Malia Lazu

EXPANSION DIRECTOR

Malia (She/Her) is a powerful culture creator and strategist whose instinct and clarity have changed cities, institutions, and organizations throughout the US and abroad. Malia has been using strategy and the connective tissue of community networks to build diversity in authentic ways and creating consistent impact. 

With over two decades of experience building diverse culture in the political and civic space, Malia felt private sector diversity and inclusion efforts were in need of disruption. While at MIT, Malia launched The Urban Labs, a space for diversity research and development. The Urban Labs has emerged as a boutique multicultural agency helping corporations and institutions to increase the effectiveness in their diversity and inclusion efforts.

The passion and success of Malia’s work have earned her a reputation as one of the most insightful and critical culture creators of her generation and caught the attention of MTV, Showtime, ABC-TV, Fox News, and print publications such as Newsweek, The Boston Globe, Boston Business Journal and Boston Magazine. Most recently she has been named as one of the 50 founders to watch in Essence Magazine 2017. Over the last few years, Malia has experimented in attacking ongoing diversity problems, in the city of Boston in the startup space creating Accelerate Boston, a startup accelerator. Now in its sixth year, Accelerate Boston has helped 20+ minority businesses open and thrive and has led to 30+ minority entrepreneurs receiving investment capital. In addition to her extensive work building bridges and bringing people together, Malia has created campaigns for numerous tastemakers including Grammy Award-winner and famed Civil-Rights Activist Harry Belafonte, businessmen and philanthropists, George Soros and Peter Lewis. Malia currently sits on The Nation Magazine Editorial Board, Boston Society of Architects and the Black Economic Council of MA.