Ina Gjikondi

Dr. Ina Gjikondi is the Director of Learning Innovation & Strategic Growth at the George Washington University Center for Excellence in Public Leadership (GW CEPL) and Founder of One Humanity Lab — a laboratory for wholeness-based leadership formation at the intersection of inner development, learning innovation, and collective transformation. She designs learning architectures for the inner life of leaders: experiences that invite remembering — who we are, why we are here, and what makes us feel alive —and cultivate the aesthetic sensibility, multiple ways of knowing, and precise language of agency from which true leadership emerges. Her work bridges eco-phenomenology, Indigenous science, Goethean inquiry, and contemplative epistemology, honoring the wisdom of the Earth and the interconnectedness of all beings as living sources of knowing.

At GW CEPL, she leads strategic growth initiatives, oversees a portfolio of leadership development and coach education programs — including the Youth Development Professional Certification and the One Humanity Leadership Coaching Certification — and strengthens institutional relationships, particularly with the District of Columbia Government.

As an educator, researcher, and convenor, Dr. Gjikondi integrates rigorous academic inquiry with embodied, real-world application — creating spaces for dialogue, creative exploration, and transformative collaboration. As an executive coach, consultant, facilitator, intuitive guide, and strategic thought partner, she supports leaders in bringing their whole selves into their work: navigating complexity with clarity, recovering aliveness, and developing the inner precision from which meaningful action flows. She believes transformation begins with asking the right questions and engaging imagination, intuition, and aesthetic intelligence to co-create practical and sacred solutions. These experiences and perspectives are shared weekly in her Leadership Apothecary newsletter.

Before moving to the United States, Ina was a civil society advocate, political organizer, and lawyer in her native Albania, where she founded several nonprofits rooted in collective agency and civic imagination. She holds a Doctor of Education in Human and Organizational Learning from GW, where her research explored ecocentrism in education. She continues to draw deep inspiration from her son, Hadrian, who teaches her to slow down and show up for life with genuine curiosity — a spirit that lives at the heart of everything she designs and tends. Her calling for the world is carried in four words: More Light and Love.