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Dr. Sesha Joi Moon is a global thought leader with 20 years of experience as a social impact strategist whose expertise sits at the intersection of government, entertainment, technology, music, fashion, sports, and philanthropy. Her coined philosophy is "Diversity is delegating our differences and inclusivity is celebrating our differences — but equity is elevating our differences." 

Dr. Moon most notably served as Chief Diversity Officer for the U.S. House of Representatives for the 117th and 118th Congresses — leading the U.S. House Office of Diversity & Inclusion as a non-partisan and non-legislative congressional office at the pleasure of Speakers Nancy Pelosi, Kevin McCarthy, and Mike Johnson. She previously served in the Office of the Secretary and U.S. Patent & Trademark Office at the U.S. Department of Commerce where she received the Commerce Bronze Award for Superior Performance and Commerce Spirit Award — before concluding her tenure as the inaugural Chief Diversity Officer at the National Institute of Standards & Technology. 

Dr. Moon, whose career has been highlighted by the likes of CNN, AP News, TIME, ESSENCE, Forbes, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, Black Enterprise, Fox News, The Daily Mail, The Guardian, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, The Grio, PBS NewsHour, Politico, The Hill and Roll Call, recently transitioned from the Federal Government after 15 years of public service — ending her tenure with receipt of the Washington Government Relations Group’s Bennie G. Thompson Champion of Diversity Award at the 2024 Tin Cup Awards and Trailblazer Award at the 2024 Martha’s Vineyard Chief Diversity Officer Summit. Upon her departure, she served as Chief Strategist for Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett [TX-30] during her Campaign Co-Chairmanship for Harris for President and currently serves as Executive-in-Residence with the American Pride Rises Network, which was founded by Stacey Abrams, through her non-partisan consultancy — Moon & Associates, LLC.

In addition to completing executive education programs at Harvard University, where she received the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Pioneer Award from the Harvard Law School and Harvard Kennedy School’s Sports, Entertainment, and Impact Summit, Dr. Moon graduated with a Ph.D. in Public Administration & Policy from Old Dominion University in 2013. She also earned a M.S. from the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government & Public Affairs in 2008 and B.A. in African American Studies from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2005. As a proud alumna, she received the VCU Black History in the Making Award and VCU Alumni Stars Award — and became the first Black queer woman to establish an endowed scholarship fund in university history. The Dr. Sesha Joi Moon Endowed Scholarship Fund is designed to provide need-based support to students in pursuit of an undergraduate or graduate degree in African American Studies within the College of Humanities & Sciences or L. Douglas Wilder School of Government & Public Affairs. To donate, please visit www.vcu.edu. 

As a philanthropist, Dr. Moon also established the George Ernest Johnson Endowed Scholarship Fund at Virginia State University in tribute to her grandfather, which provides need-based support to students in pursuit of an undergraduate degree in the Music Unit within the College of Humanities & Social Sciences or a member of the Trojan Explosion Band. To donate, please visit www.vsu.edu. She also established the Inez Orzene Jaudon Johnson Endowed Scholarship Fund at Virginia Union University in tribute to her grandmother, which provides need-based support to students in pursuit of an undergraduate or graduate degree within the School of Education or Department of Social Work & Sociology. To donate, please visit www.vuu.edu. Additionally, the August & Michon Moon Endowed Scholarship Fund was established with Richmond Public Schools in tribute to her parents — which is the first endowed scholarship fund to be established in school system history and is designed to provide need-based support to students in pursuit of continued education after earning a high school diploma or equivalent. To donate, please visit www.rvaschools.net.

Dr. Moon is also Executive Director of The JXN Project, also known as JXN, which is a historic preservation non-profit organization dedicated to  capturing the pivotal role of Jackson Ward in the Black American experience — given its standing as one of the country's original "Black Wall Streets" and first historically registered Black urban neighborhood. JXN is a grantee of the Mellon Foundation's "Monuments Project" and recipient of the American Association for State and Local History's 2022 Leadership in History Award, as well as the 2022 RVA Community Maker Award by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2022 Richmond History Maker Award by the Valentine Museum, and 2021 Golden Hammer Award for "Best Placemaking" by Historic Richmond. The project, which has been documented by 2021 Pulitzer Prize Winner Michael Paul Williams of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, is in partnership with PBS NPR VPM to produce a film and Library of Virginia to curate an exhibition about America 250. To learn more information, please visit www.thejxnproject.org.

Dr. Moon is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and has served on the Board of Directors with the African American Federal Executive Association and Commonwealth of Virginia's Criminal Justice Services Board as appointed by the 73rd Governor of Virginia. She is also a Senior Research Fellow with The Conference Board’s Engagement Institute and Senior Fellow of the Excellence in Government Fellowship Program with the Partnership for Public Service. In 2023, she was recognized at the United Nations as “100 of the Most Influential People of African Descent." She was also named "2023 Top 40 Under 40" by PBS NPR VPM’s Style Weekly and Axios named her and her sister, Enjoli Moon, as the second "Most Powerful Richmonders of 2022."

Dr. Moon resides in the Washington, DC area with her wife and cockapoo but hails from Richmond, Virginia as the proud daughter of Dr. Michon Moon and the late August Moon — who is best known for producing one of the most sampled baselines in hip hop music called "Seven Minutes of Funk."