#WPC26
MEET WORKSHOP PRESENTERS
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Agyapong, Ama
Ama Agyapong, also known as 'That Inclusion Lady,' is the CEO of Inclusion Enterprises. She is a Speaker, Master Facilitator, certified EEOC investigator, and talented senior-level consultant with 15 years of progressive leadership experience in human resources, strategic planning, program development, employee engagement, and culture change management experience. With an MBA in Global Management, she has implemented functional diversity and inclusion strategies in partnership with key stakeholders focused on improving the employee experience, leadership development, and profit margins.
Alpem, Robin
Robin Alpern is a white cisgender woman raised in the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). As Director of Training at the Center for Study of White American Culture, Robin co-designs and co-leads anti-racist workshops. Robin has co-presented workshops at the White Privilege Conference and has been a guest speaker at events and on podcasts. She was recruited by professors at Vassar College to help develop and teach an off-campus class for educators on How to Talk About Race with children. Her chapter about The Arc of White Womanhood, her online anti-racist work with white women, is published in RISE for Racial Justice: How to Talk About Race with Schools and Communities.
Brooks, Durrye
Durrye Brooks, PhD, MA is interdisciplinary researcher, scholar-practitioner, and a social justice educator from Baltimore, MD. He is the Founder and CEO of Love and Justice Consulting LLC, an organizational and leadership development firm that provides leaders with diversity and social justice learning opportunities. Durrye is the former Policy Chair for the Baltimore City School Board and is a WKKF Community Leadership Network Fellow alumni. He is the author of (Re)conceptualizing Love: Moving Towards a Critical Theory of Love in Education for Social Justice, which articulates a vision and framework for re-conceptualizing love in ways that produce intersectional justice and healing.
Broussard Red, Liz
Liz Broussard Red is a transplant from Concord, NH who has been making Jackson, MS home since 2013. As a co-steward of the Center for Mississippi Food Systems, she is committed to building equitable, just, and sustainable food systems and nurturing systems thinkers. She previously served as a FoodCorps service member in Norwich, CT and a FoodCorps Fellow in Mississippi. Liz holds a graduate certificate in Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership from Arizona State University and a bachelor’s in food and the environment from Cornell College in Mount Vernon, IA. She is a proud mama of a joyful and strong-willed 2-year-old and wife to a Jackson-native filmmaker and business owner.
Brown, Marni
Marni Brown has a master’s degree in education and a PhD in Sociology. Her areas of research and teaching have focused on gender, sexuality, and social inequality. As a professor, she been teaching for over 15 years, working with first generation college students at a minority serving institution. In addition, she is the co-founder of the consulting practice, For All of Us Consulting, where she works with educators to improve inclusive practices regarding gender, sexuality, race, and ethnicity.
Bryers, Robyn
Robyn Bryers, M.S. (they/he) is a dynamic justice practitioner who has guided, coached, and trained leaders for 20 years. With a rich background in group facilitation, experiential education, anti-oppressive counseling, and restorative practice, Robyn brings a diverse and robust skill set to supporting change at the individual and organizational level. Robyn embeds concepts and practices of equity and justice into every aspect of their work, namely how leaders and organizations align their values of equity and justice with their behaviors and policies.
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Campbell, Marcus
Marcus Campbell has served as the Superintendent of Evanston Township High School District 202 since July 2022. He recently published an Op Ed in Newsweek titled “In Defense of Equity Work” (https://www.newsweek.com/defense-equity-work-opinion-2014275). Marcus earned his Ed.D. in Educational Leadership at National College of Education, National Louis University.
Chaisson-Cardenas, John-Paul
John-Paul Chaisson-Cardenas, PhD, MSW, SHRM-SCP is the founding Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at CT State Community College. He has more than 30 years of experience developing and evaluating educational programs all over the United States and Latin America and has been recognized at the national level for his work transforming large multimillion-dollar systems towards equity. John-Paul a National Executive Civil Rights fellow at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (a Smithsonian partner), where his research focused on resistance, and backlash to DEI efforts by demonizing Critical Race Theory and Transgender people. John-Paul served as the Chief Civil Rights Compliance Officer for the Washington State department of education (OSPI), Commissioner of Human Rights/Latine Affairs in Iowa. John-Paul is a war survivor who has seen directly what happens when a government infringes on the civil and human rights of its people.
Chalmers, Michelle
Michelle Chalmers is a White woman from predominantly White communities in the suburbs of Boston, created by redlining and racist policies of exclusion. Michelle has been a facilitator of White People Challenging Racism for 15 years. She strives every day to be an antiracist, engaging in workshops, dialogues and conversations about White supremacy, capitalism and racism. She hopes to encourage White people to dig deeper, get uncomfortable, and strive to be antiracist too.
Chandler-Ward, Jenna
Jenna Chandler-Ward is an educator, diversity consultant, and cofounder of the popular professional development site Teaching While White. With over two decades of experience, she has been an educator in non-profits, schools, and colleges working with students from kindergarten to adult learners. She is a consultant and instructional coach in Providence, RI.
