Diversity and Inclusion Summit

Alexandra “Lexx” Mills

Alexandra “Lexx” Mills is the director of economic inclusion and impact at Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins Health System. In this role, she leads the HopkinsLocal and BLocal initiatives. HopkinsLocal is an institution-wide commitment to leverage the economic power of Johns Hopkins University and Health System to expand and enhance economic growth, employment, and investment in Baltimore. BLocal is an innovative partnership of over 25 businesses committed to supporting city residents and local, women and minority-owned businesses when making decisions about building, hiring, buying, and investing. Mills establishes and executes the strategic vision for collaboration between and leverage of HopkinsLocal and BLocal to drive maximum economic impact.

Previously, Mills served as an impact investment associate for the Port Covington Development, where she led supplier diversity initiatives by hosting recruitment events for over 300 minority- and women-owned businesses. She also provided strategic support to South Baltimore communities to advance education and neighborhood revitalization efforts. She is a proud former educator and taught elementary school in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore and served as a Fulbright English teaching assistant in Malaysia.

Mills is a proud Michigan Wolverine and graduate of the University of Michigan, where she obtained a Master of Business Administration from the Ross School of Business and a Master of Urban and Regional Planning from the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning. She is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, where she majored in gender and women’s studies, was a Sondheim Public Affairs Scholar and a member of the Honors College.

In 2018, Mills was selected as a Next City Vanguard for her demonstrated commitment to urban innovation, leadership, and social impact. She currently serves on the board of the Baltimore City Chamber of Commerce.

M’balu “Lu” Bangura

M’Balu “Lu” Bangura is an experienced civil rights investigator, risk analyst, and diversity, equity, and inclusion professional. She considers herself an inequity eliminator and has spent her academic and professional career as a social justice advocate and promoter of diversity, equity, and inclusion for all. Lu is currently the director of equity and fair practice for Enoch Pratt Free Library and Maryland State Library Resource Center. In this role, she is responsible for leading and overseeing library and community equity initiatives, investigating EEO concerns/complaints, and serving as special adviser to the CEO in matters of operational equity.

Before joining the library, Lu served as a civil rights investigator for the Baltimore City Community Relations Commission, where she facilitated the highest settlement agreement in the history of the commission. In addition, Lu was appointed Baltimore City’s first equity specialist and she created Baltimore City’s first Citywide Agency Self-Assessment and Baltimore City’s first Citywide Equity Report.

Before joining the city, Lu served as a risk analyst and the only employment investigator for Tacoma, Washington. Lu created and developed Tacoma’s Tenant Relocation Assistance Program and played an instrumental role in Tacoma’s 2025 Equity Plan, Tacoma’s Gang Reduction Project, ProjectPEACE, and The Implicit Bias Study.

Lu is recognized on the International Human Rights Commission’s 2019 Human Rights Defenders Almanac, Maryland’s 2020 Top 40 VIPs list, and Maryland’s 2021 Top 40 Leading Women list. She holds her BS and MS in Criminal Justice from St. John’s University and New Jersey City University with concentrations in police-community relations and urban development.

Diane Forbes Berthoud

Diane Forbes Berthoud, Ph.D., MA, is the University of Maryland, Baltimore’s (UMB) inaugural chief equity, diversity, and inclusion officer and vice president (CEDIO/VP) and a professor at UMB’s Graduate School.

Reporting directly to UMB’s president, Forbes Berthoud leads and advances the university’s equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) strategy, implementation, and accountability. She brings over 25 years of experience working in higher education, nonprofit and government, with a proven record of success in organizational change management and development, strategic planning, and assessment.

Forbes Berthoud earned her Ph.D. and MA degrees at Howard University and previously led transformational equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives at the University of California, San Diego.

Troy LeMaile-Stovall

As the CEO of TEDCO — Maryland’s economic engine for technology companies — Troy LeMaile-Stovall leads the organization’s mission to support economic development through the cultivation of an inclusive entrepreneurial innovation ecosystem. He brings to bear more than 25 years of experience in investment management, higher education, telecommunications, information/communication technology and management consulting in this leadership role.

Prior to joining TEDCO, LeMaile-Stovall was the chief operating officer at the University of the District of Columbia (UDC), the nation’s only urban land-grant university. UDC encompasses a six-site community college, a four-year baccalaureate campus and a law school, and serves 7,000 degree- and certificate-seeking students.

An entrepreneur at heart and in spirit, LeMaile-Stovall founded the management consulting firms LeMaile-Stovall LLC and GTMS Partners, LLC. He also co-founded and served as the first president and CEO of GulfSouth Capital. His resume includes positions as the interim president of Zenith Education Group; principal at Butler Snow Advisory Services; executive vice president and chief operating officer of Howard University; and senior vice president and chief financial officer Jackson State (Mississippi) University, where he was awarded the Thurgood Marshall HBCU CFO of the Year. Earlier in his career, he held positions at McKinsey & Company, Southwestern Bell Telephone (now AT&T), AT&T Bell Labs, and Rockwell international.

LeMaile-Stovall is a subject matter expert in capital stack formation and a frequent speaker on venture capital, economic development, and higher education administration, among other topics. He has published articles on entrepreneurship, venture capital, economic development, diversity and inclusion, and higher education. He graduated cum laude from Southern Methodist University with a bachelor of science in electrical engineering. He earned a master’s of science in computer science from Stanford University as a Bell Labs One Year on Campus Fellow, and an MBA from Harvard University. He was included in the Leadership Greater Washington Signature Program Class of 2019.

LeMaile-Stovall gives back to his community in volunteer roles and has held board seats at Parkway Properties, Archipelago Learning, Internet America, School Status, the National Society of Black Engineers, Southern Methodist University (SMU) School of Engineering and Department of Electrical Engineering, DC Chamber of Commerce, MemberSuite, MuniStrategies, DC Housing Enterprises, National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO), and Zion Church. He is married to marathoner Sonya L. Wiggins and is the father of two multitalented young athletes, Zora Lauren and Langston Anthony.