Cindu Thomas-George is an inclusion and belonging practitioner specializing in inclusive leadership and workplace communication with over 20 years of experience helping organizations drive transformational culture change and organizational effectiveness, especially during moments of change, conflict, and complexity.

As the Founder and Principal Trainer of Shakti Training, she specializes in designing and leading actionable professional development experiences that foster inclusion, communication competence, intercultural intelligence, collaboration, and organizational effectiveness. Her approach blends evidence-based theory with real-world application, helping leaders and employees at all levels of the organization communicate in ways that drive results while honoring dignity and belonging. Over the course of more than two decades, she has developed a mastery of creating and facilitating learning experiences that empower individuals to become agents of change and catalysts of inclusion.

Cindu is also an award-winning, tenured Associate Professor of Communication Studies at the College of Lake County (CLC), where she specializes in intercultural communication, public speaking, and online learning. Recognized with the 2017 NISOD Teaching Excellence Award, she is a nationally respected educator who has presented at numerous academic conferences and partners with Northwestern University’s Kellogg School for Nonprofit Management on the topic of inclusive leadership. Additionally, Cindu is a nationally recognized public speaker and a member of the Comadres Speakers Collaborative.

Cindu began her career as an adjunct faculty member at San Francisco State University and City College of San Francisco. She holds an M.A. in Communication Studies from San Francisco State University, where she learned the art of teaching, public speaking, and the importance and relevance that inclusion and intercultural intelligence have in our world. It was her own lived experiences as the daughter of Indian immigrants and navigating her career in higher education as a first-generation college student and woman of color that drew her to a career committed to driving inclusion forward.

Her commitment to inclusion is longstanding and steadfast. Cindu volunteers her time to advancing inclusion through founding and leading the Chicago Women’s Leadership Accelerator, the South Asian Solidarity Movement, and the Women of Color Employee Resource Group at the College of Lake County.

Cindu resides in Chicago’s Ukrainian Village neighborhood with her husband and children.

To learn more about Cindu, please visit www.cinduthomasgeorge.com