Why DEI matters

Dennis is the chief executive officer of Without Exception, a company he founded to help organizations build, develop, and fine-tune their diversity, equity, and inclusion strategy by leveraging systems thinking to deconstruct these complex topics into concrete actions that facilitate immediate and sustainable change. Without Exception partners with organizations to help them identify starting points that promote greater equity and belonging for all employees.

Dennis has over 20 years of experience in the higher education and nonprofit sectors, holding a variety of strategic leadership roles in that time. Beginning his professional career as a registrar for a small law school in Southern California, Dennis went on hold senior leadership positions in accreditation and licensing, institutional effectiveness, admissions, and institutional research. In his most recent role as Director of Research for Math for America in New York, Dennis designed and implemented a large-scale research agenda measuring programmatic impacts on educators across all five New York City boroughs. Dennis has also developed and taught graduate leadership courses and is an expert in Systems Thinking and qualitative research methodology.

Dennis earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Social Behavior from the University ofCalifornia, Irvine, his MBA from Everest University, and his Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Dennis also holds a certification in online teaching pedagogy as well as certifications in a variety of assessments and experiential learning programs.

Dennis is a member of the Academy of Management, the Association for Institutional Research, and the American Educational Research Association. He is also an Advisory Council Member for the Conscious Leadership and Team Management Certificate Program at the University of Chicago Graham School ofProfessional Development Programs.