Bisi Okubadejo (LAW ’03) started the role as the Georgetown University’s first associate vice president of equal opportunity, affirmative action and compliance Jan. 27. 

Okubadejo will help oversee efforts to prevent instances of discrimination on campus, according to Rosemary Kilkenny (LAW ’87), the university’s vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion and chief diversity officer. Okubadejo will also manage the daily operations of the Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity and Affirmative Action, which works to promote equality in educational, employment and contracting opportunities, according to Kilkenny. 

Okubadejo will help address cases of discrimination filed with the IDEAA office, as well as with external federal and city agencies, and will help lead efforts at the university to promote nondiscrimination. 

“The role presents an incredibly unique opportunity to give back to my alma mater while addressing cases of discrimination, and working as part of a team that is committed to building an inclusive community,” Okubadejo wrote in an email to The Hoya.

Okubadejo previously participated in Teach for America and attended Hamilton College before attending school at the Georgetown University Law Center. 

Okubadejo taught in the Baltimore City Public School system, the same system that her mother and other family members attended when it was segregated, according to a university news release announcing her new position. She said her experience as a public school teacher influenced her decision to attend law school and pursue a career in promoting inclusion and equitable opportunities for all. 

Okubadejo worked at the law firm Ballard Spahr for the last six years, where she addressed higher education civil rights, regulatory compliance and Title IX discrimination compliants on gender, according to the news release. 

Before working at Ballard Spahr, she practiced law at the firms Venable and Hogan & Hartson, where she worked on employment issues. She also worked at the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education, according to her LinkedIn. 

In her new role, Okubadejo will supervise a multifaceted group including a senior investigator and counsel, a director of affirmative action training programs, a director of affirmative action compliance and data analytics, as well as an associate director, according to Kilkenny. 

Okubadejo hopes to lead her new team with a focus on improving the university’s response to student discrimination complaints, she wrote.

“I look forward to looking into the issues of equal opportunity and affirmative action, and working with Rosemary as well as the team at IDEAA, to strengthen the university’s capacity to address complaints of unlawful discrimination and harrassment,” Okubadejo wrote.

As part of Okubadejo’s new role, she will take over some duties that Kilkenny performed in her former role as vice president of institutional diversity and equity. In April, Kilkenny was appointed the university’s vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion and as its first chief diversity officer. The university created both Okubadejo’s and Kilkenny’s roles as part of a broader effort to promote an inclusive campus environment and equitable opportunities for all students, according to the press release. 

Kilkenny’s role expanded when the university appointed her as its first chief diversity officer and the vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion, according to the news release.

By hiring Okubadejo to take on some of her former responsibilities, Kilkenny will be able to allot more energy to expanding the scope of her diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, she wrote.

“Bisi’s new associate vice president role allows me to more fully expand institutional efforts to demonstrate Georgetown’s commitment to diversity and equity and inclusion, and I am excited by the new energy, skills and capacity that her role brings to our team,” Kilkenny wrote in an email to The Hoya.