The Social Justice Syllabus Design Tool (SJSDT) is JCSCORE's #1 most read article. Much of that is due to the fact that educators are seeking to discover meaningful ways in which love and justice can be centered in the spaces that we co-create with our students... spaces in which we and our students can show up fully and experience the content as relevant to our lives and communities. The SJSDT has been recognized as a leading resource by many higher education institutions in how to do just that and has been used in faculty orientations and faculty development trainings across the country. Training in the SJSDT not only provides educators and staff with an in-depth understanding of what it means to "do" social justice in the classroom, but what it means to "be" social justice in the classroom and through various strategies and activities co-create counterspaces with students where personal and community transformation can occur. Using critical reflexivity techniques, we will not only explore what social justice educators do in the classroom but also who social justice educators are and can be. We will take a collective deep dive, and engage in strategies that promote the embodiment of 1) relationship, 2) community, 3) a growth mindset process, and 4) radical self-care in the classroom. Educators will leave armed with a transformed syllabus and tools for radical engagement. All educators are welcome and will benefit from this training. Staff who facilitate educational workshops on campus would also benefit from this workshop as well.

Sherria  Taylor, PhD | Associate Professor and Director of Healing Circles, College of Health and Social Sciences, San Francisco State University - San Francisco, CA

The Undocumented Coalition of the San Mateo County Community College District (SMCCCD) uses a framework of Collective Liberation (hooks, 1994; Crass, 2013) to advocate for undocumented students. The Coalition launched in 2020 between Cañada College, the College of San Mateo (CSM), and Skyline College to update policy and amplify undocumented student resources. It is an operational group of leaders consisting of administrators, staff, directors, deans, and students across our District. The Coalition leverages interconnected resistance efforts across identities to build stronger systems that support the success of our communities. In this session, participants will learn how the Coalition was born of local-level organizing and has evolved to meet student needs. Community partners will join to share how we updated existing policies for non-resident tuition fee waivers and developed new processes including an undocu student fellowship program. Participants will learn the story of our Coalition and develop their plans for undocu advocacy within a framework of collective liberation.

Through California Ed Code 76140, community colleges can grant in-state tuition to non-resident students, including undocumented students. This policy benefits undocumented students who are not eligible for California's AB 540 legislation which allows undocumented students to qualify for in-state tuition and state-based financial aid. The Coalition implemented this policy and formulated a process that removed barriers for undocumented students to access and benefit from our new '6 or Fewer Units Non-Resident Tuition Fee Waiver'. Our presentation will share the strategies and key lessons that facilitated the implementation process. We will review the profound impact this waiver has had on enrollment and the ability of our undocumented community to pursue their education.

In Fall 2022, CSM launched the Unlocking Futures Fellowship (UFF) pilot program to provide access for undocumented students to enhance professional skills, explore their career or academic goals, and develop a consciousness around systemic barriers impacting undocumented communities. The UFF features students who bring their stories, ambitions, and engagement to their campus communities. As of Fall 2023, all 3 campuses have launched the UFF program for undocumented students. This session will review the implementation process of the fellowship, student testimonials, and vision to expand the program.

Manuel A Perez, EdD | Vice President, Student Services, Cañada College - Redwood City, CA

Paola Mora Paredes, MA | Program Services Coordinator, Multicultural Center & Undocumented Community Center, College of San Mateo - San Mateo, CA

Aaron McVean, Ph.D. | Vice Chancellor, Educational Services & Planning, San Mateo County Community College District - San Mateo, CA

Nimsi Garcia | Program Services Coordinator, Undocumented Community Center, Cañada College - Redwood City, CA

Wissem Bennani, EdD |Dean, Enrollment Services & Support Programs, Cañada College - Redwood City, CA

Martin Marquez | Program Services Coordinator, Undocumented Community Center, Skyline College - San Bruno, CA

In the practice of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging work DEI practitioners feel as if they are an island -siloed and disconnected from the human experience of their work. While DEI has always been emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually taxing; in a post-COVID society the burden of labor has been heavier than usual (Williams, 2021). While leading institutions towards best practices we also teach and hold space for minoritized and marginalized students. Further, we face an onslaught of micro and macro aggressions - underscoring an urgency towards systemic action (Awad, Crusto, & Hooper, 2021).

As a collective of DEI practitioners we lean on the poetry of Lucille Clifton (1993) to say "come celebrate with me that everyday something has tried to kill me and has failed." We assert it is not by chance we have survived. We are here because we are destined to thrive. In this session, we set our compass to understanding where our struggles intersect and how we can move towards a more liberated future for ourselves. Centering the principles of Huna we focus on wellbeing over everything. We will share ways to engage in comprehensive DEI awareness raising, critical hope, and a love ethic to create spaces of occupancy where we can learn how to return to the spirit of 'ohana, that is the deep connection within us that lies within our heritage, environments, and sense of community (albeit our family ties).

Audre Lorde, famously wrote "caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare (Lorde, 1988)." In this Pre-Conference we assert the radical and critical care embedded in Lorde's work. This one-day pre-conference will engage attendees in practices that engage their self-sustainability through workshops, dialogic culture circles, reflections, and creative explorations.

In the spirit of the Kekei, we will collectively examine "what we have inherited," process what we are "sitting with," and imagine "where we are going." Participants will have the opportunity to digest (1) the landscape of their current organization with a wellness lens; (2) indulge in healing practices and community building to re-energize; (3) engage with emergent ideas from a North Carolina political context; and (4) leave with ideas to bring back to their teams, departments or campuses.

angela c gay-audre, PhD, MA, BA | Director, Worldbuilder, Racial Equity Practitioner, African American Cultural Center, North Carolina State University - Raleigh, NC

Charla Blumell, Ed.D., MA, BS | Director, Wellbeing and DEI Practitioner, LGBTQ Pride Center, North Carolina State University - Raleigh, NC

Jameco McKenzie, Ed.D, M.Ed., B.S. | Director, Convener, and Cultural Competence Practitioner, Multicultural Student Affairs, North Carolina State University - Raleigh, NC

Tayah Butler, MBA | Assistant Dean, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Poole College of Management, North Carolina State University - Raleigh, NC

The legacy of colonization continues to cast a long shadow over our society, perpetuating social divisions, racial disparities, and environmental degradation. To truly heal and build a better future for the next seven generations, we must address the root cause of these issues: the colonized mind. To break free from this cycle, we must embark on a healing journey, dismantling the colonized mind that has shaped our collective consciousness.

Features:

•  Unveil the Legacy: Explore the insidious influence of colonization on our individual lives, communities, and institutions. Understand how its values (individualism over community, consumption over conservation) fuel social injustices.

•  Challenge Internal Narratives: Through introspection and interactive exercises, identify colonized patterns within yourself and dismantle the harmful narratives hindering your potential.

•  Embrace Alternative Values: Cultivate cultural humility, environmental stewardship, and collective well-being as guiding principles for a society where everyone thrives.

•  Bridge the Divide: Foster empathy and understanding across differences through guided dialogue and mindful practices. Reconnect with your inherent humanity and celebrate diversity.

•  Empower for Action: Translate awareness into tangible change. Develop personal pledges and collaborate on actionable steps to advocate for social justice and environmental healing.

•  Leave a Legacy: Craft a heartfelt message to future generations, pledging to leave a world where equity, sustainability, and collective responsibility prevail.

Benefits:

•  Gain deeper self-awareness: Understand your role in perpetuating colonized structures and break free from limiting narratives.

•  Foster personal transformation: Develop critical thinking skills, challenge internal biases, and cultivate empathy and inclusivity.

•  Spark social change: Connect with like-minded individuals, strategize collective action, and empower yourself to advocate for a more just future.

•  Build a brighter future: Contribute to a collective vision where future generations inherit a world free from the burdens of the past.

•  Experience personal growth: Rediscover your power, cultivate inner resilience, and embrace your role as a co-creator of a just and sustainable world.

This is not just a session; it's a movement. It's about reclaiming our shared humanity and co-creating a world where every Keiki and Ohana can flourish.

