Bex Ahuja

Rockwood Leadership Institute is pleased to announce Bex Ahuja has joined the organization as Managing Director.

Bex is a seasoned campaign strategist, organizer, trainer, and senior leader with 20 years’ experience working at the intersections of movement building, leadership development, and race and gender justice. Bex is joining from The Management Center (TMC), where Bex was Managing Partner. In that role, Bex led a training program serving over 15,000 leaders a year and spearheaded the development of TMC’s racial equity in management curriculum and knowledge base.

On why Bex joined Rockwood, Bex said, “After years of working in movement spaces and supporting organizations to operate more effectively, I realize that a critical ingredient for effectively leading social justice organizations is personal transformation, inner work, and healing. Rockwood Leadership Institute provides this vital space, and I am here to help manifest this mission and partner to shape the future of Rockwood.”

The role of Managing Director is completely new for Rockwood, born out of the significant growth the organization has experienced over the last few years. During 2020 alone, Rockwood developed innovative virtual programming, launched the Art of Navigating Change, and began developing several more offerings for 2021, including ones that specifically support Black leaders.

As Managing Director, Bex will work closely with CEO Darlene Nipper to continue to build and expand on these current and emerging programs.

“Bex brings a deep intersectional lens to the work from both their lived experience as a POC in this broken country to the extensive experience they bring of leading leaders, organizers and changemakers through multiple levels of transformation,” Darlene shared. “Bex’s leadership is a gamechanger for our movements, and I’m proud to partner with someone whose vision and passion is rooted in a deep practice of centering those impacted by injustice and sharing our full selves in ways that move us all toward equity, liberation, and sustainability.”

Bex is not the only new face at Rockwood. In the last year, the organization also welcomed three new staff members – Public Programs Manager Joyce Bartlett, Program Manager Melanie Anne Conway, and Program Operations & Technology Manager Ruma Tenbrink – as well as four new trainers: Jasmine Burnett, Romeo Jackson, J. K. Nelson, and Tony Bennae Richard. Staff member Jonathan Relucio has also stepped into a training role and is now Program Manager & Staff Trainer.

Rockwood Leadership Institute was founded in 2000 to fill a specific niche within the social change movement by providing powerful and effective training in leadership and collaboration to nonprofit and philanthropic leaders, organizations, and policy change networks. Today, Rockwood has more than 8,000 alums (of which 68% are women and 52% people of color), making it the nation’s largest, most diverse provider of multi-day leadership trainings for the nonprofit community. For more information on our programs, visit rockwoodleadership.org.