Carlton Ford

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

SKILLS

ABOUT CARLTON FORD

I lead organizations and boards through moments that determine whether they plateau, fracture, or scale.As Managing Partner & CEO of Diaz Inclusion Consulting, my work sits at the intersection of leadership, governance, capital strategy, and long-range institutional alignment.Over the last decade, I have partnered with boards and executive teams to-Navigate CEO and senior leadership transitions-Align governance with future-focused strategy-Strengthen revenue models and philanthropic systems-Build leadership capacity that lasts beyond a single tenureI currently serve as Board Chair of Nu Deco Ensemble and Chair-Elect of Chamber Music America, and I sit on the Boards of New York Festival of Song (NYFOS) and Aspen Music Festival and School. Across these roles, I am trusted to help institutions ask harder questions about scale, relevance, and sustainability — and to translate those answers into action.Earlier in my career, I served in senior advancement and philanthropy roles, raising more than $60M in support of cultural organizations nationwide. That experience continues to inform my work today: strategy that cannot be resourced is not strategy.I began my professional life as an international opera singer, performing on major stages worldwide. That lived experience as an artist — combined with executive leadership and board governance — shapes how I understand institutions from the inside out.I am most often engaged when the stakes are real, the timelines are compressed, and the future must be designed rather than defended.