Bilen Mesfin Packwood is the founder and principal of Change Consulting, an award-winning social change communications agency based in Oakland, California. She is a trusted strategic advisor to leading changemakers. Change Consulting is the communications partner of choice for leaders driving racial and social justice. For 18 years, the full-service agency has partnered with organizations and leaders on the frontlines of creating a just, inclusive world. By providing strategic guidance, along with media relations, digital, content and creative services, Change helps leaders fully realize their mission and vision.

Prior to founding Change Consulting, Bilen advanced communications efforts for then San Francisco District Attorney Kamala D. Harris. As a journalist, Bilen wrote for the Associated Press, the Nashville Tennessean, Edutopia and Art & Antiques, among other publications. She has a Master’s in Journalism from the University of California, Berkeley, and a BA in English from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. She has been featured in: The Root, Blavity, Motherly, Her Money, KQED and was named one of 2024’s women to watch by NASDAQ.

Awards she has received include: California Black Women’s Trailblazer Hall of Fame Awards in 2023 and 2024; 2025 Silver Stevie Award for Best Female Entrepreneur; and 2025 Gold Anthem Community Voice Award and a Silver Anthem Award as a Business Leader in the Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging category.