Ayana Ledford is the executive director of PROGRESS鈥擳he Program for Research and Outreach on Gender Equity in Society, and director for Diversity and Inclusion at Carnegie Mellon. She co-developed 鈥淪peak Up! A Guide to Teach Girls How to Negotiate鈥 with Linda Babcock and has hosted over 500 negotiation workshops, training sessions, and presentations nationally.

Ledford has over 15 years of experience in the nonprofit sector working with women, girls, and economically challenged communities. Her experience equips her with the ability to translate sound academic research into practical programmatic curriculum.