Cohen, Allison
Alison M. Cohen is a co-founder and Director of the National Right to Food Community of Practice, a growing national network focused on shared learning among those advocating for the right to food to be codified in laws and policies at local and state levels. Alison has thirty years’ experience supporting grassroots-led organizations addressing the root causes of hunger and poverty. Her training and practice in organizing, facilitative leadership and popular education have informed processes leading to the formation of networks and collaborative projects where grassroots power turns into solutions that can transform institutions, structures, and systems.
Corbelli, Mary
Mary Corbelli holds bachelor’s degrees in education and biology and a master's degree in developmental and educational psychology, all from Boston College. She is a doctoral candidate at Vanderbilt University's Peabody College with an anticipated completion date of November 2024. She has worked in New York City independent schools for over a decade in teaching, admissions, school placement, and supporting neurotypical and neurodiverse students and their families in decision-making and interfacing with school and outside specialists. Mary guides educators and families through a holistic and intersectional lens, focused on what best meets their child's present developmental needs, in the context of the school or family unit, always considering longer-term likelihoods, hopes, and goals. She centers the intersection of learning and social-emotional well-being in all elements of her work.
Cort, Jen
Jen Cort is a diversity practitioner working with schools and organizations around The United States and multiple countries Jen has presented at national conferences, hosts a diversity institute is a frequent contributor to publications. And her work has been quoted in Racing Toward Diversity, Insights, Friends Journal, NAIS Independent Journal, Washington Post, Boston Globe, New York Times, and more. Jen is the author of HUBS, Help Us Begin Mindsets and Strategies for Challenging Conversations, and host of an internationally syndicated podcast, "Third Space With Jen Cort"
Cruise-Roberson, Gail
Gail Cruise-Roberson (she/her) is a co-director of the SEED Project and leads the SEED office at the Wellesley Centers for Women. Gail Cruise-Roberson is an African American with Caribbean roots, a native New Yorker, parent and partner, lifelong learner and adult educator who has learned the importance of meditation and mindfulness in the work of social justice.
Dempsey, Douglas K.
Award-winning filmmaker Douglas K. Dempsey works in both film and museum media, often in collaboration with Thorsen. Documentaries include “James Baldwin: The Price of the Ticket, Keepers of Eden & Buried Prayers.” IMAX films include “Living Planet, Flyers & Shackleton’s Antarctic Adventure.” Museum credits include installations at the Smithsonian, Washington’s Mt. Vernon and Pilgrim Hall Museum. Current projects: the “James Baldwin Project & Thomas Paine: Voice of Revolution.”
Denevi, Elizabeth
Elizabeth Denevi, PhD, is an educator, consultant, and cofounder of the popular professional development site Teaching While White. As Director of the Eastern Educational Resource Collaborative (East Ed), Elizabeth has worked with educational institutions across the country to promote equity and diversity pedagogy. She has served as both a K-12 classroom teacher and senior administrator. She is also an assistant professor at Lewis and Clark Graduate School of Education and Counseling in the Leadership Studies department.
Didla, Noel
Noel Didla is an immigrant from Guntur, South India making Jackson, Mississippi home. She serves as the chair of the MS Food Policy Council and as a co-steward of the Center for Mississippi Food Systems. Noel is the co-founder and co-steward of the Deep South Solidarity Fund, a giving experiment that abundantly provides unrestricted funding to BIPOC individuals, institutions and movement infrastructure development across AL, AR, MS, LA and GA. Noel also co-stewards human rights and reparations work globally with partners in Ghana, Brazil, India and other places.
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Fierro, Rita
Rita Fierro is a social justice consultant and coach who equips changemakers to make a greater difference even when organizations, communities, or systems resist change. Rita has 30 years of experience in studying systemic racism. She is the author of Digging Up the Seeds of White Supremacy providing both an analysis of the System as one—and a way out. Rita has a Phd. in African American Studies from Temple University and a Masters in Sociology from the University of Rome.
Fox, Claudia
Claudia A. Fox Tree is an anti-bias workshop and course facilitator for Initiatives with Developing Equity and Achievement for Students. She has helped educators transform themselves, and their curriculum, teaching practices, and institutions for over thirty years. Claudia is a recently retired public middle school special educator. She earned her Masters/ Doctoral degrees on unceded Massa-adchu-es-et and Pawtucket lands. She is a tribal council member for Taino-Arawak iukaieke Guainia. Since 2000, she has been a board member on the Massachusetts Center for Native American Awareness.
Fuqua, Sam
Sam Fuqua is a co-host of the podcast, "Well, That Went Sideways” and an award-winning radio journalist who has worked in public media since 1990, including over 20 years on the staff of KGNU, the community public radio station serving Boulder/Denver. Sam is also an advocate for equitable public education and served on the Boulder Valley Board of Education 2011-2019. He also worked for six years as Executive Director of the children's arts & literacy nonprofit Pop Culture Classroom.
Gaffney, Karen
Karen Gaffney, PhD is an English professor at Raritan Valley Community College in NJ. The second edition of her book, Dismantling the Racism Machine: A Manual and Toolbox, is due to be published by Routledge in May 2025. Visit her website with resources at dividednolonger.com.
