Critical Diversity SolutionsLeveraging Diversity Through Research, Analysis, and Strategic Planning

(Ethical Consumption, Technology, & Food Sectors )

What We Do

Critical Diversity Solutions (CDS) is a specialized consulting service.Founded in 2007 (formerly SVP), we are dedicated to leveraging diversitychallenges for opportunities. We primarily serve technology, food, andwellness sectors. Our professional teammates are experts in strategizinghow social dynami (i.e. gender, sexuality, ability, race, age, ethnicity, andsocioeconomic class) affect one's relationship to food, health, wellness, andtechnology. Our headquarters is based in the San Francisco Bay Area, thehub of the USA's most revolutionary practices and innovations around food,technology, and wellness.

Our ExpertiseAnalyzing and reporting how social factors (race, gender, ability, age, sexuality, etc)affect customer or user experiences & choices (i.e. smartphone food app users; veganproduct consumers; ethical consumption product consumers)

Organizational development, programming, and strategic planning for diversity,equity, and inclusion “in house.”

Research, analysis, and reporting of latest food trends and diversity challenges withinthe good food and ethical consumption movements (i.e. veganism, vegetarianism,locavorism).

Project management and quality assurance for (1) innovative technology and (2) foodrelated projects that need to incorporate diversity and inclusion.

Building partnerships across the food system & tech sectors with diversity in mind.

Content analysis and editing for writing projects, initiatives, and curriculum with afocus on improving diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Creating workshops, lectures, and conferences that focus on turning diversitychallenges into opportunities for both social impact and business/organizationalsuccess.

Methods (Partial List)

#1 Ethnography

Interviews

Surveys

#2

#3

Discursive analysis

Narrative Research

Social Media Analytics

Online Communities

#4

#5

#6

#7

The Pollination Project. Strategic Consultation: How race and class affect people’s perceptions of ethical consumption and food justice.

The University of Oregon-Eugene. Workshop: Teaching people how to analyze food objects within the context of racial and ethnic experiences.

FoodFirst. Oakland CA. Project: Research consultant and writer for the initiative, “Racial Injustice in the Food System”.

Occidental College. Project: Equity and Excellence Initiative.

A Well Fed World Foundation. Research Consultation: Criticalrace content analysis and editing for their food security and sustainability writing project.

Sistah Vegan Project (www.sistahveganconference.com).Conference design and implementation: Organizing, planning, and facilitating the annual food and health conferences.

Scripps College. Project: Re-Visioning Food Sovereignty: U.S. Supply and Consumption.

Our Recent Clients

Handpick. San Francisco, CA. Research Consultation: consultingwith food taxonomy team for their new mobile app, focusing on categorizing ‘special needs’ sections (i.e. gluten-free, vegan, and vegetarian); analyzing how social identity affects ‘foodie’culture and use of social media.

Dr. Harper has a PhD in Critical Food Geographies(University of California). She has extensiveexperience in the fields of cultural food studies,ethical consumption, and food systems. She holdsa MA in Educational Technologies (emphasis infood, identity, and social media) from HarvardUniversity and a BA in cultural geography fromDartmouth College. She has 6+ years experiencein marketing, researching, and educating aboutfood, nutrition, and health, with particular focus onfoodie culture, communities of color, ethicalconsumption, and the food commodity chain. Dr.Harper has 10+ years career experience as adiversity and inclusion consultant, ranging fromcurriculum development, to conference planning, toresearch and reporting, to publishing books andarticles. Before finding her way to food consulting,she was a technology professional, with expertisein software quality assurance, computer technologyinstruction, compliance and reporting, datamanagement, social media, instructional design,and project management. Dr. Harper is recognizedas an expert and vanguard around issues ofdiversity in the field of food, health, and wellness.

Dr. Amie Harper. Founder, SeniorDiversity Analyst and Strategist(Food, Technology, Wellness andSocial Impact).

Oliver studied physics and astronomy at HarvardUniversity and Max-Planck Institute forAstrophysics. He is currently the Director ofUniversity of California’s Berkeley’s Center forCosmological Physics. Oliver is a passionateproblem-solver with a decade of experienceapplying innovative statistical and numericalmethods to complex astrophysics problems as wellas to data intensive challenges in the social impactarena. He has co-authored more than 100 peer-reviewed articles in major journals with >5,000citations and an h-index of >40.

Oliver knows how to use data to tell a story and tomake that story accessible to non-technical people.He has a superb skill for helping organizations andOliver Zahn, PhD. Lead Data

Scientist and Strategist

Our Team

businesses innovate technology or foodproducts/services to meet the demands of diverseusers/customers while simultaneously payingattention to social impact and environmentalsustainability.

(Technology, Food, andSocial Impact).

Elise Aymer has a background in strategicmarketing and information technology. She hasworked as a software project manager and as anaccount manager at interactive marketing firms,where she oversaw electronic marketingcampaigns and helped create strategies forcompanies including Verizon, Citibank and CalvinKlein.

An independent Internet and marketing consultant,for several years, she specialized in websitedesign, branding, social media management and inhelping small businesses and individuals toposition and promote themselves through the useof traditional and digital media.

Ms. Aymer has a B.A from Yale University.

Elise Aymer, StrategicMarketing and InformationTechnology Consultant.

Contact Us

Email: amie.harper@criticaldiversitysolutions.com

Phone: 510-564-7870

URL: www.criticaldiversitysolutions.com