Lenore Pearlstein is the president and co-owner of Potomac Publishing, Inc., publisher of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the largest and most well-respected national diversity and inclusion publication and website in higher education.  

Lenore is also the founder and president of Campus Climate Surveys, LLC.  She created a comprehensive campus climate survey instrument named Viewfinder to enable colleges and universities to measure their diversity and inclusion strengths and weaknesses among students, faculty, staff, and administrators. The goal is to improve the recruitment and retention of students and employees, as well as create a campus environment where everyone feels safe, welcome, and respected.

Lenore’s creative vision and never-ending dedication to excellence in diversity and inclusion in higher education led her to create the INSIGHT Into Diversity Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award in 2012. She developed the only national application-based award that measures an institution’s level of achievement and intensity of commitment to broadening diversity and inclusion on its campus through initiatives, programs, and outreach; student recruitment, retention, and completion; and diverse hiring practices for faculty and staff. In 2015, she also developed the Health professions HEED Award application which is open to all medical, dental, veterinary, nursing, pharmacy, and osteopathic schools, as well as comprehensive health centers.

Since the inception of the HEED Award, Lenore has expanded INSIGHT Into Diversity’s recognitions to include the Giving Back Diversity Leadership Award, the Diversity Visionary Award, the Diversity Champion recognition, and the Inspiring Programs in STEM Award. 

Lenore is a member of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America National Higher Education Access and Scholarship Task Force, the Hillsborough Community College Black, Brown and College Bound Advisory Board, and the Higher Education- Industry Coalition Diversity in partnership with Working Mother Media’s Diversity Best Practices arm.  

The daughter of a Holocaust survivor, Lenore had listened to her father speak to young people since she was 16 years old. He not only tells his story of the suffering he experienced during his time in the Nazi concentration camp Bergen-Belsen, but also encourages mostly underrepresented minority and inner-city students to stay in school and get an education, something he was unable to accomplish himself. His tremendous impact on thousands of students and adults for over 50 years motivated Lenore to carry on his mission to never forget the past but to also move forward and learn from his and other’s horrific experiences. 

Lenore graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park in 1979 with a Bachelor of Science in accounting. She resides in Bethesda, Md., with her husband Michael.  She has two adult children and four grandchildren.