Gibbs-Hall, Ian
Ian Gibbs-Hall is a former chemist, teacher, and consultant who now focuses on enabling perspective shifts to advance the progress of DEI. Ian believes the groups, identities, and labels we use to navigate our world and create meaning are the underlying source of our systemic issues. He believes our need to define overshadows our ability to understand each other. Growing up mixed race in predominantly White spaces, he had a front row seat to people’s confusion and need to define “what” he was. Ian now specializes in creating content, strategies, and communications to better understand ourselves and sees every interaction as a chance to learn from the one-of-a-kind perspectives of others.
Givens, Jamal
Jamal Givens is a dedicated leader with extensive experience in counseling and human services. He holds a master’s in education and a bachelor’s in sociology, providing a deep understanding of factors impacting individuals and communities. As President/CEO of LPKNC, a nonprofit focused on promoting mental health and prevention of substance misuse. Known for his communication skills, Jamal advocates for positive change and social justice, making a lasting impact.
Griffith, Debra
Debra Y. Griffith is a transformative leader with over 25 years of experience across education sectors, from universities to K-12 schools. As Chief Equity Programs Officer at Alliance College-Ready Public Schools, she drives systemic change to foster an anti-racist, pro-Black organizational culture. Formerly Vice President of Student Services, Diversity, and Inclusion, she has built impactful DEI initiatives across institutions. Debra also leads Do Better Executive Coaching, empowering women of color in leadership through strategic, heart-centered coaching, and Do Better by Design, where she collaborates with organizations to build tailored, results-driven solutions. Her work centers on inclusive leadership, resilience, and a steadfast commitment to equity at every level.
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Hafiz, Fatima
Fatima Hafiz is the CEO and Lead Facilitator of the TEA Group, an education and conversation facilitation design group. With over 30 years of experience, she specializes in guiding difficult conversations with high emotional volatility. Her coaching style is gentle and focuses on discovery. Fatima and her team of experienced facilitators offer calm and compassionate guidance, helping individuals and groups explore themselves in their life and work. The TEA Group aims to inspire deep, honest, and open conversations in a short amount of time.
Hales, Ajah
Ajah Hales is a writer, social thinker and race educator from Cleveland, Ohio who works to dismantle identity-based systems of privilege and power that dehumanize us all. Ajah’s background as an organizer, grant writer, entrepreneur, and Presbyterian has allowed her to interact with people from all walks of life and honor their innate dignity. Recent partnerships include The Presbytery of the Western Reserve, Design Explorr™, Youth Opportunities Unlimited, and Cooperative Educational Services of Connecticut. She has also written for The City Club of Cleveland, Huffington Post, VICE, NPR, Zora, Bold Culture, Narratively, The Muse and many more.
Harrison, Ryan
Ryan Harrison is the Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice at Delaware Valley Friends School. She is passionate about creating equitable and inclusive learning environments and aspires to identify and address barriers that hinder marginalized students from receiving appropriate academic support. In addition to her work at DVFriends, Ryan is a staff member for the National SEED (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity) Project and serves on the board of the Greater Philadelphia Diversity Collaborative.
Hershey, Sarah
Sarah Hershey, M.Ed. is a social justice educator who began her career as a middle school humanities teacher. She is the founder of Courageous Change Consulting, whose mission is to build capacity among White people of diverse backgrounds to understand racism and actively advance racial justice. Sarah offers in-person and virtual workshops for organizations, religious communities, and preK-12 and higher education institutions.
Hick-Bunns, Kelsey
Kelsey joins us from the field of education spanning 3k through higher education. She has been a skilled coach, strategist, researcher and presenter of diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging and justice work for over 15 years. In this most recent chapter of life, she has fused healing and self-care modalities into this work because she believes it is hard, soul refreshing, mind opening, vulnerable work that cannot exist as a one-dimensional aspect of one’s being. To this end, Kelsey often incorporates joy, play, and exploration in her coaching and presentations. Kelsey earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Religious Studies from the University of Tennessee and a Master of Education degree in higher education leadership for Mercer University. She is currently the Upper School Director of Equity, Justice and Belonging at Westtown School and the Queen Curator of Tend and Sage, where creativity meets wellness.
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Iannarelli, Carmen
Carmen Iannarelli is the Chair of the Humanities, Behavioral, and Social Sciences department at Chippewa Valley Technical College, with over 20 years of experience in higher education. She holds an Ed.D. and Ed.S. in Career and Technical Education and an M.A. in Sociology. Her work focuses on equity and inclusivity, particularly in postsecondary education for marginalized and underserved populations. She conducted pioneering research on Hmong students and microaggressions in career and technical education. Her findings have led to expanded services and reduced achievement gaps. Carmen also consults on diversity, equity, and inclusion, offering leadership coaching, and training.
