Supporting leaders to be legends in all arenas is my ministry. I aim to be a monarch maker, serving as a catalyst for high performing individuals and institutions to elevate to even greater heights. Through catalyst coaching and strategic advisory services, I will quickly become your favorite member of your kitchen cabinet. We develop executives and board members into inclusive, strategic leaders that are the difference between sufficient and superior in their personal and professional pursuits.
Principal
People, Passion, Profession
Bendita Cynthia Malakia (any/all) is a talent cultivation and leadership executive whose aim is to ensure that leaders from all backgrounds – in particular those that are underrepresented, underserved and underestimated – can thrive. She currently leads diversity & engagement at the global law firm of O’Melveny & Myers and coaches executives and board members to achieve their ambitions.
Bendita has served as a finance lawyer in a large law firm and in-house at International Finance Corporation and Goldman Sachs. Following that, Bendita supported mid-size law firms in solving their complex, bespoke talent challenges, and was global Chief D&I Officer at an AmLaw 10 firm. Bendita has served as a certified coach for over two decades and uses her legal leadership experiences and the cultural acuity she has developed help both institutional and individual clients win.
Bendita’s advisory extends to being a prolific writer, speaker and teacher on leadership, organizational excellence, intercultural communication, career navigation, and DE&I. She is Immediate Past President of the National LGBTQ+ Bar and serves on the advisory board of Institute for Inclusion in the Legal Profession. She also serves as an advisor to Keep Company, an organizational development startup that leverages coaching in community as its primary modality to create high performing cultures while reducing burnout. A natural educator, Bendita trains coaches to coach and previously co-taught a leadership course for lawyers at Howard University School of Law.
Bendita graduated from Harvard Law School and Barnard College. Bendita has been recognized for innovative racial justice programming and for being a global DE&I leader that other DE&I leaders admire. In recognition for supporting the leadership of CEOs, government officials, and leaders across industries, her high school placed Bendita on its Wall of Distinction in 2022. You can find Bendita at www.linkedin.com/in/bendita.
Clients
I seek to understand, partner, develop and contribute to the canon on leadership, organizational excellence, intercultural communication, high performance individual and culture enhancement, and diversity, equity and inclusion. I am well-positioned to provide strategic talent and cutlure advice, to coach your executives, board members and partners, or to provide training and education to enhance your culture. These are just some of the organizations that have been clients, collaborators and/or provided a platform for my thought leadership.
Testimonials
Bendita is the first person I go to when planning any career move. In 2012-2013, Bendita spent months advising and guiding me and ultimately helped me to make a difficult decision to leave my former firm. Because of her advice and guidance, I joined a new one that was a much better fit for me. I’m now a partner at an AMLaw 100 firm and will always be grateful to Bendita for her unconditional help and coaching.
-Rabeha K
Malakia Movement LLC has been extremely instrumental in my preparation for a career transition. I was given useful tips on how to navigate the ever-changing dynamics of obtaining gainful employment. I was also provided with useful courses of action I could use immediately in my search. Bendita Malakia provided one on one support for personal growth and resume building. She provides timely feedback and great concepts in presenting your best self. If you are seeking growth exponentially on a professional and personal level, Malakia Movement LLC delivers!
-Jennifer C
Bendita Malakia’s assistance with my resume and cover letter helped me to secure jobs on two separate occasions (once with a law firm and once with the government). She took the time to provide detailed, line-by-line feedback, asking the right questions to make sure the final products were accurate but also detailed and reflective of my experiences. The result was a polished product that made me shine and that I was proud to submit. Working with her also increased my confidence which resulted in interviews I felt good about and that ultimately resulted in job offers.
-Sairah S
Ms. Malakia was incredibly prompt, precise and helpful. She responded to my emails very quickly and throughout the day, and her feedback was both personalized and helpful. I would certainly recommend her, especially if you feel shaky about your career services department.
-Anthony T
I was uncertain about investing in an executive coach but I cannot thank you enough. This is exactly what I needed and right on time! Thank you!
-Jay H
Bendita Malakia was professional, patient, courteous, knowledgeable, and extremely helpful. I cannot think of anything that could have gone better—she exceeded my expectations and despite my years of experience as a senior public health expert I learned from her.
-Karen B
Bendita’s coaching is dynamic and authentic!
-Senior associate at Top 10 Law Firm
Bendita’s coaching is “transformative” and moved me to fully embrace my leadership potential and direct change.
-Deputy general counsel for a $250M+ Revenue Energy Company
Bendita’s coaching provides a shift that is truly life changing.
-Independent middle school principal
Bendita’s large law firm and in-house counsel experience is instrumental in her ability to fully understand the diversity and inclusion challenges that legal organizations face.
-Chief Diversity Partner of an AmLaw 100 Firm
Bendita truly made a major impact on me both personally and as a job applicant. I appreciate it more than you know!! … I thank her for being so supportive and encouraging–she never let me get away with criticizing myself or letting things get to me too much, which I needed from someone much more than I realized. I will undoubtedly use the things she taught me moving forward–frankly, she taught so much more about myself as a person than I anticipated, and I’m so grateful for that!
-Caitlin C