Gerry Ebalaroza-Tunnell, PhD | President/Principal Consultant, , Co3 Consulting, LLC - Bothell, WA

Jeremy D. Tunnell, MA | Vice President/Lead Consultant, , Co3 Consulting, LLC - Bothell, WA

Many of us are tasked with leading liberation, decolonization, and anti-oppression conversations focusing on racism, ableism, classism and other oppressions. Sometimes these dialogues are in formal planned settings such as workshops, but often they simply come upon us. Whether a new or veteran facilitator, challenges arise in leading these often uncomfortable dialogues. In this skill-building workshop, we will grow our ability and comfort in clearly defining, explaining, and discussing the construction of oppression to individuals at varying levels of experience. More importantly we will develop our ability to effectively engage, connect with, and build Relationship with folks who may not share our values or points of view.

As bell hooks shares, radical social justice and social change work are truly about us learning to love one another. Centering a love ethic, attendees will learn to build connection and effectively address difficult conversations where there is disengagement, argument, and divisiveness, in order to bring folks closer to community and Relationship. Participants will witness and learn how to establish and hold brave and safe(r) space for interaction and dialogue, enabling groups and individuals to lean into discomfort. Attendees will practice tools needed to lead meaningful, 1:1, large, and small group dialogues. We will explore challenges that arise for facilitators engaging these difficult conversations including the need for self care. Finally, participants will work with one another to practice engaging a variety of challenging interactions that may arise in a facilitation space.

We will also reflect on our socialization into systems of oppression and how we might challenge ourselves and each other to co-create the dynamics and change we would like to see in our communities. Addressing oppression as a root of facilitation challenges will enable us to overcome nuanced issues that derail groups, empower us to create safe(r) spaces, and manage facilitation challenges successfully. We will work to discover what keeps us stuck and learn how to navigate our own discomfort to engage difficult dialogues, leveraging them as learning opportunities with our communities. We will use both lecture and small and large group processing to explore and practice leaning into difficult interactions, interrupting oppression, and deepening our skills to connect with each other as we explore ways to exist in interdependent and supported communities.

Natalie Thoreson, MEd | Liberation, Anti-Oppression, and Social Justice Education Consultant, , rEVOLution - Oakland, CA

Jackie Hogue, MA | Facilitation, Training, Organizational Development, Dismantling Racism/Cultural Competency Consultant, , J.Hogue & Associates, MB, Canada - Manitoba, MN

Virgnia Gridley  | Islander Indigeneity and Understanding Consultant for rEVOLution, , rEVOLution - Oakland, CA

This session will provide opportunities to learn direct insights and practical strategies from the experienced diversity officers, who will cover a range of relevant competences, pathways to, and strategies for leading and directing diversity, equity, Inclusion, accessibility, accessibility, and justice efforts at the enterprise and institutional level, including strategy development, leadership expertise, and navigating complex political environments.

Becoming a senior diversity officer (CDO) in higher education is a far less linear progression than other executive positions in the academy.  CDOs come from all sectors of the higher education institutions, and sometimes from outside of the academy.  They emanate from the faculty ranks, student affairs offices, and equity and human resources roles.  Developing the next generation of CDOs is critically important as more inaugural chief diversity officer positions are created across the county.  Always challenging, the work is becoming increasingly difficult in the face of political headwinds, and pushback that are working to roll-back the progress of DEI programs/initiatives and positions.

The purpose of this session is to ground aspiring CDOs and others leading institutional equity efforts with the opportunity to learn from those who have served in Senior Diversity Officer roles in various contexts and at multiple institutions. The presentations will offer insights on what it means to participate in the C-Suite, working at the enterprise level, and the necessary capacities that are required for success. The session will benefit those seeking a Senior (Chief) Diversity Officer position, as well those working to advance equity, diversity, inclusion, accessibility, and justice a their institutions.

Clyde Wilson Pickett, EdD | Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion/Chief Diversity Officer, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh, PA

Ame O Lambert, PhD | Vice President, Global Diversity and Inclusion, Global Diversity and Inclusion, Portland State University - Portland, OR

As Women of Color and Women have you had your power and authority questioned or been "reorganized" or pushed out or have your budget stripped? Have you experienced the threat of being silenced and or has your environmental scan observed this happening to colleagues and allies? This highly interactive institute will engage WoC/Women in stealth leadership frameworks centered on movement building, courageous action and dreaming decolonized. (Laenui, 2000).

Applying decolonized frameworks and centriarical (Wong, Lowrie, Rezam 2023) vs hierarchical leadership styles allow us to reframe institutional structures that support the glass/adobe/ thatch/cement ceiling (Alicia, 20023, Lozano, 2016, McGregor, 2016) and glass cliff (Payton, 2022) that have been designed to spirit kill us. Additionally, by intersecting the concepts of  race-lighting (Davis & Ernst, 2019), gaslighting (Woods, & Harris, 2021), cultural wealth (Yosso, 2000), and the dance with resistance (Wasserman.,et. al., 2008) we strengthen our capacity to set a reimagined navigational compass to foster our wellbeing and contribute to the success of all keiki (students), staff, faculty and administrators.

Decolonized leadership identifies five themes in praxis: (1) the prioritization of self-knowledge and self-reflection, (2) the empowerment of community through self-determination, (3) the centering of community voices and values, (4) service based in altruism and spirituality, and (5) approaching collectivism through inclusive communication practices. (Khalifa, et. al.. 2019).  When leading from the above, identifying our positionality and power within the social change ecosystem (Iyer, 2022), we are able to manifest our activism and allyship.

To prosper in higher education, we must grasp stealth strategies with no Machiavellian intent but a realigning of norms, policies and procedures. Stealthiness often involves discrete and deliberate moves, behind the scenes, to advantage all students equitably.

This pre-institute will benefit women of color and women faculty, mid to senior level administrators and individuals who are eager to; 1)  shift from transactional to transformative decision making and 2) eradicate monocultural academic meritocracy to establish new concepts of excellence.

 "O ke kahua mamua, mahope ke kukulu

The site first, then the building,

Learn all you can, then practice."

Olelo No'eau, Hawaiian Proverbs & Poetical Sayings

Catherine Wong, M.Ed. | Founder & Director, , Catherine Wong Consults: Education, Training & Research - Boston, MA

Patricia Lowrie, M.S. | Director Emeritus & Executive Consultant, , Michigan State University - Miami, FL

Jacquelyn Reza, Ed.D., MFT | Professor & Director of Professional Development, Emeritus, Department of Professional Development, Department of Women's Studies, Ethnic Studies & Multicultural Education, De Anza College & USF - Newark, CA

The phrase "Strong Black Woman" originated during slavery to dehumanize African American females and justify forced hard labor, sexual violence, and other ills. At the time, white oppressors referred to enslaved females as "strong," claiming that Black women did not feel pain or burden as significantly as their white female counterparts. After generations of trauma and misuse, the Black community reappropriated the phrase to signify their individual and collective strength, resistance, and survival. From Black women's perspectives, "strong" references resilience, perseverance, independence, caretaking, resistance, survival, mental fortitude, and the ability to self-motivate despite significant life experiences. "Strong" also acknowledges the role of sociohistorical contextual factors and pays homage to ancestors who came before them.

Adopting the SBW schema is a cultural ideal, a protective factor, a defense mechanism, and a positive coping strategy. Paradoxically, research has shown that internalizing the SBW schema can also lead to many detrimental mental and physical health outcomes. Internalizing the Strong Black Woman schema not only distorts Black women's experiences of gendered racism, but can also lead to cardiovascular disease, infant and maternal morbidity, mortality, cancer, hypertension, high blood pressure, depression, anxiety, smoking, alcohol use, binge eating, self-silencing, and being overwhelmed by pressures to embody strength and refrain from seeking the support of others.