Irving, Debby
Debby Irving brings to antiracism work her 25-year experience of attempting to be antiracist without understanding how whiteness skewed her attitudes and behaviors. In 2009, a graduate school course helped her to breakthrough that barrier, leading her to chronicle her awakening journey in the New York Times bestseller, Waking Up White. Debby now devotes herself to working with white people and organizations grappling with the impact white skin can have on perception, problem solving, and engaging in racial justice work.
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Jemal, Alexis
Alexis Jemal, LCSW, LCADC, MA, JD, PhD, associate professor at Silberman School of Social Work-Hunter College, is a social worker, scholar, researcher, educator, social entrepreneur, applied theatre practitioner, artivist, and MFA student in creative writing who specializes in counter-storytelling for humanity-centered world-building. She founded The Briar Patch Collaboratory to attack the -isms and advance justice, equity, wellness, empowerment, and liberation.
Johnson, Norma
Norma Johnson is a racial justice catalyst who brings a creative background into her distinctive presentation form of activism and education as a healer, inspirationalist, poetic storyteller, writer, podcaster and more. Her deeply moving poems are featured in racial justice courses and DEI trainings taught by educators across the country. Norma’s storytelling inspires awareness and insight and the power we have to bring paths of healing into our future. allinspirit.com
King, Dante
Dante King is the author of the book The 400-Year Holocaust: White America's Legal, Psychopathic, and Sociopathic Black Genocide and the Revolt Against Critical Race Theory. Dante is a historian, scholar, facilitator, and coach. He has worked and consulted for more than 15-years as a human resource management professional specializing in the implementation of anti-racist practice, and organizational development and change.
Knips, Andrew
Andrew Knips (he/him) is a leadership coach, racial literacy trainer, and data consultant with a passion for developing leaders to improve their organizational culture in service of intersectional equity. As a white man with nearly every privileged identity, he leans into both the importance and contradictions of his positionality in his work around race, gender and equity. Andrew started his career as a high school teacher and administrator in Philadelphia's public, alternative, and charter schools. He is a co-author of the book, Equity in Data: A Framework for What Counts in Schools.
Lea, Tanasia
Tanasia Lea encourages individuals to live authentically. She works with teams, schools, and organizations to strategically cultivate mutually transformational spaces. She is the former Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Cheshire Academy, an internationally minded preparatory school in Connecticut, and Commissioner for the CAIS Commission on Diversity in Independent Schools. Her journey as a diversity, equity, and inclusion advocate began over twenty years ago as a student facilitator within the New England Independent School network. She is passionate about helping communities develop tools to navigate change and growth. In addition to her work with schools and organizations, Tanasia is a birth doula focusing on providing perinatal services to underserved communities. Before her work in diversity, equity, and inclusion, Tanasia worked in financial services at Bridgewater Associates, LLC.
Leondar-Wright, Betsy
Betsy Leondar-Wright, PhD, is the co-author of "Is It Racist? Is It Sexist? Why Red and Blue White People Disagree, and How to Decide in the Gray Areas" (Stanford University Press, 2025), and of "The Color of Wealth: The Story Behind the US Racial Wealth Divide." She is the author of "Missing Class: Strengthening Social Movement Groups by Seeing Class Cultures." She has been a popular educator for decades, in particular on classism and race/class intersections, as well as working as a community organizer and as a sociology professor teaching about race and class inequality.
Logan, Stephanie R.
Stephanie R. Logan, Ed.D., is a professor of elementary and multicultural education at Springfield College, where she also serves as the chair for the Department of Education. She is a former elementary school teacher and a former elementary and middle school counselor. Her research interests include preparing culturally competent pre-service teachers, creating inclusive classroom and campus environments, and teaching social studies in elementary classrooms.
Luke, David
David J. Luke is a sociologist, former accountant, and a higher education professional whose focus, broadly, is on cultivating and expanding inclusive spaces. David earned his bachelor's degrees in accounting and sociology from Grand Valley State University, and master's and doctorate degrees in sociology from the University of Kentucky. He currently serves as the inaugural Chief Diversity Officer at the University of Michigan-Flint. David's most recent book is titled, Affirmative Action and Black Student Success: The Pursuit of a “Critical Mass” at Historically White Universities.
Lundquist, Felicia
Felicia Lundquist, M.Ed. (she/her), draws on her lifelong commitment to social change leadership to bring people together, build trust, and develop shared understanding across differences. Before joining Think Again Training And Consulting as the Training Manager, she was the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and an adjunct faculty member at Springfield College. She has co-created programs and initiatives such as the Hip Hop Leadership Summit, A SEAT (Social justice, Equity, Accountability, Transformation) At The Table, and numerous other academic and social support programs for first-generation students and students of color.
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McManus, Joe-Joe
Joe-Joe McManus serves as an advisor across sectors on antiracism and inclusive excellence. He consults and speaks widely on topics at the intersections of antiracism, DEI, and leadership development. His new book, A Brother’s Insight, offers guidance on living an impactful antiracist life. Over more than three decades, McManus has held faculty, staff, and executive roles in higher education, including senior diversity officer. He has served at an HBCU, an international university, an Ivy League institution, and at the state university system level. Joe-Joe earned his Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from Florida A&M University (FAMU). For more info, please visit drjoejoe.com.
