Breann Branch, PhD

Dr. Breann Branch is an accomplished educator, researcher, and equity leader with over a decade of experience in higher education, non-profits, government, and consulting. She specializes in developing and executing organizational strategies that remove systemic barriers and foster equity across institutions. Breann also partners with organizations to identify and elevate promising practices to advance inclusive innovation.

Breann currently serves as Director of Inclusive Innovation Research at Research 2 Impact, where she advances national research on inclusion in patenting. In this role, Breann applies her expertise to investigate how current innovation systems fall short in inclusivity. She leads groundbreaking research, such as a national study on the role of trust in patenting, that explores how innovation ecosystems can be reimagined to expand access, participation, and equitable outcomes. Her work investigates barriers to participation in innovation and access to key resources and supports, especially for historically excluded communities, through both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. She designs and executes research strategies to uncover systemic disparities and inform more equitable policies within innovation ecosystems.

Previously, Breann led equity and inclusion efforts as Director of Research and Organization Change at Culture Journey Consultancy and served as Equity and Inclusion Director at the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). At UCLA’s School of Engineering and Computing, she helped expand access for underrepresented students through the Women in Engineering program.

In addition to her research and consulting work, Breann teaches graduate courses in organizational development, project management, and DEI as an Adjunct Professor at Avila University. She earned her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership, Policy and Foundations and Social Science from the University of Missouri–Kansas City.

Breann’s work continues to shape inclusive ecosystems by blending academic rigor, strategic leadership, and a deep commitment to equity and inclusion.