Gilary is a change management leader, organizational strategist, and coach with over 15 years of experience leading complex, multi-stakeholder work across public, nonprofit, education, and community-based systems. She specializes in helping organizations navigate transformation—strengthening how strategy, structures, and day-to-day practices shape people’s experiences inside institutions, particularly for those historically excluded or marginalized by public systems.

Gilary currently works as a contractor with UPD Consulting leading and supporting large-scale projects with U.S. based adult education systems, city governments, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations. Her work often sits at the intersection of program design, learning systems, and organizational responsibility, supporting leaders to move from intention to execution while strengthening access, participation, and fairness in service and decision-making.

She is also the Founder and Principal Consultant of Inclusive Leaders, partnering with organizations across Canada on organizational strategy, program evaluation, learning and development, and leadership coaching. Across both practices, she brings deep expertise in human-centered design, systems thinking, and translating qualitative and quantitative insight into practical action—particularly where programs and policies affect historically marginalized communities.

Alongside her consulting work, Gilary maintains an active Co-Active coaching practice, partnering with leaders navigating complexity and transition within public and organizational systems. Her coaching supports clarity, self-awareness, and decision-making while remaining grounded in the human impact of leadership.

Gilary’s leadership is informed by her lived experience as an Afro-Latina Muslim and a commitment to community-informed practice. She holds a Master’s degree in Leadership and Community Engagement and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from York University in Toronto, Canada. Her writing has appeared in Until We Are Free and Curriculum Inquiry. She works across Canada, the United States, and Latin America, speaks English and Spanish, and lives in Panama with her husband and three children.