Q&A with Janay Osborne

EGAL Project Manager

We are pleased to welcome Janay Osborne as EGAL’s newest staff member! Janay joined our team in August as Project Manager. She is a Cal alum (Go Bears!), earning her BA in Sociology from UC Berkeley in 2018. During her time at Cal, she served on the Diversity, Equity, and Campus Climate (DECC) committee where she supported efforts to improve belonging and opportunity for historically marginalized groups. She later received her MA in Higher Education and Student Affairs from the University of San Francisco.

Janay has 5+ years of professional experience supporting organizations, institutions, and people in advancing equity-minded practices and cultivating healthy climates and culture for thriving.

What excites you most about working at EGAL?

The EGAL team has accomplished so much and impacted so many in just five years! I’m excited to contribute to its legacy, stretch my own professional pedagogy of equity fluent leadership, and empower others to do the same.

Who is an Equity Fluent Leader that you admire?

My femtor and close friend, Yuki Burton, embodies Equity Fluent Leadership in such an admirable way. She is the Assistant Director of Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) at Cal and has played a critical role in my success as a Cal student and now professional. She does an amazing job at holding space for others in a compassionate, vulnerable way while also centering authenticity and care. She reminds me that no matter where any of us sit at a table, we are leaders in our own right; therefore, have the power to influence others in a safe and inclusive way.

How can leaders create diverse and inclusive cultures in the workplace?

Re-positioning themselves alongside their most marginalized team members to co-create practices, policies, and systems that promote a diverse & inclusive workplace. This may look like inviting folks they normally wouldn’t to the table, giving up their seat at the table, and/or sharing decision making power. I’m an avid believer that when leaders take care of their people, the people will take care of the mission.