About Us
We're passionate about creating a more inclusive world.
About Us
We're passionate about creating a more inclusive world.
OUR MISSION
We believe that awareness and skills are keys to helping us create more inclusive communities. We believe in measuring results and that training can help build new skills and let us reflect on our default behaviors.
WHO WE WORK WITH
Organizations with a deep commitment to creating an inclusive community and measuring the outcomes. Get Inclusive courses are deployed in corporations, academic institutions (students, faculty, and staff in 2-4 year colleges) and non-profits.
We believe that harnessing the power of self- reflection can ignite positive action.
We believe that harnessing the power of self- reflection can ignite positive action.
MEET OUR TEAM
Waqar Ali
Founder and President
Waqar (pronounced wha-car, but no one can pronounce it like his mom so he just likes to go by “Ali”) is very scared of mosquitos. He has been bitten by mosquitos in Dubai where he was born and also countless times in Pakistan, Turkey and Abu Dhabi where he grew up. He has been trying to learn how to speak English in the US for the past 25 years and speaks several other languages poorly, including Spanish and Urdu. He covered up his inability to use the articles “a” and “the” by accumulating masters degrees in the wrong subjects. He has an MS from Columbia University in Financial Engineering, an MBA from MIT Sloan and an MPA from Harvard Kennedy School.
Diane Thompson
Co-founder and Director of Operations
Diane says, “I wish I were funnier” and her children couldn’t agree more. She wasn’t trying to be funny when she declined a job offer from a Fortune 100 company after the interviewer was unable to answer her question: “why should I work for you?” She perfected this skill during her undergrad studies at the University of Michigan where she gravitated towards seriously unfunny professors. She contributes her seriousness on the Board of the Kennedy Center in Connecticut. There are two things that bring Diane infinite joy, her grandkids who think she is funny and, of course, happy customers. (This is the 6th iteration of Diane’s bio, the other 5 were too funny and this one will not be shared with her)
Kim Swanson
Co-founder and Content Advisor
Kim left Ohio after graduating from the Ohio Northern University and realizing that the tranquil mid-western state did not offer the intensity of spicy food that she was destined to dominate. Her quest for that challenge took her to Senegal as a Peace Corps volunteer where she focused on Gender and Development in Education. After a short stint in Bangladesh as part of the US State Department’s Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program, she moved back to New York to begin her career as an ESL teacher in NYC public schools. She then worked at the Columbia University Teachers College as an Assistant Director of Teacher Development and Support. Currently she is taking a lead role in curriculum development for Get Inclusive in exchange for spicy Pakistani food.