M'Balu "Lu" Bangura is Chief of Equity and Fair Practices at the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, Maryland, where she has integrated DEI into all aspects of organizational and community engagement, significantly enhancing the employee and user experience alike. She is an esteemed executive leader and award-winning civil rights advocate renowned for her transformative contributions to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Lu leads pioneering initiatives such as the Pratt Free Market, which tackles food insecurity through innovative solutions like a free grocery store, community refrigerators, and educational programming. Her leadership in developing dynamic programs like the Amplified Voices Series, Money May, and Heal-a-thon showcases her dedication to addressing critical community issues through financial education and support for domestic abuse survivors. Her creation of the Advancing Equity Dashboard positioned Pratt as the first library in the nation with a public-facing interactive dashboard, exemplifying her commitment to transparency and innovative solutions. Holding dual degrees in Criminal Justice, Lu's commitment to social justice is further exemplified through Project ENCORE (Encouraging New Community Opportunity through Reentry and Empowerment), supporting justice-impacted individuals with employment, personal development, and technology access. Her extensive background includes pivotal roles such as creating Baltimore City's first Equity Report as the city's Equity Specialist and leading discrimination investigations as a Civil Rights Investigator in Tacoma, where she contributed to the Tacoma 2025 Equity Plan. Lu's exemplary leadership and impactful initiatives have earned her numerous accolades, including recognition in the International Human Rights Commission's 2019 Human Rights Defenders Almanac, The Daily Record's Maryland's Top 40 VIPs and Leading Women lists, The Library Journal's 2023 Movers and Shakers, The Baltimore Sun's 2023 Top 25 Women to Watch, Black Girls Vote's Ladies & Politics Honoree List, Baltimore Business Journal's Top 40 under 40 list, and Black Enterprise Magazine's Top 40 under 40 list. Lu's visionary leadership, groundbreaking initiatives, and unwavering dedication to fostering inclusivity and equity make her an ideal candidate for roles that require strategic thinking, organizational development, organizational restructuring, crisis management, and support with operational changes.