Because women have the power to adopt, reject, or realign the role of the SBW schema in their lives, the purpose of this session is twofold. First, this session will conceptualize the Strong Black Woman schema, examining its paradoxical nature of having both positive and negative impacts. Concepts related to the Superwoman Ideal, a similar experience but inclusive of all racial categories, will also be explored. Second, the session will suggest potential strategies to aid in realigning the role of the Strong Black Woman schema in participants' lives. The proposed strategies will be rooted in Black Feminist Thought, positive psychology, racial healing, and self-care and will promote community and empowerment. Incorporating cultural and popular media through the workshop, this highly interactive session should benefit women of color who are passionate about prioritizing themselves over external demands and pressures.

Shayla E. Walker, LCSW, Doctoral Candidate | Assistant Professor of Social Work, , Longwood University - Farmville, VA

The purpose of this presentation is to share how a comprehensive public university leveraged a racial incident on its campus in 2015 to address systemic issues focused on diversity and inclusivity by developing robust, transformational, outcomes-based strategic plans using a Theory of Change (TOC) methodology. (This conceptual framework provides a roadmap to help groups logically articulate their long-term goals and then backward map these to desired outcomes, which allows stakeholders to understand necessary actions to effect changes). This approach is outcomes-based and avoids groups falling victim to activity traps. We know that the work of diversity and inclusivity is complex. However, to achieve the desired outcomes, this work must be systemic, involve a critical mass of stakeholders, and focus on institutional change. Dr. Belinda Biscoe, a council member, proposed undertaking a "TOC Process" to help frame the university's strategic agenda. She led and facilitated this work for two years partnering with faculty, staff, and administrators. This approach allowed the campus to have common goals, outcomes, and metrics but did not preclude units from including different goals and outcomes to meet their objectives.

Four committees were created to develop TOCs and aligned strategic plans focused on 1) undergraduate students, 2) graduate students, 3) faculty, and 4) staff and administrators. Each committee developed a TOC and a strategic action plan addressing the unique needs of historically underrepresented groups and other marginalized groups at the university within these four categories.

Objectives:

   1.  Equip participants with information about how and why a Theory of Change methodology can support diversity strategic planning to identify and achieve more meaningful and measurable  outcomes.

   2.  Introduce participants to the following terminology in effective planning: backward mapping, collaboration, activity traps, plausibility, feasibility, testability, accountability line, strategy, preconditions, and outcomes-short-term, intermediate, and long-term.

   3.  Introduce participants to TOC components.

   4.  Discuss the importance of a needs-sensing process to guide the planning process.

   5.  Discuss the benefits and challenges of developing and implementing campus-wide or organization-wide strategic plans.

Participants will be allowed to work in teams to develop a simple TOC and given feedback.

Belinda Biscoe, PhD | Senior Associate Vice President, Outreach/College of Continuing Education, The University of Oklahoma - Norman, OK

Religious, secular, and spiritual identities (RSSIs) have often been undervalued in the diversity, equity, and inclusion space of higher education.  Complicated by false perceptions of a "separation of church and state" that really equates to a ""false neutral secularism" (Small, 2020), higher education has much to consider in addressing the intersections of RSSIs with that of gender, race, sexuality, and colonialism within the academy.  This preconference session helps elevate the conversation and gives the space and time necessary to allows practitioners and scholars alike to begin the process toward addressing these intersections, which can largely stem from white Christian privilege, hegemony, and supremacy. 

Throughout the session, participants will be introduced to critical theory which highlights the ways in which white Christian supremacy is the underlying system of oppression that fuels and supports other systems of oppression include racism, patriarchy, homophobia and transphobia, (neo)colonialization, and xenophobia. By understanding how this white Christian supremacy is systemically embedded on campuses, practitioners will begin to understand how to undo the harm and to work proactively to build campus climates which are inclusive and equitable to all persons. Led by a team of experts with a global lens, this session will also provide frameworks of policy and practice which are drawn from research on nearly 200 colleges and universities across the United States and Canada.

J. Cody Nielsen, Ph.D | Executive Director, Convergence Strategies, Dickinson College - Carlisle, PA

Julia Collett, Ph.D | Independent Scholar, Convergence Strategies - Buffalo, NY

Gaurav Harshe, MA | Student, Ph.D Candidate, University of South Carolina - Spartanburg, SC

Sachi Edwards, PhD | Faculty member, Soka University in Japan - Tokyo Japan

Designing social justice education experiences should be an intentional process grounded in scholarship that uses theory to inform practice; however, relatively little literature is available on how to intentionally design co-curricular educational experiences to cultivate cultural competence. This workshop synthesizes the existing literature and research on social justice education curricula design and learning assessment (Tharp & Moreano, 2020). The first day of the institute will focus primarily on Tharp's (2015) four-part framework to systematically design social justice education workshops based on contextual influences, theories and frameworks, learning outcomes that facilitate cultural competence, and pedagogical considerations that align with social justice education principles. The second day will focus on assessing these learning experiences. This pre-conference institute will prepare attendees to understand best practices for designing educational experiences while simultaneously applying their knowledge and skills to create or revise a workshop or structured conversation on their campus. Specifically, attendees will learn a) factors that influence the design of an experience, b) relevant theories and frameworks useful to guide student development towards cultural consciousness, c) best practices for narrowing learning goals and writing student learning outcomes, d) principles of social justice education design, categories of activities types of educational activities, and skills to their activities to their intended learning outcomes, and e)strategies to assess cocurricular student learning. This institute is very hands-on and will utilize mini-lecture, small group activities, and large group "show-and-tell" as we practice designing educational curricula that you can use when you return to campus. Attendees are encouraged to bring a laptop and / or educational materials that they wish to work on during the institute. This institute should particularly benefit staff or faculty who develop social justice education workshops, as well as those who want to learn an intentional process to design and assess curriculum for social justice education outcomes.

D. Scott Tharp, PhD, MSW | Associate Director, Office of Academic Program Review and Assessment, University of Illinois Chicago - Chicago, IL

Our education systems are shaped by the gravity of our culture. In turn, our educational systems teach what is of value in our culture. Our immediate resources for justice are finite, and we are playing the long game. Denial of continued white supremacy and colonialism in Higher Ed. leads to feel-good but ineffective responses that consume resources while allowing damage to the planet and people to continue and increase. It is critically important, if we are to take meaningful and effective steps to recognize and replace destructive social structures that we identify how they shape education now.

We will examine these issues through three critical lenses: Who benefits from the way white supremacy shapes education today? What prices are paid for this and by whom? Who is shielded from the consequences?

Attendees will leave with a resource manual, and, through case studies and discussion we will explore the following:

• How have nations continued the legacy of white supremacy, particularly as it impacts education? What is the role of the United States today?  What other actors are involved and in what ways? 

• How do the hyperobjects of white supremacy and global warming reinforce one another, continuing a legacy of rationalized and ritualized genocide of Black and Brown people throughout the world, including indigenous peoples, climate migrants, and those seeking asylum from resource wars?  What does transformative environmental justice look like in this context?

• In what ways are the policies and practices of our educational institutions shaped by the "gravity" of white supremacy and colonialism?  What tools are used to obscure this?  What transformational practices could reshape education into a human-centered model?

If and only if we can recognize the ways that the hyperobject of white supremacy shapes our cultures and systems - encompassing not just the continuing existence of all forms of racism, but also religious and gender discrimination, ableism and anti-LGBTQ+ efforts, the attempts to erase histories through censorship, the patronizing/criminalizing of the poor, the passive and active erasure of the body and spirit of indigenous peoples, the distorted public/privatized prison- & medical-industrial complexes, and the countenance of state sanctioned brutality against racialized, dis/abled and minoritized people - only then can we formulate and act for comprehensive and effective approaches to educational equity and justice.

