Hello

I’m Dr. Cynthia Pinchback-Hines, and it has been my honor to walk alongside EPIDEMEK since the very beginning. With more than 40 years of experience in education, diversity leadership, and community development, my life’s work has been centered on helping people break barriers and access meaningful opportunities.

I met Timothy and Summerlee years ago, and their resilience, dedication, and shared passion for transforming this community immediately inspired me. Their vision for EPIDEMEK was bold, necessary, and rooted in justice—and I knew I wanted to support it.

Today, as Board Chair and President, I remain committed to advancing this mission. I am proud to stand with Timothy and Summerlee as we continue building an organization focused on healing, empowerment, and lasting change.

My Experience

I am a Racial Justice Educator, Cooperative Development Specialist, and Organizational Equity Leader with more than 40 years of experience helping individuals, organizations, and communities grow stronger and more equitable. My career has been dedicated to developing leaders, transforming systems, and creating environments where people can work, learn, and thrive without barriers.

In my current work as a Racial Justice Educator and Co-op Developer with Co-op Cincy, I support worker-owned cooperatives and help build inclusive economic models that empower communities—especially those too often left out of traditional systems.

Before that, I served for more than a decade as Chief Administrative Officer for The National Civil Rights & Social Justice Speakers & Training Bureau, where I helped elevate powerful voices for justice and helped launch the program Preparing the Next Generation of Civil Rights Leaders.

I have also led my own consulting firm, TalentEd Network, where I partnered with organizations to strengthen culture, leadership, and equity practices.

My experience in higher education includes serving as Associate Dean for African American Student Affairs & Ethnic Services at Northern Kentucky University. There, I helped develop programs that boosted student retention and graduation rates, expanded leadership pathways for Black students, and established the university’s Black Alumni Association.

Earlier in my career, I spent many years at Cognis and General Motors in organizational development, diversity, talent acquisition, and leadership training. In those roles, I developed initiatives that increased representation in leadership, expanded national recruiting pipelines, and trained thousands of employees across multiple industries.

Throughout every phase of my career, my mission has remained the same: to build systems that advance equity, increase opportunity, and support meaningful transformation. This commitment continues to guide my work and my belief that real change happens when people are empowered to lead, collaborate, and imagine new possibilities together.