrop Grumman, he was responsible for talent attraction and measuring success for strategic diversity events/programming with measurable outcomes such as retention, attrition, and promotions.

Raphael currently serves as the Inclusion, Diversity Engagement Advocate at NFM Lending where he is responsible for leading the diversity and inclusion team where he strives to create a workplace for all teammates to have a sense of belonging and equity. He is a transformational leader that is committed to helping organizations be inclusive and high performing.