Emma J Coddington Brown, PhD | Artist & Scientist; Art & Somatic Therapist, Founder, SENSE8.co - Corvallis, OR

Kalyan Ali Balaven, JD | Head of School, Dunn School - Santa Barbara, CA

Cris Clifford Cullinan, Ph.D. | Consultant & Founder, ALiVE:  Actual Leadership in Vital Equity; national consultant in educational equity and justice - Portland, OR

Carl E James, PhD | Professor, Jean Augustine Chair, Education, Community & Diaspora, York University - Toronto, Ontario

Nina Shoman-Dajani, EdD |Assistant Dean and Faculty, Arab American and Middle Eastern American Studies, Moraine Valley Community College - Chicago, IL

Kēhaulani Natsuko Vaughn, Ph.D. | Assistant Professor, Education, Culture and Society, University of Utah - Salt Lake City, CA

Despite a long history and rapid growth of multiracial/mixed race scholarship, only within the last 15 years has there been a critical turn toward the establishment of an academic discipline of Critical Mixed Race Studies (CMRS; Daniel et al., 2014), including a professional association, regular conferences, and new curriculum (e.g., San Francisco State University's new minor in CMRS). This critical approach is imperative to apply to the increasing presence of and attention to multiracial people (those claiming membership in two or more mono-racialized groups) in U.S. higher education, where systems and support structures have typically been designed from a monoracial paradigm (Harris, 2016), which put multiraciality on the margins of the discourse on race and racism in higher education. CMRS provides tools to intervene and disrupt the perpetuation of monoracism (the system of oppression targeting those who do not fit monoracial categories; Harris et al., 2021; Johnston & Nadal, 2010), mainly as we work to center multiraciality given the changing contexts that are allowing more people to freely identify as biracial/multiracial.

This two-part institute should benefit educators from all backgrounds and expertise levels who are interested in engaging in deep learning about the complexities of serving multiracial students, staff, and faculty through critical perspectives. After briefly reviewing the foundations of CMRS, we focus on better understanding the dynamic contexts shaping and complicating how multiraciality can be centered when considering concepts such as sense of belonging. This foundation is the starting point of a larger conversation surrounding how we can work toward solidarity and joint liberation across different communities.

Throughout the institute, we will engage participants using interactive activities to share individual stories about belonging and engage in action planning toward developing tools for implementation post-conference. We will also incorporate intergenerational perspectives that help explain contradictions in the popular discourse about multiraciality and recent controversies. Ultimately, we will engage participants in critical thinking about their own potential biases (i.e., self-work) as well as educating others. Overall, participants of this Institute will: (1) Engage in deep exploration of multiraciality; (2) Gain tools from CMRS; and (3) Make connections toward solidarity and liberation.

Nicholas Lamar Wright, PhD | Director of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, Human Development Institute, University of Kentucky - Lexington, KY

Lisa Delacruz Combs, Ph.D. | Dissertation Fellow, Educational Studies, The Ohio State University - Columbus, OH

Marc Johnston Guerrero, Ph.D. | Associate Dean of Academic and Student Affairs, Morgridge College of Education, University of Denver - Denver, CO

Jennifer Noble, PhD |Clinical Psychologist, Free to Be Collective - Los Angeles, CA

Many recognize the need to bridge divides and to build relationships to tackle complex problems. Yet, addressing these problems can often feel overwhelming and takes time that we don't have, Sustained Dialogue® is a process that can be applied to solve community problems in a less overwhelming way. The Sustained Dialogue® process can help groups find shared interests and identify achievable group actions. Through dialogue, participants collectively develop effective solutions more quickly than individuals would on their own.

Are you a campus leader, student, faculty, or staff member looking for expertise to convene a circle process that allows others to participate in conflicts productively?

This workshop is for those seeking to understand the process of the Sustained Dialogue dialogue to action model, from Stage 1 (the art of gathering people in conflict in a way that reduces the potential for harm) through Stage 5 (a group collectively acting together).

During this workshop, workshop participants will learn skills for both being in dialogue with others and facilitating dialogue, how to create conditions for Sustained Dialogue, and how to apply these skills in a campus context. Though this is not the full facilitation process, attendees will gain knowledge to structure dialogue projects with a multi-meeting model and recognize when dialogue is not the right framework.

The Sustained Dialogue process is a 5-stage peace process developed in the Camp David Peace Accords and published in texts such as A Public Peace Process: Sustained Dialogue to Transform Racial and Ethnic Conflicts. This circle process is designed to be organized and led by everyday people who want an alternative to intergroup divides. This workshop details how to effectively use this process, which was designed by former diplomat Dr. Harold Saunders to be used by willing participants to build relationships and come to action in entrenched conflicts.

This civic peace process centers on bringing together in systematic dialogue--not negotiation--individuals from conflicting groups to probe the dynamics of their conflictual relationship, to think together about obstacles to changing it, and to design a sequence of interactive steps that might remove those obstacles. It is led on 60 campuses, in at least 12 communities, and in workplaces by people who have pursued facilitation training. Learn more about the network at sustaineddialogue.org

Rhonda Fitzgerald | Executive Director, Sustained Dialogue Institute - Washington, DC

Elena Martínez Torres | Program Director, Sustained Dialogue Campus Network, Sustained Dialogue Institute - Gurabo, PR

Diversity education efforts can be effective in empowering individuals with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to foster a climate of equity and inclusion. In this interactive session, using an interdisciplinary framework, participants will [1] conceptualize training and development in Organization Development [OD] context, [2] recognize diversity training and development efforts as a separate branch within training and development, [3] identify the goals of diversity training and development efforts, [4] identify three sets of moderators that determine the effectiveness of diversity training and development efforts, [5] identify methods of instruction and engagement, and [6] discuss four levels of assessment to evaluate training and development programs.

Participants will explore the model, tools, and strategies that were utilized for the Leadership for Equity and Inclusive Excellence Institute - an evidence informed, skill building focused, application based, extended diversity education program. This session will benefit administrators who supervise diversity and social justice education training and development efforts. It will particularly benefit practitioners who design and facilitate diversity and social justice education training and development efforts. Participants will receive a workbook for reflective learning and synthesis of information during and a resources packet for continued learning after the session.

Yashwant Prakash Vyas, MPA | Director, Aulbani J. Beauregard Center for Equity, Justice, and Freedom, University of New Hampshire - Durham, NH

In recent years, the field of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) has evolved significantly, demanding a more sophisticated and professionalized approach. This pre-conference institute will delve into the critical theme of "The Professionalization of DEI Practice," exploring the challenges, successes, and future trajectories in this dynamic field.

 The session will commence with an overview of the historical context, examining the roots of DEI initiatives and the pivotal moments that have shaped its contemporary landscape. Attendees will gain insights into the evolution of DEI from grassroots movements to an integral part of organizational strategies.

With the increasing recognition of the impact of DEI on institutional effectiveness, there is a growing need for a professionalized approach to its practice. The session will address key challenges faced by DEI practitioners, including navigating cultural complexities, overcoming resistance, and measuring the effectiveness of initiatives. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn from real-world case studies and engage in interactive discussions to share best practices and solutions.

As the DEI field continues to expand, so does the demand for skilled and knowledgeable professionals. The session will explore strategies for developing and sustaining a career in DEI, examining the requisite skills, certifications, and ongoing education necessary for success. Participants will gain insights into the emerging roles within the DEI profession and the pathways to leadership.

Furthermore, the session will facilitate a forward-looking discussion on the future of DEI practice. As societal dynamics evolve, so do the challenges and opportunities in creating diverse, equitable, and inclusive spaces. Attendees will engage in collaborative exercises to envision innovative approaches and strategies to address future DEI challenges.

This pre-conference institute on "The Professionalization of DEI Practice" aims to empower attendees with a comprehensive understanding of the field's evolution, current challenges, and future directions. Participants will leave with actionable insights, a robust network of peers, and a renewed commitment to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in their respective spheres.

Tamara A Johnson, Ph.D. | Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Harper College - Palatine, IL

David J Luke, Ph.D. | Chief Diversity Officer, Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, University of Michigan-Flint - Flint, MI

Bobbie R Porter, Ed.D. | Vice President and Campus Diversity Equity and Inclusion Officer, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Justice, California State University Dominguez Hills - Carson, CA

Aspire: The Administrative Leadership Institute for Women of Color is designed to increase the number of women of color in senior level administrative positions within higher education. The goal of the institute is to provide entry level and mid-level professionals with essential skills, strategies, and practices that might help them advance in their career while centering their culture, health, well-being, and broader life purpose.

