Mind Heart Strategies Consulting, LLC was founded by Dr. Thomas RaShad Easley. After Easley’s extensive academic experience with land-grant institutions and Ivy League institutions, he stepped out to form Mind Heart Strategies.
For 20 years while Easley was working as a forester and diversity professional, he learned and immediately applied diversity, equity and inclusion principles to enhance his work experience, his relationships, and clients that was supporting.
After years of success from public speaking, entrepreneurship, organizational planning, and moving through the academy, Easley has created his consultancy that is centered in reciprocity, real-life experience, scholarship, and adult development.
ABOUT THE FOUNDER
Dr. Thomas RaShad Easley
When I first began this work, I did not anticipate how deeply identity would shape how we show up in the world, collaborate with others, and make sense of our environments. My career started in forestry, and I entered this space thinking I was simply bringing my skills into a university setting to support recruitment and create more access for individuals who looked like me.
What I came to understand, however, was that I was not changing careers—I was expanding my work. I began to approach diversity not as a directive or a demand, but as an opportunity to bring people together around shared understanding. Instead of centering division, I focused on creating spaces where individuals could see themselves, see each other, and engage in ways that felt productive, respectful, and real.
This approach allowed me to do diversity work in a way that was received, not resisted—bringing people to the table, fostering honest dialogue, and strengthening the environments I was a part of. I learned that when people feel seen and understood, they are more willing to participate, contribute, and grow.
At the core of this work is an ongoing commitment to self-awareness. I have seen how identity can be either affirmed or threatened depending on the environment and internal mindset. If we are consumed by how we are perceived, we limit our ability to fully show up. But when we do the internal work—when we understand ourselves and remain grounded—we create the capacity to lead, collaborate, and navigate complex spaces with clarity and care.
This is the work I bring into every space: helping individuals and organizations engage identity in a way that builds connection, unlocks potential, and creates environments where people and performance can thrive.