Méndez, V. Ernesto
V. Ernesto Méndez is Co-Director of the Institute for Agroecology (IfA) and Professor of Agroecology at the University of Vermont (UVM). His research and teaching focus on agroecology, agrifood systems, participatory action research (PAR), and transdisciplinary research approaches. He has over 25 years of experience working with smallholder farmers and Indigenous communities in Latin America and collaborating in agroecology efforts across the world, including the Northeast U.S., Latin America, Africa, and Europe. Ernesto was born and raised in El Salvador and maintains deep connections with Central America. More information about Ernesto’s work can be found on his webpage at uvm.edu/instituteforagroecology.
Michael, Ali
A nationally recognized speaker, Ali is the co-author of the inviting book Our Problem, Our Path: Collective Antiracism for White People (Corwin, 2022). Ali is the author of Raising Race Questions: Whiteness, Inquiry and Education (Teachers College Press, 2015), winner of the 2017 Society of Professors of Education Outstanding Book Award, and co-editor of several books, including the bestselling Guide for White Women who Teach Black Boys (2017, Corwin Press). Ali sits on the editorial board of the journal Whiteness and Education and teaches in the Diversity and Inclusion Program at Princeton University. More info available at alimichael.org.
Miller, Fernell
Fernell Miller (she/her) is the co-founder of the Racial Healing Project and CEO of The Root of Us, LLC, a racial educator, circle keeper, keynote, coach and mentor. Specializing in educational equity, identity development, anti-racism/anti-Blackness education, racial literacy and affirmation. She facilitates peace circles for racial healing, in order to build strong, equitable, inclusive communities of practice. Fernell holds 40 years of confronting systemic racism in public schools to improve the lives of our students. She champions children, especially children furthest from racial and education justice, and requires partnership with policy makers, educational leaders, and civic leaders at the federal, state, and local level.
Miller, Steve
Steve Miller is Founder of the United States Christian Leadership Organization (USCLO), a nonprofit organization dedicated to achieving racial equality and reconciliation. He is an Ashoka Fellow, recognized as one of the world’s leading social entrepreneurs. Miller began advancing rights and responsibilities in Texas in 2009, with his efforts resulting in Federal civil rights investigations by the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights and the United States Department of Justice’s Community Services Division.
Monahan, Mollie
Mollie Monahan (she/her/hers) is a writer, trainer, consultant, coach. She is the Founder/CEO of Social Justice Kids, and Co-Founder of the Racial Healing Project. She co-facilitates racial healing circles, white affinity spaces, and offers keynotes, trainings and individualized coaching toward anti-racist practices. Mollie spent almost 20 years working on social justice issues in higher education before expanding to Pre-K through 12th grade. Her signature course, LOVE KIDS, attracts white parents and educators who want to talk about race and racism with the KIDS they LOVE, but find themselves saying, “I don’t know where to start,” or “I think I could do better.” When she isn’t teaching and training, she’ll be found hiking mossy Pacific Northwest forests with her two kids, and their rescue mutts, Daisy & Morty.
Moore, Tabitha
Tabitha Moore is a nationally recognized expert in racial justice, antiracist policy development, and systemic transformation. As founder of Intentional Evolution, LLC, she provides strategic consultation and training for government agencies, law enforcement, and community organizations. Holding a Ph.D. in Transformative Social Change, her research focuses on identity-responsive policing procedures and community-driven reform. Tabitha has received multiple civil rights awards, including the Rutland Area NAACP Lifetime Achievement Award, for her work in racial equity and justice. She equips institutions with actionable tools to develop antiracist, community-centered policies and practices that drive meaningful change.
Moore III, Eddie
Eddie Moore III (He/Him) is a Teacher, Sports Coach, and Public Speaker. Eddie graduated from Florida Gulf Coast University with a bachelor’s degree in English and a minor in philosophy. After College, Hope Clubhouse of SWFL is where Eddie got started working with adults diagnosed with a mental illness. Here he developed a love for helping others maximize their potential. This passion has helped Eddie lead others to find success on the basketball court, in the classroom, and in the work place. Eddie has the ability to engage with individuals, teams, and organizations to show them how it is possible to create an environment where people with a mental Illness thrive instead of struggle.
Moore Jr., Eddie
Eddie Moore, Jr. is a nationally recognized thought leader, educator, and motivational speaker. In 1996, he founded America & MOORE and is the visionary behind the White Privilege Conference (WPC) and The Privilege Institute (TPI). An accomplished author, Eddie has written and co-edited essential works that continue to engage audiences of all ages. Additionally, he is recognized as one of the nation’s top speakers and educators in this work. Eddie holds a PhD in Educational Leadership from the University of Iowa, is a Certified Yoga Teacher (Yoga Alliance), and is a Qualified Administrator for the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI).