The institute explores topics such as inclusive leadership, culturally-based success mindsets, creating a strategic support network, life visioning, and personal strategic planning.  Participants also engage with women of color currently serving in senior leadership positions in higher education who offer raw, real and honest advice on navigating the academy.

Toby S Jenkins, PhD | Associate Provost for Faculty Development, Office of the Provost, University of South Carolina - Columbia, SC

Edwanna Andrews, Ph.D. | Assistant Vice President, Community Support, Division of Student Success & Well-Being, University of Central Florida - Orlando, FL

Crystal L Endsley Taylor, Ph.D. | Associate Professor, Africana Studies, John Jay College of Criminal Justice - New York, NY

Authors of Identity-Conscious Supervision in Student Affairs will share aspects of their guide, which offers current and future higher education and student affairs practitioners a new conceptual framework for identity-conscious and intersectional supervision. Presenting an original and transformative model to address day-to-day challenges, this presentation gives practitioners a strategic approach to engage in self-work, identity exploration, relationship building, consciousness raising, trust development, and organizational change, ultimately helping them become more adept at supervising people from a range of backgrounds and experiences. Presentation will include theoretical underpinnings, practical tips, case studies, and discussion questions to explore strategies in real-life contexts. Identity-Conscious Supervision in Student Affairs is a key tool for higher education and student affairs practitioners to effectively change systems of dominance and inequity on their campuses.

Robert Brown, MA | Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Outreach, Medill School, Northwestern University - Chicago, IL

Shruti Desai, EdD | Associate Vice President of Student Affairs for Student Engagement, Duke University - Durham, NC

Surviving and thriving in La Academia is not for the faint of heart. Join us in this interactive pre-conference session to explore Latinx higher education professionals and how they navigate their dual roles as practitioners and scholars (or as scholars and practitioners). The session will encourage participants to examine how they understand and develop their identities in the academy. Participants will actively engage in discussions focused on conducting research on Latinx communities, developing a research agenda, and resources for graduate scholars. Don't miss a vibrant panel titled, "Voces de la Academia." Participants will also collectively gather resources to move beyond surviving to thriving in La Academia.

Raul Hinojosa, Jr., MPA | Assistant Vice President, Office of Campus Resources and Support, University of Texas Dallas - Richardson, TX

Ysatiz M Piñero, M.S. | Director, Office of Identity, Equity and Engagement, University of North Carolina Charlotte - Charlotte, NC

Cancelled

Hope is having trust and confidence that something can be. Hope without strategy may yield minimal results. Within historically excluded communities, examples of hope paired with design can be found when community grassroots organizers implement relevant strategies to address topics such as voter suppression, racialized economic and health dispratites, police brutality and other social issues to make meaningful progress towards liberation.

Intentional and strategic design is necessary to disrupt systems and move towards more just and equitable spaces; in particular teaching and learning. This session will explore eight design principles originally curated to offer guidelines for designing more just and inclusive civic engagement processes for our democracy. Since their development, these design principles have been implemented in the university setting through structured course curriculum, divisional unit, and departmental programmatic experience.

Student affairs as a profession has long been viewed as a collection of programmers and practitioners. To reach educational liberation a mental shift must occur within the profession. We must accept the role of an Educator and the responsibility to curate learning organizations. Education serves as a tool to foster skills and gain knowledge. Designing for educational liberation necessitates individual commitment, increased knowledge base, and a collective action to enhance educational systems.

Within this interactive workshop, the presenters will offer a design framework which facilitates collective shared learning in a transparent, equitable, and just way. Presenters will blend principles with the curricular approach as learning opportunities within colleges and institutions happen beyond the traditional classroom setting.

Teaching and learning is much of an art as it is a science. This framework is rooted in the principles of design for: Equity, Margins, Systemic Change, Collaboration, Multiple Forms of Expression, Analog + Digital, Healing and Ecological Solutions. Participants will explore a blend of core themes with practical application and critical reflection on shared and unique experiences.

The activities during this session will provide participants with strategies for your institution to integrate community-based student engagement. Through critical reflection presenters will familiarize participants with important concepts of engagement advancing planning and problem-solving skills.

Travell L Oakes, M.Ed | Sr. Assistant Director, Multicultural & Leadership Development Center, Florida Gulf Coast University - Fort Myers, FL

Christopher W Blakely, Ed.D | Assistant Vice President for Campus Life, Dean of Students, Campus Life, Florida Gulf Coast University - Fort Myers, FL

Aaron J Nunes-Zaller, M.A. | Instructor I, Department of Integrated Studies, Florida Gulf Coast University - Fort Myers, FL

Throughout the day-long session, participants will explore historical and contemporary perspectives on the lived experiences of Black women higher education professionals. Presenters will deconstruct the pathology behind the perpetual subjugation and sacrificing of Black women. Additionally, the presenters will delineate the steps toward Burning Down Massa's Kitchen or destabilizing the White supremacy and patriarchy that permeates systems of power in the United States.

At present, Black women outpace many other minoritized demographic groups in the percentage of college enrollment, degree attainment, achievement of faculty rank, and employment in higher education executive leadership positions. Despite these achievements, Black women remain professionally relegated to the role of the Black Mammy, the perpetual burden bearers and mess managers for patriarchal institutions that have been shaped by White supremacist ideologies.

This is part of a historical continuum. From our documented arrival in the colonial United States, Black women have been systemically forced to exist as mules for a society dependent on their labor and human capital for a developing nation funded by a plantation-centered economy. Likewise, the nation's earliest higher education institutions were founded within the confines of the U.S. plantation system and adopted and adapted plantation politics, slave trading, and slaveholding to accommodate their developing needs. Therefore, the first Black women to navigate U.S. higher education systems were chattel slaves used as collateral for tuition and work-study. These women and their bodies bolstered the academy at the expense of their dignity, health, and livelihood.

Most recently, Black women have been thrust into the forefront of controversy and political debate after the highly publicized humiliation and ousting of Claudine Gay, the exhaustive attack on DEI and the Black women at the helm of DEI programming, and the tragic passing of Antoinette Bonnie Candia-Bailey reportedly prompted by incessant harassment and the denial of health care resources.

In light of these recent and ongoing events, Burning Down Massa's Kitchen will provide a freeing and healing space for Black women higher education professionals. Collaboratively and contemplatively, we will plot pathways toward freedom and navigate roads toward healing. Unapologetically.

Monica M Johnson, Ph.D. | Associate Vice President, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Indiana University - Bloomington, IN

Nicole J Johnson, MA | Vice President, Student Life, Rhodes College - Memphis, TN

Maria E. Hamilton Abegunde, Ph.D. | Assistant Professor, African American and African Diaspora Studies  Affiliate, Gender Studies, Indiana University - Bloomington, IN

Tabatha Jones Jolivet, Ph.D. | Associate Professor, Higher Education, Azusa Pacific University - Azusa, CA

The Pre-Conference Activity for Native American Conferees - Native Hawaiian Community Immersion is designed to expose Native American delegates to local Native Hawaiian community and higher education efforts that contribute to nation building and student retention strategies. During the morning session, Native delegates will travel to the Paepae O He’a Eia pond and assist in work teams, learning the cultural role of the pond and how it develops the importance of “place” for the Native Hawaiians. Please copy and paste this link for more information on Paepae: Youtube Video

The afternoon session will take place on the campus of the University of Hawaii, Manoa. The delegates will be hosted by the Native Hawaiian Student Services Center, hawaii’inuiakea School of Hawaiian Knowledge. The center’s staff will provide a tour of their center and provide a discussion of their services, students, and pedagogy.

