Empovia rainbow gradient logo made up of three overlapping circles in increasing sizes with the Empovia wordmark next to it in a bold black font in all caps

Empovia exists to build a more equitable and sustainable world for current and future generations.

About Empovia

Empovia (formerly Change Catalyst) is an innovative learning and development partner. Through our globally trusted educational solutions, we empower individuals and organizations with the knowledge and tools to catalyze positive cultural and organizational change.

Since 2014, our research-based Learning and Development solutions have motivated leaders, managers, and teams at Fortune 500 companies, startups, and venture capital firms to drive lasting inclusive innovation in their teams, cultures, systems, and products.

Together with our clients and partners, we are changing behaviors, changing cultures, and changing the world.

Our Vision

A world where all innovations and cultures are founded in empathy, equity, sustainability, and justice.

black line illustration of a lightbulb with a plant growing inside

Our Mission

We empower individuals and organizations to create inclusive, accessible, and sustainable cultures, systems, and products through research-based learning and development solutions.

Meet the Team

Meet our intersectionally diverse team of leaders in DEI, social justice, organizational development, learning design, behavioral science, and data science. We look forward to partnering with you!

Melinda is smiling in front of a white backdrop looking at the camera. White woman with long red and blonde hair, wearing glasses and a black long sleeved blouse.

Melinda Briana Epler

Founder & CEO, Keynote Speaker &
Workshop Facilitator
(she/her)

Headshot of Cory, a Black Indigenous woman with short curly black hair, glasses, and a white top smiling at the camera in front of an off-white wall

Cory Ervin-Stewart

DEI Consultant, Workshop Facilitator
(she/her)

Black and white photo of a nonbinary person with short hair and facial hair, glasses, and a dark t-shirt smiling at the camera in front of a lighter background.

Max Masure

Workshop Facilitator
(they/them)

Headshot of Carly, a White woman with dirty blonde hair, a cream-colored fabric headband, and a color-blocked mauve and blush top smiling at the camera in front of a white wall.

Carly Hill

Director of Learning & Development
(she/her)

Headshot of Christina, a biracial Asian and White woman with curled long brown hair, an olive green top, and cream-colored cardigan smiling at the camera outdoors with a large plant in the background.

Christina Swindlehurst Chan

Marketing Project Manager, Podcast Producer
(she/her)

Headshot of Renzo, a Filipino man with short black hair and a white button-down with black pinstripes smiling at the camera in front of a red brick wall

Renzo Santos

Finance and Operations Analyst, Podcast Producer
(he/him)

Headshot of Ariyah, a biracial White and Asian woman with long wavy highlighted brown hair, a red fabric headband, gold chain necklace, and dark blouse smiling at the camera outside with a blurry green background.

Ariyah Chambers April

Marketing Consultant
(she/her)

Headshot of Kosi, a Nigerian man with short black hair, a light blue button-down, gold collar pin, and dark blue suit jacket smiling at the camera in front of a light gray background

Kosisoose Odiaka

Business Data Analyst 
(he/him)

Headshot of Amanda, a multiracial Venezuelan woman with long black hair and a cream-colored top looking at the camera in front of a white background

Amanda Salazar

Marketing Assistant
(she/her)

Photo of Melinda, a White woman with red hair and dark blue sleeveless shirt, and Wayne, a bald Black man with a goatee and dark blue long-sleeve shirt, smiling at the camera and standing in front of a step-and-repeat backdrop with Change Catalyst and Google for Entrepreneurs logos

Our Story

In 2014, the Silicon Valley tech industry released diversity numbers for the first time, and they were grim. Melinda Briana Epler and Wayne Sutton decided to join forces to develop a conference that brought together people across the tech ecosystem to focus on solutions to diversity and inclusion. In 2015, Empovia (formerly Change Catalyst) launched our first Tech Inclusion Conference, and it sold out! The long-lasting impact of our global events on the tech industry motivated the team to expand our work.

Since 2015 we’ve been growing our training, consulting, and coaching practice throughout various industries with clients across the world. In all our work, we focus on solutions: solutions that incorporate the latest research and behavioral science, strengthen communities and ecosystems, and build lasting change across organizations.

In 2023, with our experience developing learning solutions for hundreds of global clients, we launched our eLearning courses to reach more people at a lower cost.  Our online courses allow individuals and teams to learn the skills and behaviors needed to build better cultures, systems, and products at their own pace. We are continuing to expand our live workshop and online course offerings to provide relevant and valuable educational tools for executives, people leaders, and teams.

Resources

Check out the resources we have created for you and your teams on our Resources page