We envision a world where curiosity, empathy, and compassion guide how people live and work together
ABOUT US
What organizations remember most about working with us is how we show up.
We're direct, diplomatic, honest, and kind. Every engagement feels personal—because it is.
HOW WE BEGAN
Dr. Renee Bhatti-Klug founded CITC in 2020—at the intersection of a global pandemic and a national reckoning with race—after spending over two decades developing leaders across more than 150 nations. What began as a response to an urgent cultural moment quickly became something lasting: a consultancy built on the same values it teaches. By 2021, the CI Leadership model at the heart of our work was validated through doctoral research recognized by the American Educational Research Association, and our team began serving organizations across the globe.
Today, CITC is a women of color-owned and -operated consultancy with a growing team of facilitators, consultants, and researchers. Co-led by Dr. Bhatti-Klug and Dr. Alene Terzian-Zeitounian—whose partnership began in a doctoral cohort and grew into a shared commitment to this work—we bring human-centered design, analytical rigor, and creative problem-solving to every engagement.
No matter how much we grow, we refuse to trade human connection for scale. Our clients will always work with people who know their name, understand their context, and show up with care. That's not aspirational—it's how we've operated from day one, and it's how we intend to stay.
WHY WE EXIST
Too many organizations want to build cultures of belonging but don't know how to get there. They invest in good intentions—a workshop here, a statement there—and wonder why nothing changes. Meanwhile, the people who feel the gap between what's said and what's done are the ones who leave.
We exist because belonging doesn't happen by accident. It's built—deliberately, consistently—by leaders who have the curiosity to listen, the empathy to understand, and the compassion to act.
VISION
We envision a world where curiosity, empathy, and compassion guide how people live and work together
MISSION
We empower people to develop cultural curiosity, lead with empathy, and create atmospheres of belonging through compassionate action and
Culturally Intelligent solutions
VALUES
CURIOSITY
We cultivate Openness through self-reflection and genuine inquiry
EMPATHY
We develop Awareness by understanding how we and others feel, think, and behave
COMPASSION
We demonstrate Responsiveness by demonstrating empathy in action
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MEET OUR AFFILIATE PARTNERS
Connect with women-owned and operated small businesses to enhance your strategy and streamline operations
Cary Lopez & Anca Castillo | Design Convo
Meetings suck, so co-founders and co-CEOS, Dr. Cary Lopez (l) and Anca Castillo (r) developed an award-winning approach to having better conversations. Cary, PhD, specializes in design thinking, communication, instructional design, project management, and strategy development. Anca, MiM, specializes in executive storytelling, human centered design, visual communication, and leadership development.
Design Convo, a method in which several CITC staff are certified, offers an easy-to-use conversation design framework that helps leaders navigate conflicts and tensions in meetings to achieve positive and productive outcomes. In addition, Cary and Anca provide transformative development workshops that focus on building skills to become luminary leaders.
Lisa Glenn Nobles | LGN Collaborations
Lisa Glenn Nobles, M.Ed., is a career operator, educator, and collaborator who who builds people-focused operational, administrative, and financial systems. Within the education, nonprofit, and startup worlds, Lisa has built a powerful stack of operations and administrative skills, including business analysis, automation and project management support, strategic planning, and human resources acumen. Lisa strongly believes in the power of small businesses and nonprofits to shape communities and systems, and she supports capacity building to ensure that all local organizations have what they need to create the change that the world so deeply desires.
LGN Collaborations is a strategy and operations consulting firm specializing in fractional Chief of Operations, Chief of Staff, Chief People Officer, and communications support. We like to think of ourselves as an amplifier for your business or nonprofit. When you’re at an inflection point, your systems are running you, or you just need a thought partner to make sure you’re on the right track, we provide just-in-time, augmented strategy, HR, and operations services.
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LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We acknowledge the Native Nations that, for centuries, have gathered in Arizona, California, Canada, and Colorado—where our facilitators reside.
These comprise the ancestral territories of Indigenous peoples, whose care and keeping of these lands allows us to be here today:
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In Phoenix, Arizona, these include the Akimel O’odham (Pima), Piipaash (Maricopa), and Hohokam Native communities.
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In Torrance, California, it is the Tongva community.
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In Denver, Colorado, it is the Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Ute communities.
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In Vancouver, Canada, it is the unceded, ancestral territory of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples.
We acknowledge these people, their ancestors, their descendants, and the land itself. This statement acknowledges that colonialism is not a past event, but an ongoing process of which we are a part.
Increasing our Cultural Intelligence is a next step in this process.
Find out what native land you're on