Moore Roberson, Heidi
Heather Moore Roberson (she/her/hers) is a strategic visionary and transformative leader with over 15 years of experience teaching and leading in higher education. She currently serves as the dean of inclusive excellence at Allegheny College. Heather is an award-winning leader, teacher, and researcher who advances initiatives related to race, equity, and justice in higher education. The Office of Inclusive Excellence encompasses various offices and initiatives including the IDEAS (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Access, and Social Justice) Center, Title IX, Sustained Dialogues, and the RISE (Reach, Inspire, Support, and Engage) Program for historically underrepresented students.
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Nordstrom, Karen
Karen Nordstrom is Policy Program Co-Director at Food Solutions New England and Research Affiliate at UVM Institute for Agroecology. Her research and teaching focus on regional food governance, agroecology education, and transformative approaches to systems change. She has two decades of experience working with undergraduate students and over three years collaborating with civil society organizations, policy advocates, and other diverse stakeholders through the FSNE network to craft integrated approaches to regional food systems challenges. Karen's work bridges policy development, participatory research, and program evaluation to create more resilient and equitable food systems across New England.
Nielson, J. Cody
J. Cody Nielsen is executive director of Convergence Strategies and is a higher education faculty member. His work is directly at the intersections of race, gender, sexuality, and decolonialism and he has work in education settings his entire career. A midwestern native, he identifies as a white, cis het, male who has worked to interrupt the cycle of white supremacy within U.S. and Canada society.
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Obear, Kathy
Kathy Obear, (drkathyobear.com), works with leaders and change agents to deepen their capacity to recognize and interrupt racist and white supremist attitudes and behaviors before they do harm, shift current racist behaviors and organizational practices, and develop strategies to truly partner with colleagues of color to eradicate racism and white supremacy culture in their spheres of influence. Kathy is a co-founder of the Social Justice Training Institute, an intensive professional development experience to deepen capacity to dismantle dynamics of racism and white supremacy.
Offer, Sam
Sam Offer is the vice president and a senior consultant with the Washington Consulting Group (WCG). His academic and professional journey includes extensive studies in Human Sexuality, Faith, Spirituality and Religious Pluralism, with a particular focus on LGBTQ issues from a Christian perspective. As a nationally recognized speaker, consultant, facilitator, and trainer, Sam’s expertise spans diversity, equity, inclusion, multiculturalism, religion, leadership, and community development. His contributions have earned him numerous accolades, including being named a Diamond Honoree by the American College Personnel Association. Renowned for his engaging and impactful approach, Sam inspires transformation in both personal and professional spaces, empowering individuals and organizations to foster inclusive and equitable communities.
Ogden, Curtis
Curtis Ogden is a Senior Associate with the Interaction Institute for Social Change and lead facilitator of Food Solutions New England (FSNE). He has extensive experience in supporting social change networks and complex multi-organizational change efforts. For the past twenty-five years, his work has focused on making just and sustainable transitions in food, public health, education, and economic development systems. In 2015 he helped start and has since been a co-steward of FSNE’s 21 Day Racial Equity Habit Building Challenge. He lives on traditional Nonatuc lands in western Massachusetts with his wife, teenage daughters and a flock of laying hens.
Pereyra, Gabriela
Over the last twenty years, Gabriela Pereyra (Farmer Gaby) has worked alongside farmers from the Americas, Africa, and Europe. Since 2022, she has practiced sustainable agriculture on Yara Farm in Middletown, NY, which is 27 acres of forest and arable land. Through Yara Farm, Gaby has co-created and organized mutual aid programs and farmer-to-farmer initiatives in food production, aggregation, and distribution. She has worked in the nonprofit sector in programming development for beginning and aspiring farmers for the last eight years. She is the co-founder and co-director at Tierra Viva Collective, a nonprofit focused on services for farmers and farmworkers in the USA.
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Ragland, Alice
Alice Ragland is a passionate educator, facilitator, and writer dedicated to collective liberation. With a Ph.D. in Multicultural and Equity Studies in Education, she has worked extensively across schools, nonprofits, and businesses to promote diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice. She specializes in facilitating transformative learning experiences that challenge oppressive systems and empower communities to take meaningful action. Her work focuses on racial gaslighting, Black activism, and the historical roots of systemic racism. Some of her current projects include a co-edited book on Racial Code Switching (Routledge, 2026), and an oral history project documenting the voices of Ohio's frontline Black Lives Matter activists. She is currently a professor in the department of liberal arts at Columbus College of Art & Design.
Reynolds, Matthew
As a seasoned educator, award-winning theater professional, author, and equity consultant, Matthew blends storytelling, research, and lived experience to help individuals and organizations foster inclusive environments where creativity, identity, and belonging thrive. With over 35 years in Theater Arts and Dance and 15 years in secondary education, he understands how to engage hearts and minds through multiple avenues of learning and processing.
Robbins, Sherard
Sherard Robbins is a professor of Organizational Theory at Vanderbilt University and serves as the Founder and Owner of Visceral Change where he operate as a multicultural organizational development consultant. A graduate of the James E. Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona, he serves as a Constitutional Scholar where he holds a unique focus on the United States Constitution and examines the ways in which the hegemonic and homogenous making of the Constitution holds a direct causation to and explanation of the social inequities and mores of today.
