I am a Professor of Leadership & Policies and Associate Provost for Faculty Development at the University of South Carolina. In the past, Dr. Jenkins has worked as a higher education leader at the University of Maryland, Penn State University, George Mason University, Georgia Southern University, and the University of Hawaii. She is considered a national expert on inclusive leadership and inclusive excellence. Illuminating life lessons, wisdom, and meaning taught through culture, travel, and the lived experience is the cornerstone her work on cultural leadership. She has authored seven books, served as a consultant on inclusive excellence for over 50 national organizations, and facilitated over 100 lectures, keynotes, and workshops at institutions across the United States and abroad. Her research, teaching, and professional studies have taken her to over 35 countries. For her career long work, the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education awarded her the 2022 Individual Leadership Award and the National Conference on Race & Ethnicity awarded her the 2021 award for Outstanding Scholarship. Dr. Jenkins is a mom of a super-active 11-year-old son, a daughter, sister, and friend. She is a breast cancer survivor also living with lupus. Culture, in the form of art, poetry, music, storytelling, elder wisdom, historical resilience, and street knowledge feeds her soul.