Presenters:

Ricardo J Torres, Professor Emeritus, Counseling Faculty, California State University, Sacramento—Sacramento, CA

Willy Kauai, PhD, Director, Native Hawaiian Student Services, Hawai'inuiakea School of Hawaiian Knowledge, University of Hawai’i, Mānoa—Honolulu, HI

This interactive pre-conference is intended to be a joyful and brave space for those who identify as Transracial/People of Color Adoptees (People of Color who are adopted across racial groups) and those who hold Multiracial identities (those who identify with two or more racial groups). Grounded in self reflective practice, the art of storytelling, and theory, this pre-conference will center our stories and collective experiences. Celebration of similarities and honoring of differences will guide participants in an exploration of what it means to build coalitions amongst each other to foster solidarity and work towards achieving collective liberation. The target audience for this pre-conference are folks that identify as Transracial/People of Color Adoptees, Multiracial, or both; who are excited to explore their identities and engage in active coalition building in an effort to create liberatory futures for our Transracial/People of Color Adoptee and Multiracial communities.

Presenters:

Michelle Bagshaw, MSW, M.Ed, Assistant Director of Academic Services, Integrated Social Sciences , University of Washington—Seattle, WA

Sara Blair-Medeiros, MEd, Associate Director , Women's Resources and Research Center , University of California Davis—Woodland , CA

Lisa Delacruz Combs, PhD, PhD Student, Educational Studies, Ohio State University —Columbus, OH

JaeRan Kim, PhD, MSW , Associate Professor , Social Work, University of Washington, Tacoma —Tacoma, WA

Beth Yu Simpson, MSW, LICSW, Teaching Associate , Social Work, University of Washington, Seattle—Seattle, WA

This session should particularly benefit students who are engaged with and participate in social movements on their campuses, in their communities, and across the country. Student activism has grown over the last decade and campuses and administrators have struggled to address the shifting needs of students, dialogue with student leaders, and engage in practices of shared governance. Conversely, student leaders have struggled knowing what they can and cannot do as acts of civil disobedience, understanding the bureaucracies of the higher education, and know how, when and where to leverage the student voice in creating change on campus. This session will explore student lead movements, legal frameworks that shape demonstrations on campuses, and the operations and functions of people and structures within higher education institutions.  Additionally, we will explore social movements led by students across various campuses and the impact that has had on higher education across the country. Students and staff member should leave this session with a toolkit of how to approach and navigate student demonstrations on campus.

Presenters:

Quantá Taylor, EdD, Executive Director of Student Involvement, Division of Student Affairs, University of Louisville—Louisville, KY

Marian Vasser, Assistant Vice President of Inclusive Excellence, University of Louisville—Louisville, KY

Gyasmine George-Williams, PhD, Assistant Professor, California State Polytechnic University—Panoma, CA

Jarrick Brown, Director of Student Life, University of Colorado Denver—Denver, CO

Indigenous, Black,  LGBTQIA+, and students of Color face tremendous challenges on college campuses. Those occupying multiple excluded identities are especially impacted in the current political climate. Students active in organizations, collectives, leadership positions, or other forms of organizing are now facing threats internally and from external entities. While their counterparts in previous decades faced challenges too, the level, degree, and complexity of targeting of students today has grown. Aided by social media strategies, the intensity of those attacks and their lasting ability to impact students' lives have multiplied. Several studies (Miller and Rivas, 2022; ACLU, 2021) have indicated an increase in the targeting of students, especially student activists, by other students and external entities. Campus administration targets students' right to freedom of speech and organizing.

There are documented examples of these efforts of external entities such as some pro-Israel organizations (Palestine Legal, 2021), Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (https://www.stopcve.com/) and Black Identity Extremist funded studies and initiatives (ACLU, 2021) actively working to profile and criminalize students who speak up about injustices. Hate speech and fear mongering of Asian student populations during the pandemic and immigrant students was emboldened by the Trump administration and has continued to grow in different spaces under the Biden administration. These same forces have also been vocal against LGBTQIA+ rights, particularly targeting trans and non-binary students' ability to access healthcare, bathrooms, and other resources. The recent Roe v Wade ruling has increased societal polarization on the sanctity and autonomy of our bodies. This atmosphere creates a hostile environment on our campuses for students in general and for those actively organizing.

This workshop focuses on how heteropatriarchal white supremacist structures and groups marginalize and criminalize students. It will examine external entities, university policies, and campus structures contributing to white supremacy. It will identify strategies of support to enable students to thrive and work towards social change creating more just institutions. Participants engaging in activities and role play will explore: 1) legal, 2) storytelling, 3) advocacy and policy, 4) organizing, and 5) healing strategies. Participants will share personal experiences, hear from organizations supporting students, and assess areas of intervention for their campuses.

Presenters:

Zeina Zaatari, PhD, Director, Adjunct Faculty, Arab American Cultural Center, University of Illinois at Chicago—Chicago, IL

Lina Assi, MA, Advocacy Manager, , Palestine Legal—Houston, TX

Sahar Pirzada, MSW, Director of Movement Building, , HEART—Los Angeles, CA

Haddijatou Ceesay, PhD, Manager of Research, Evidence, and Learning, , HEART—Washington, DC

Nesreen Hasan, LSW, Program Coordinator, Student Support, Arab American Cultural Center, University of Illinois at Chicago—Chicago, IL

In the wake of a COVID-19 and rising global conflicts, American higher education is confronting unprecedented realities that is forcing institutions to adapt. The pandemic has not only exposed social inequities in the U.S. but also the interdependence of local and global factors that impact existing inequality in our world. In the process, higher ed leaders need to confront an internal infrastructure that bifurcates the work of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) from International/Global Education. This divide has created a disconnect between explicit commitments to addressing inequity in the U.S. and International work that typically lacks such focus.

In U.S. higher education, there are structural barriers to holistically addressing the challenges and opportunities of engaging our rapidly globalized world. Global educational efforts often employ Intercultural approaches while Diversity and Social Justice approaches tend to be focus on historical and systemic issues of equity and access in U.S. contexts. In recent years there have been widespread efforts to "globalize" our campuses and curriculum.  As this trend continues, the role of global intercultural education has rapidly grown with a focus on increasing international student populations, sending students abroad, and embedding global topics and requirements into curriculum. This focus has often been at odds with traditional discourses and historical issues related to U.S. Diversity, Equity and Social Justice issues.

This institute offers a critical approach to intercultural communication, education, and development.  Participants will explore opportunities to synergize Intercultural and Global Educational in Higher Education with DEI and Social Justice issues in order to help foster ideas that can support the development of diverse, inclusive and globalized campus communities with a commitment to addressing historically-based systemic inequity.  This session should particularly benefit administrators who seek conceptual frameworks that synergize U.S. DEI and Global educational efforts in higher education.  Through the exploration these concepts, participants will bring theory to practice by applying theory into practical administrative applications within their respective institutions.

Amer Ahmed, EdD | Vice Provost for DEI and Senior Diversity Officer, University of Vermont - Burlington, VT

Established research shows that college and university structures maintain legacies that undervalue BIPOC scholars' contributions through discrimination in evaluations, letters of recommendation, awards, and funding and overloaded levels of service. Transforming these barriers is challenging when the majority of faculty who lead universities and academic evaluations are white CIS men, all of which has a profoundly wounding ripple effect that culminates in a sense of non belonging. This harms well being and obstructs the potential for cultivating ideas, writing, publishing, and ultimately, growing one's career. While higher ed pours colossal investments into DEI programs to recruit and retain scholars of color, this work provides little research and publishing support for BIPOC scholars after they arrive on campus. 

Liberate Your Research trains graduate students and faculty of color how to tap into their powerful potential towards freeing their written voice and claiming their innovative theories, methods, and contributions. This workshop equips BIPOC scholars with tools for courageously transforming the pressure and uncertainty created by the academic ecosystem into an abundant capacity to boldly articulate one's scholarly theories, methods and contributions. It provides a collective space of colleagues that affirms that they are not alone-or that structural conditions, rather than their own limitations, shape the challenges they face in academia-and fosters new possibilities for powerfully naming and claiming their contributions. By collaboratively working through the deep pain of academic oppression together, participants release the constraints of the academic ecosystem, shifting to self trust. They gain tools for producing their highest and their most intentional, genuine, steadfast, and principled academic writing.

