Abran Maldonado is an experienced entrepreneur, educator, learning designer, public speaker, and former music industry executive with a passion for promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Maldonado holds a Ph.D. in Teaching and Learning: Urban Education from New York University, a Master of Arts (MA) in Interdisciplinary Studies: Adolescent Culture in Education from Teachers College of Columbia University, and a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Communications and Music from St. John's University.

Maldonado is currently the co-founder of Create Labs Ventures and formerly served as the Diversity and Inclusion Committee Founding Member and Talent Development Training Specialist - Lab Technology at iCIMS, Business Development and Product Strategy at SiLAS Solutions, and Product Implementation and Training Consultant at National Geographic Learning, among other roles. In addition, Maldonado was previously a host and executive producer of The Real Life Learning Podcast and served in various editorial, A&R, and marketing positions in the music industry.

With his diverse background, Maldonado is uniquely positioned to support organizations and communities in their efforts to become more diverse, inclusive, and innovative. He believes that providing equal opportunities to all is the key to bringing value to an organization and that diversity and inclusion should not be seen merely as a compliance issue but rather as a way to embrace diverse perspectives and identities. He is open to collaborating with any company that shares his mission to make a meaningful impact beyond the bottom line.