Robinson, Renita
Renita Robinson has spent 35 years providing social justice consulting services through Teach ‘Em to Fish, LLC, has been the vice president of a healthcare network, the CEO of three social justice focused non-profits, and in 2023 launched the Midwest Survivor Institute. During her professional career, Renita has been an advocate, educator and supporter for victims of sexual and domestic violence across the life, gender and race span. She has served as a principal administrator of several federal grants and an adjunct instructor at four mid-western universities and lead various university departments. Renita is a former licensed graduate social worker, with MEd, MA and Doctorate of Education degrees, Though honored as Teacher of The Year by the Anti-Defamation League in 1997. Her favorite accomplishment is raising two compassionate sons.
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Savage-Williams, Pat
Pat Savage-Williams is currently the President of the Evanston Township High School Board. Professionally, Pat has worked at New Trier High School as the DEI Coordinator. Pat has worked as an educator for more than 45 years. She is a PEG Affiliate and facilitates Beyond Diversity in the Community. She is a certified SEED facilitator (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity) and serves on the National SEED Staff to train and certify new SEED facilitators from across the country and beyond.
Silverstein, Chirona
Chirona, they/them, is a life transition coach and ritual designer, supporting LGBTQIA+ community and allies. They worked for 11 years in tech as an engineer and then in diversity, equity, and inclusion, DEI, managing global inclusion programs. Chirona is committed to life-long learning, working towards collective liberation through education, spiritual practices, and wealth redistribution. They love spending time community building, singing, and communing with nature with their dog and loved ones.
Smith, Bryant K.
Bryant K. Smith is the baddest brother on the planet. Not just another speaker or facilitator, Bryant is an investor in human potential. He doesn’t speak at his audience; he pours into them. Using a combination of theory, life experience, hope and optimism he provides his audiences with an unrivaled leadership experience that helps them discover and tap into their unlimited potential. When how it is said is just as important as what is said, you want Bryant K. Smith, “Thee Human Potential Specialist” to say it.
Spiller, Karen
Karen A. Spiller, with over twenty years of experience, is Principal of KAS Consulting based in Boston Massachusetts, land of the Massachusetts, Pawtucket, and their neighbors the Wampanoag, and Nipmuc Peoples. Karen is a backbone team member of and has served as Massachusetts and coordinating Ambassador for Food Solutions New England (FSNE). Karen co-stewards the FSNE’s 21 -Day Habit Building Challenge. As the Thomas W. Haas Professor in Sustainable Food Systems at University of New Hampshire, Durham. Karen continues her engagement in scholarship focusing on the intersection of networks and racial equity across the campus and its surrounding community, extending to higher education partners nationally and internationally.
Strong, Carolyn R.
Carolyn R. Strong is a national thought-leader and educator with decades of experience in various capacities. She is passionate about creating equitable and inclusive learning environments for all students and has a proven track record of success in developing and implementing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Carolyn is also the creator of Strong Conversations, which includes a podcast, community activism, and workshops, with a goal to change the world one conversation at a time. She is a passionate advocate for social justice and equity and is committed to using her voice and platform to create a more just and equitable world for all.
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Tank-Nielsen, Kari
Kari Tank-Nielsen is a mother of three who spent 10 years as an early childhood educator, specializing in language based learning differences. She received her undergraduate degree in English from Georgetown University and her master’s in education from the University of Pennsylvania. She taught in several public and independent schools in the Philadelphia area and Japan. She is a certified, trauma-informed yoga instructor (500 hour teacher certification) and is co-founder of Yoga & Moore. She has spent the past 8 years immersed in equity and justice work, training with leaders in the field across the country and serving on several boards to forward this work. She is a new leader for the National SEED Project (Seeking Equity in Education and Diversity) and has co-facilitated SEED cohorts.
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Thomas-George, Cindu
Cindu Thomas-George is the Founder of Shakti Training and an award-winning Communication Studies professor at the College of Lake County. For the last 20 years, she has designed and led professional development experiences focused on inclusion, equity, intercultural intelligence, and antiracism. Cindu also teaches and coaches on the topic of inclusive leadership at Northwestern's Kellogg School for Non-Profit Management and co-founded the Chicago Women’s Leadership Accelerator and the South Asian Solidarity Movement.
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Thoreson, Natalie
Natalie (she/they/he) is of mixed identity from the Gyeongju Kim and Gyeongju Choi clans of Korea and white US settler communities of Norwegian, English, and French ancestry. Their work critically examines settler colonial capitalism-based systems of oppression and how we uphold them. With nearly 25 years of liberation and anti-oppression design and facilitation experience, she founded rEVOLution with the objective of findin’ the LOVE in revolution. As a queer, neurodivergent, multi-ethnic, multi-racial, and multi-gendered individual, he creates welcoming, authentic spaces for learning. Natalie resides on the rightful lands of the Chochenyo-speaking Lisjan, in what is now known as Oakland, CA, with their partner Gin, dog Tasi, and two guinea pigs.
