Holly Mendelson

Holly Mendelson is the co-owner and vice president of Potomac Publishing, Inc. She is the co-publisher of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the largest and oldest nationally distributed diversity and inclusion magazine in higher education, and DiversityIS, the new diversity and inclusion magazine for U.S. K-12 independent schools.

Prior to owning INSIGHT Into Diversity, Mendelson worked in corporate marketing at companies such as Marriott International, Inc. and Bell Atlantic, Inc. When the opportunity arose to make a contribution to the world of diversity and inclusion, she embraced the transition due to her strong personal beliefs about the critical nature of the work being done.

Since purchasing INSIGHT Into Diversity (formerly known as the Affirmative Action Register) in 2007, Mendelson and her co-owner have completely revamped the publication to be the foremost voice for advancing the national conversation about diversity and inclusion in higher education and beyond.

In 2012, INSIGHT Into Diversity introduced the INSIGHT Into Diversity Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award to recognize the difficult and under-appreciated work being done by diversity administrators on college campuses around the country. The HEED Award — and its 2017 brand extension, the Health Professions HEED Award — measures a school’s level of commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion on its campus through initiatives, programs, and outreach; student recruitment, retention, and completion; and hiring practices for faculty, staff, and administrators.

Mendelson is also the vice president of Viewfinder® Campus Climate Surveys, a survey instrument that enables colleges and universities to assess the strengths and weaknesses of their campus climate around diversity and inclusion.

Mendelson graduated from the University of Michigan–Ann Arbor in 1987 with a bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications, and psychology. She resides in Gaithersburg, Md., with her husband Brad and has two teenage children. To learn more, visit insightintodiversity.com, diversityIS.com, or campusclimatesurveys.com.