About Dr. Liz Dubois
Origin Story
From about five years old I knew I wanted to do something powerful with my life. My parents would watch news of the war happening in the Middle East, and I would hide under the coffee table as I watched what looked like fireworks shoot across the black sky— fireworks my mom had explained were really bombs.
Hiding scared under that coffee table, I decided that when I grew up, I was going to do something that changed the world for the better.
For the first sixteen years of my career, I pursued that change by working in and then leading and eventually founding non-profit organizations. After seeing firsthand how much of the dollars raised went into overhead, rather than direct services, I sought out where I could best have that tangible impact I’d been dreaming of since those days under the coffee table.
Professional Bio
Elizabeth Degi DuBois (PhD, Conflict Resolution, MA, Sociology) is an executive coach and professional development coach who approaches her work using a trauma-informed lens. Through one-on-one coaching, group courses offered through her Boss Bitch University, organizational consulting, and public speaking, Dr. DuBois helps clients ditch people pleasing and overthink, get in touch with the version of themselves they were before societal BS programming got stuffed down their throats, & lead their organizations from a place of unapologetic power, deeply grounded in unconditional self-acceptance and joy.
Drawing from a range of Conflict Analysis and Resolution frameworks, somatic counseling tools, and Narrative Regression and Reframing techniques she has developed, Dr. Liz’s unique approach empowers clients to address trauma, codependency, and self-worth issues that are the underlying causes of many of the challenges high performers face in their personal and professional lives.
Dr. Liz’s clients have:
→ Been recruited to a director level position at a multi-billion dollar tech startup
→ Gotten promoted to executive leadership
→ Scaled their businesses to seven figures
→ Landed partnerships and big fat juicy raises to go with them
→ Increased sales by more than 17X
→ Gotten featured in publications including Bustle and Forbes
→ Sold out programs within hours of their first session
→ Landed on the Amazon Top 10 Best-seller list
→ Increased their income by more than 40% in a month
→ Found pleasure and safety in sex for the first time in years
→ Fired shitty clients and landed dream ones at significantly higher price points
→ Felt safe asking for their needs to be met in their personal relationships
→ Drawn boundaries with toxic coworkers and bosses
→ Felt significantly more confident and happy
Over the course of her career, Dr. DuBois has served in executive leadership of two NGOs and has been a consultant to organizations including USAID on a range of issues related to educational equity, gender-based violence, and women’s empowerment.
Dr. DuBois is a co-founder of the Center for the Study of Gender and Conflict at The Carter School for Peacebuilding at George Mason University, where she served as the founding Executive Director from 2013-2015. As part of her work at the Center, Dr. DuBois has conducted her own research on gender-based violence in the U.S., Cambodia, Indonesia, and the Russian Federation. She was a US Department of Education Fellow at the Faculty of Sociology at National Research University— Higher School of Economics in Moscow, Russia in 2012.
Dr. DuBois’ work has been published in numerous trade outlets, as well as peer-reviewed publications including Advances in Gender Research, Empowerment in Practice: Strategies and Outcomes, and Women’s Political Leadership Monograph.
Dr. DuBois is a self-proclaimed beach bum, and loves boating, motorsports, and sunsets. She and her family live on Maryland’s eastern shore with their pet turtle, Turd.
Curriculum Vitae
Experience
Spring 2019
Adjunct Professor
American University School
Teaching SISU 306-024, Critical Approaches to IR Research
Present
Provost’s Fellow
George Mason University Office of the Provost
Completing original research on civil rights and family conflict using Baltimore, Maryland as a case study evaluating the limits and potentials of leveraging racial privilege to advocate for civil rights legislation.
2015 – 2018
Executive Director
Downtown Baltimore Family Alliance
Directed all aspects of non-partisan advocacy group dedicated to education equity and inclusive community development.
Led policy advocacy on a range of civil rights issues.
Played instrumental role securing $100M in state and city funding to close historically unprecedented public school budget gap.
Drastically expanded representation of persons of color on leadership team, and applied racial equity framework to all programming.
2012 – 2015
Co-Founder, Executive Director
Center for the Study of Gender and Conflict at George Mason University
Spearheaded the creation of a research/practice center dedicated to addressing gender-based violence domestically and internationally. Provided subject matter expert consultation to USAID and UNICEF.
2012
US Department Fellow
Higher School of Economics, National Research University (Moscow, Russia)
Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education fellowship recipient at Russian Federation’s preeminent research university. Conducted ethnographic research on public policy responses to domestic violence and intimate partner violence.
2011 – 2013
Dean’s Fellow
George Mason University School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution
Built high-level relationships with government and private sector to further School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution’s policy influence. Developed five year strategic plan to direct School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution’s engagement on gender-based violence.
2008 – 2011
Founder, CEO
Mount Degi & Associates
Consulting firm serving women and girls’ focused NGOs. Services included legislative relations, strategic planning, issue advocacy, fundraising and community engagement.
EDUCATION
May 2019 Conferral
Doctor of Philosoph, Race and Gender Conflict
George Mason University
Class of 2012
Masters of Arts, Sociology
George Mason University
Class of 2005
Bachelors of Arts, Print Journalism
American University
Selected Publications
Paved With Good Intentions: The Case for Gender as a Social Structure in Policy Construction.
Mount, Elizabeth D. 2015.
In Deconstructing Women, Peace and Security: A critical review of approaches to gender and empowerment, eds. Sandra Cheldelin and Martha Mutisi. HSRC.
Well Intended Measures: Conceptualizing Gender in Post-Conflict Policy Development.
Mount, Elizabeth D. 2013.
In Advancing Gender Research (18B), eds. Vasilikie Demos and Marcia Segal. Emerald Publishing Group.
Gender, Inequality, and the Measurement Trap.
Dwyer, Leslie K., Thomas Flores, Sandra I. Cheldelin and Elizabeth D. Mount. 2012. Commissioned
Consultation to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
Community Leadership
2016 – Present
Advisory Council President, Maryland Maternity Access Coalition, Maryland
2016 – 2018
Board Member, Downtown Partnership of Baltimore, Baltimore, MD
2014 – 2015
Commissioner, Alexandria Commission on HIV-AIDS, Alexandria, VA
2008 – 2010
Mentor, Educate Tomorrow Girls Leadership Project, Miami, FL
2008
Board Member, Georgetown Business Association, Washington, D.C.
2007 – 2008
Volunteer, Calvary Women’s Services, Washington, D.C.