Participants gain three key tools. The first helps participants persevere through various forms of academic anxiety, oppression, gatekeeping, and overwhelm. The second trains participants in affirming their ideas boldly and unapologetically. The third provides strategies for naming and articulating one's  frameworks and contributions. Participants leave feeling more confident, gain clarity about their own unapologetic ideas/theories/methods; feel more powerful to put their work out in the world; complete their research in a more timely manner with clarity and ease, and affirm their specific and incredible value and worth.

Nadine Naber, PhD | Professor, Gender and Women's Studies and Global Asian Studies, University of Illinois at Chicago - Chicago, IL

Tarot is a popular and powerful tool for self-reflection. Unfortunately, it can also reinforce dominant narratives that uphold oppression. In this session, we'll engage in discussions, hands-on activities, and reflective practices that link tarot with antiracist concepts, theories, and practices, as we seek to create a liberatory tarot that supports: a) antiracist self-reflection b)meaningful dialogue about oppression and c) developing nourishing community.

By infusing tarot with insights from critical race theory, queer theory, feminism, and anticapitalist critiques we'll create a liberatory reflection tool to holds us accountable to (a) deepening our understanding of antiracism and social justice and (b) building transformative communities in our classrooms, campus activities, and social settings.

In our time together, we'll identify strategies for unlocking the liberatory potential of the tarot by confronting dominant narratives embedded in common tarot interpretations and work to create tarot practices that push back against components of white supremacy culture (e.g., perfectionism, either/or thinking, individualism, and defensiveness) to rekindle a sense of curiosity, creativity, and worthiness that system of oppression have attempted to silence. We'll examine how to read tarot cards with a focus on how we create narratives in the liminal space between the cards. And what happens when we infuse that meaning making process with social justice centered insights.

Additionally, we'll also identify, engage with, and discuss tarot informed reflective practices that support:

-Understanding antiracist concepts, theory, and writing

-Identifying and being accountable to antiracist commitments and goals

-Dreaming beyond the confines of oppression

-Deepening interpersonal connections to build nourishing community

No experience with tarot needed; we'll help you begin a practice that supports your antiracist journey. If you have tarot experience, this workshop will enhance your practice by expanding and deepening it to center on liberatory themes. In short, this workshop provides tools for individuals looking for new ways to engage with social justice both individually and in community settings. Workshop participants will also receive a workbook with guided reflection prompts, tarot spreads, and tarot informed activities that will deepen their exploration of tarot, antiracism, and the fusion of the two beyond the workshop.

Daniel Eisen, PhD | Professor of Sociology, Sociology, Pacific University - Forest Grove, OR

Whether we realize it or not, work experiences of Asian Americans (AAs) are heavily shaped and mediated by white dominant culture in the U.S.. Understanding how we have been socialized in this  culture reveals the ways internalized racism manifests, divides Asian Americans through white adjacency and the model minority myth, and prevents us from authentically showing up at work. For AAs, we must ask: what is the cost to ourselves, our humanity, and our communities within these complex power dynamics and racial hierarchies that has resulted in phenomena such as anti-blackness? How do we grant ourselves the freedom to shape our identities and experiences as professionals as AAs?

Throughout the session, we will practice co-creating a liberatory space together. We will explore the ways in which systems of oppression divide AAs - within ourselves, our communities, and with other communities of color. By first understanding the diversity of perspectives and experiences of AAs, we can reveal how white dominant culture  impacts our relationships to other racial groups. We will then assess the role of white dominant culture in our professional contexts to develop personal strategies to decenter and disrupt internalized racism. Lastly, we will practice co-creating a space that centers a regenerative and liberatory culture so we can determine ways to be better allies to ourself, other AAs, and BIPOC communities..

This session was designed for AAs who are willing to participate in an experiential process towards learning about how white dominant culture has shaped their definition of work and a strong desire to seek liberation and greater freedom to exist as Asian American. The learning objectives are:

• See ourselves and affirm our experiences; consciousness building
• Build a community of support
• Identify possible strategies for action

Pamela Chao, MA | Interim Dean, People, Culture, and Society, American River College - Sacramento, CA

Dawn Lee, PhD | Owner, Consultant, and Coach, , Abundant Strategies Collective - San Francisco, CA

In this interactive presentation, we will explore the intersectionality of race and gender, shedding light on the specific hurdles Black women encounter in pursuit of professional success. Our distinguished speakers will share personal stories, research findings, and practical strategies for navigating toxic professional environments while fostering healing and resilience.

Key topics covered include:

Intersectionality and Identity: An exploration of the complex intersection of race, gender, and anti-Blackness, highlighting how these factors shape the experiences of Black women in academia.

Professional Toxicity: A candid discussion on the challenges Black women face, from microaggressions to systemic biases, and its impact on their professional and personal well-being.

Healing Strategies: Practical approaches and coping mechanisms to navigate professional challenges, build resilience, and foster a supportive community within the academic realm.

Success Stories: Inspirational stories of Black women who have overcome adversity, shattered glass ceilings, and made significant contributions to their fields.

Community Building: An emphasis on the importance of building networks and support systems to promote solidarity, mentorship, and the collective advancement of Black women in academia.

Create a community that celebrates achievements, amplifies voices, and supports the holistic well-being of Black women in the academy.

Enhance Black women's professional skills by providing resources on navigating career pathways, and identifying wellness programs that prioritize mental health and well-being.

Encourage participants to engage in initiatives that advocate for policy changes, challenge systemic inequities, and contribute to research that addresses the unique experiences of Black women in the academy.

Deep and intentional networking that allows for short and long partnerships among sisters in the academy.

Nzingha Dugas, PhD Candidate | Assistant Professor and Chair, African American/Africana and Ethnic Studies, Contra Costa College - San Pablo, CA

Edwanna Andrews, PhD | Assistant Vice President, Ginsburg Center for Inclusion and Community Engagement, University of Central Florida - Orlando, CA

Toby Jenkins, PhD | Professor and Associate Provost for Faculty Development, Leadership, Learning Design, and Inquiry College of Education, University of South Carolina - Columbia, SC

In this current socio-political moment, when critical theories and DEI work are under attack, intersectionality can provide a framework for understanding and responding to attempts to isolate and silence marginalized experiences and perspectives. Intersectionality provides essential guidance for addressing the connections between social positions and systems of inequality by creating more effective, sustainable, and inclusionary social justice movements. Since intersectionality has been described as a theory that “travels” across spaces steeped in power (Cho, Crenshaw, & McCall, 2013; Collins, 2015), scholars and practitioners who wish to employ it are called to regularly reflect on the questions: “What is intersectionality and What does it do?”. This interactive pre-conference session centers these main questions: 1) foundational understandings of intersectionality and what it helps us do in theory, practice, and research 2) tensions and questions raised by intersectionality as a critical theory and a guide for practice, 3) specific strategies for integrating intersectionality into teaching, research, strategic planning, and various functional areas of co-curricular campus life 4) ways to address forms of resistance when incorporating intersectionality into campus change efforts, and 5) our personal readiness to engage in intersectional work.  

Alternating between presentation, reflection, and group work we will center intersectionality theory to increase our understanding of social identities and locations, power and privilege, and social justice. Presenters will engage in counter storytelling from their professional and personal experiences of the  challenges and possibilities of intersectionality. Together, we will grapple with the complexities involved when intersectionality moves from theory to revolutionary practice. As a community, we will develop concrete strategies for applying the material and insights gained from this workshop at our institutions. As individuals, we will assess our comfort, knowledge, and readiness to apply intersectionality in our work. The presenters welcome participants with a range of knowledge and experience with intersectionality who wish to dive deeply into the promises and challenges of intersectional work on campus. Because the session draws heavily on participation, the presenters assume that people attending have a basic knowledge of intersectionality and share a commitment to stay for the entire full day session.