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Thoreson, Karen
Award-winning filmmaker Karen Thorsen finds inspiration at the intersection of art and social justice. “James Baldwin: The Price of The Ticket” was her first feature-length documentary. Now a classic, it’s the centerpiece of the James Baldwin Project, anti-racism outreach that has reached millions. Thorsen’s films have screened on six continents and in six museums on the National Mall, often in partnership w/Douglas Dempsey. Other films include, “Joe Papp In Five Acts & Thomas Paine: Voice Of Revolution” (in-progress).
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Thrower, Anika
Anika Thrower, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Borough of Manhattan Community College Health Education Department. Her research interests include investigating health issues that adversely affect the quality of life within underrepresented populations, especially women, closing gaps in higher education attainment, and maternal & child health well-being.
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Tracy, Amelia
Amelia Tracy is a decarbonization and clean energy professional based in the Northeast. She has experience developing solar farms, building public private partnerships with state agencies to bring new clean technologies to the United States, commercialized new technologies and is invested in growing the ecosystem and community of people who are engaging with the climate crisis in unique and creative ways. Her work primarily focuses on network-building and community weaving to create opportunities that meet mutual needs.
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Turner, Brendan
Brendan Turner, LCSW (he, him) is the Executive Director of PLAAY South New Orleans, a racial literacy trainer, relationship and school/org culture coach and a University of Pennsylvania Faculty Affiliate. He finds purpose and gratitude in supporting the development of identity, agency and voice in service of healthy, joyful environments for adults and young people in schools and organizations.
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Virden, Ryan
Ryan Virden is an educator, author, and cultural worker based in Minneapolis. He works with individuals and organizations to develop the mindsets and skills necessary for building relationships across lines of difference. He helped schools and organizations across the country as they move towards creating inclusive and just cultures. The founder and director of Lir Cultural Coaching, he also served as the Restorative Justice Coordinator for Minneapolis Public Schools and a professor at St. Thomas University in the justice and peace department. Ryan has authored several pieces which can be found at Teaching for Tolerance, The Good Men Project, Twin Cities Daily Planet, and Teaching While White. Ryan has a bachelor’s degree in social studies, as well as MLS and M.Ed degrees focused on critical studies, equity, and inclusion. His book, Breaking the Privilege Frame, is coming soon.
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Wallace, Corrie
Corrie is a multilingual consultant dedicated to cultivating opportunities for respectful reflection on identity through education. She’s taught in Tokyo, Singapore and is an Adjunct Lecturer at Northwestern. Her collaborative, visionary nature is evidenced by the Niles Township Schools' ELL Parent Center, Illinois Coalition of Educational Equity Leaders, MSAN’s Intersectional Social Justice Collaborative and High School Sports LAB. She’s a Western States Center Senior Toolkit Trainer and volunteered in Cameroon and South Africa through the Seattle-Limbe Sister City Association. She holds a BA in Women’s Studies and Spanish (University of Michigan) and an MA in Educational Leadership (Western Michigan University).
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Washington, Jamie
Jamie Washington, (He/Him/His) is the middle child and only son of Annette and James Washington and Grandson of Elizabeth and Thurman Williams. He serves as the president and founder of the Washington Consulting Group (WCG, which was named by the Economist as one of the Top10 Global Diversity Consultants in the world. Jamie has served as an educator, administrator, and consultant for 40 years, including as an invited instructor in the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Lancaster Theological Seminary. He is the current president and co-founder of the Social Justice
Training Institute and a past president of the American College Personnel Association (ACPA). Jamie has received many awards and honors and is a member of Omicron Delta Kappa, Golden Key, Alpha Phi Omega, and Phi Delta Kappa as well as a lifetime member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.​
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Wong, Catherine
Catherine Wong is from Hawai’i and credits the strength and tenacity of her elders, whose lively “talk story” throughout her formative years lay the groundwork for the community-scholar activist and transformative leader she is today. Catherine is the founder and director of Catherine Wong Consults: Education, Training and Research. She is also on the senior leadership team for the Institute for the Recruitment of Teachers (IRT), focused on diversifying graduate education resulting in an increased pipeline of BIPOC educators PK-12th grade through higher education. Catherine is the recipient of the City of Boston Extraordinary Woman Award and Leadership Brainery inaugural Medal of Equity. She has held clinical faculty and director positions at higher education institutions, international NGO’s and nonprofit organizations.
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Zinnel, Daniel
Daniel Zinnel is a facilitator, speaker, and learner, with leadership values centered on authenticity, intentionality, humility, compassion, and joy. In 2020, he founded Growth and Joy, LLC to foster proactive, practical, and purposeful leaders. He has trained over 20,000 individuals on topics like leadership, power and privilege, LGBTQ inclusion, and personal branding. He has over fifteen years of nonprofit administration and leadership including currently serving as CEO of Proteus, Inc. and previously as the Executive Director of One Iowa. Daniel holds a Doctorate in Leadership from Creighton University, an M.A. in Health Studies from the University of Alabama, a B.A. in Liberal Arts from Grand View University, and an A.A. from Iowa Central Community College. He has received formal training from the Perception Institute.