Bendita Cynthia Malakia is the founder of the Malakia Movement, a professional coaching and diversity consultancy that empowers diverse legal professionals to live lawfully and reach their personal and professional goals, including starting businesses, work transitions, losing weight, increasing productivity and business development, improving skills, etc., through the Core Energy Coaching process, development exercises and accountability.

Prior to the launch of the Malakia Movement, Bendita, a Barnard woman and Harvard-trained lawyer, spent seven years at Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP (formerly Fulbright & Jaworski LLP) in Washington, DC representing international financial institutions make financial investments in infrastructure, energy and other life changing projects in emerging markets, with a particular focus on Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. During her time at Norton Rose Fulbright, Bendita undertook a one-year secondment to International Finance Corporation, the private sector financing arm of the World Bank, in Nairobi, Kenya and Washington, DC. At Norton Rose Fulbright, Bendita was involved in numerous diversity initiatives, including founding the US LGBT Working Group, launching the US LGBT Affinity Network, and serving as firm liaison to the DC Chapter of the Women’s Energy Network.

In 2015, Bendita joined Goldman Sachs as Vice President and Assistant General Counsel in its Private Wealth Management global lending business in Irving, Texas, where she spent one year advising the business on sophisticated lending transactions to ultra high net worth clients. At Goldman, Bendita was on the Steering Committee and in charge of the Career Development Pillar for the Dallas Black Network, was an active member of LGBT Network and led a personal and professional development discussion group for Black women in Goldman Sachs’ Irving office.

Bendita has been recognized for her work as a finance lending lawyer, including being named (1) a 2015 Rising Star by Super Lawyers, (2) to Who’s Who Legal – Project Finance in Washington, DC for 2015, and (3) to Who’s Who in Black Dallas in 2016. She currently sits on the Board of Directors of the National LGBT Bar, where she co-chaired the Corporate Counsel Institute in 2015, and was previously a member of the Board of Directors of the Harvard Real Estate Academic Initiative from 2008-2016 and a founder of the Harvard Real Estate Alumni Organization. Bendita lives in Dallas, Texas with Chauntel, her wonderful wife and an Aetna pharmacist.