Nina Tissi-Gassoway, Ph.D. | Professor of Practice in Social Justice Education & Higher Education, College of Education, University of Massachusetts Amherst – Amherst, MA

Amari L. Boyd, Ph.D. | Assistant Dean for First-Year & Sophomore Studies, Brown University – Providence, RI

Tulane University has spent the last decade training more than 100 students as Community Engagement Advocates (CEAs) to facilitate workshops that empower participants to explore issues of equity, justice, and liberation. Each year CEAs facilitate workshops for more than 4000 students on campus. They are compensated, receive course credit, and develop a deep analysis of systems of oppression. In addition to educating their peers, CEAs go on to become changemakers who hold their institutions accountable for advancing equity on campus and in the local community.

In this session, the leadership of the Tulane Community Engagement Advocates  Program will equip participants with the skills and resources to design a dialogue-based social justice program on their campus or in their organization. Using the CEA Program as a model, participants will collaborate to develop their own program unique to their organizational needs. They will engage in an interactive process focused on program management, the training process, curriculum design, and program assessment. By the end of the session, participants will be able to take their plan back to their organization for implementation.

Sienna S. Abdulahad, MAEd | Director, Taylor Center for Design Thinking & Social Innovation & The Office of Multicultural Affairs, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA

Abi Mbaye, MA | Senior Program Coordinator, Multicultural Affairs, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA

The Personal Work of Racial Justice is a workshop for white educators, leaders, activists interested in deepening their racial equity and racial justice practice. The workshop is designed to clarify and support the internal personal work we need to do as white people to thoughtfully, gracefully, and fiercely live into our commitment to racial justice.

Drawing from 30+ years of experience as an educator, activist, and artist focused on tackling racism and white supremacy in the service of racial justice and equity, Dr. Okun will facilitate a participatory session that supports participants to:

• engage in deep reflection about our personal commitment as white people to racial justice and equity and how we engage our whole being into that commitment;

• draw from somatic practices, including working with the breath, silence, journaling, guided visualization, and music;

• meet and collaborate in small and large group formats;

• translate reflection into action;

• deepen our individual and collective understanding of how we care for ourselves and each other as we work for racial justice;

• explore the internal personal work we need to do in order to live into our commitment to racial justice.

Tema Okun, Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with a Specialization in Cultural Studies | Educator, Activist, Artist, , I am not affiliated; if you must put something you can say that I am with Teach. Equity. Now. - Chapel Hill, NC

As research and recommended practice on supporting LGBTQ students of color continues to grow, institutions of higher education  still fail to meet the needs of  queer and trans students of color.

Join queer and trans higher education practitioners of color who strive to intervene with an intersectional approach rooted in liberation when working with and alongside students.  Participants will leave  with a litany of tools to engage or establish an intersectional  framework. Topics to be included: 

• The History  and future of intersectionality
• Fundamental Social Justice Terms
• Foundational Living Language
• Connecting LGBTQ+ issues to larger systems of power (i.e. white supremacy, colonization, pinkwashing, etc..)
• Recent Data on LGBTQ People
• The Experiences of Queer and Trans Students of Color in Higher Education
• Supporting Queer and Trans Students of Color, including Case Studies
• Best Practices & Resources for Further Learning 

Overall, the goal of  Intersectional Interventions: Supporting Queer and Trans Students of Color is to create more celebratory  educational spaces as we  make room for re-imagined social justice frameworks to better support students.

This pre-conference workshop will benefit intermediate to advanced higher education practitioners  invested in engaging  how to take intersectionality from theory to practice and application.

Mycall Riley, M. Ed. | Director, Gender and Sexuality Center for Queer and Trans Life, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities - Minneapolis, MN

Vanessa Aviva González-Siegel, M.A. | Associate Director of LGBTQ Student Life, Multicultural Affairs, Columbia University - New York, MN

Nathan Nguyễn, M. Ed. | Director, LBGT Student Services, Western Michigan University - Kalamazoo, MI

Note: This workshop is designed and will be facilitated for people who identify as People of Color/BIPOC/Multiracial and Biracial people.   Internalized racism is part of the system of chains contributing to the continuation of racism affecting racially oppressed groups and it has encouraged the physical, spiritual, and emotional self- mutilation and self-degradation of a community of people. By influencing the psychological experience of People of Color, it has enticed individuals to contribute to their own demise within systems of white supremacy and oppression.  It is important to study, understand, and seek out ways that groups of Color can gain a liberatory perspective in the midst of a racist society, just as it is important for White people to work to gain a liberatory perspective over internalized dominance. This interactive institute workshop will be a space where People of Color/BIPOC can explore and cultivate in a space that will be held specifically for and by People of Color/BIPOC/Multiracial and Biracial.  It is a space for community, connection, reflection, and liberation. We will hold each other in community and in affinity, though it is more than an affinity space. It is an opportunity to do deep work understanding what internalized racism is, where it lives in you, and what's possible beyond it. It will investigate the complexity of the phenomena of internalized racism and offer participants the opportunity to explore manifestations of internalized racism and consequences of internalized racism in their personal and professional lives.  Additionally, participants will explore models and tools of liberation and how and why practicing a liberatory consciousness is a path to confronting internalized racism amid a racially oppressive society.  This session should particularly benefit participants who want to explore another way to challenge a system of oppression, want to understand the psychological impacts of oppression and work toward individual and collective healing.   
 

Opening 

• Creating a People of Color and Multiracial Folks Space 
• Interest/Background to this work for me 
• Why is Internalized oppression and Internalized Dominance important to education/to a larger vision of a world free of systemic oppression? 
  • Defining Internalized Oppression 
• Theory – how it is situated in a larger understanding of systemic oppression  
• Internalized Subordination/Internalized Domination Definitions 
• Challenging a system of oppression and internalized racism by centering POC 
  • Specifying Internalized Racism 
• Differentiating Manifestations from the thing itself 
• The Why of exploring the manifestations and paying attention to them -  
  • An Internalized Oppression Process Exploration 
• Early Memory Worksheet  
• Pair Work / Group Work 
• Large Group Process 
  • Skill Building to challenge Internalized Racism 
• What does it mean to challenge Internalized Racism 
• Building skills to live in the world in a liberated way 
• Liberation - What is it? - Liberation Definition 
• Radical Liberation - Is it radical liberation? 
• What are the risks associated with going after this type of freedom? 
• Developing a Liberatory Consciousness 
• Practicing our liberation – building the toolbox 
• Reflecting and Brainstorming Liberatory Actions 
• Large group process
  • Celebration and Thank You
  • Closing  

This is a very skeletal beginning to the design and much will be added to thicken the learning and reflection.  Additionally, activities will be added that build a group experience that will create safety and understanding so participants can do their best internal work and practice.  Developing the institute session from feedback from participants in last year’s institute will help participants do even more effective work.   The vision is for participants to have in-depth opportunities to challenge their own internalized racism and potentially offer them the opportunity to begin approaching the ways that they challenge systems of oppression with new energy and fervor.  I have taken feedback from each of the workshops that I have had the opportunity to do around this topic and will be incorporating much of it into the design.  Some of the examples of suggestions from previous workshop participants to deepen the work are listed below: 

•  Creating an all people of color/multiracial space 
•  More sharing of stories 
•  Exploring the intersections with other “isms” 
•  Methodologies for altering early narratives 
•  Finding ways to reflect on internalized dominance 
•  More time on developing a liberatory consciousness 

 
It is clear to me by the response that I have received doing this work and exploration into internalized racism that this is a topic that is worth exploring.  As I state in my abstract (with research citations), “Internalized racism is part of the system of chains contributing to the continuation of racism affecting racially oppressed groups. (Speight, 2007) Internalized racism has encouraged the physical, spiritual, and emotional self- mutilation and self-degradation of a community of people (Akbar, 1996; Bivens, 2005; hooks, 1995; Speight, 2007). By influencing the psychological experience of People of Color, it has enticed individuals to contribute to their own demise within a larger system of oppression (Akbar, 1995; Fanon, 1967; Friere, 1970; hooks, 1995, 2003; Hardiman & Jackson, 1997; Leary, 2005).”   The research clearly supports the need for more conversation and connection around this topic and reflection on liberatory practices that will support change.
 

Presenter: Dr. Tanya Ovea Williams, Coach/Consultant, Authentic Coaching and Consulting