Come to the Tri-State Diversity Conference September 9
Educators, organization administrators, college students and area residents are invited to the 3rd Annual Tri-State Conference on Diversity and Inclusion. The conference will take place Friday, Sept. 9, from 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Ashland Community and Technical College.
ACTC and seven other higher education institutions are cosponsoring the conference to promote a community dialogue about equity, opportunity and diversity. Participants will increase their understanding about how inclusion practices can influence and enhance their workplace and community.
The keynote speaker is Judge Terri B. Jamison, a Domestics Relations Judge in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas in Ohio.
Born in Welch WV, in the middle of coal country, Judge Jamison started school in a segregated elementary school and lived in a segregated community. Being treated differently because of my race prepared me to run for judge, she said. I learned that obstacles are there to be overcome.
Judge Jamison owned and operated an insurance agency for more than 16 years before starting college. After earning her law degree from Capital University, she served as a Public Defender before opening her own law practice. After being elected Judge in 2012, she started a program to help those who are behind on child support gain education and training for jobs that will help them meet their obligations.
She is a member of many organizations, including the American Judges Association, National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, National Council of Negro Women, NAACP and American Bar Association and Ohio Bar Association. She is also Pastor of Divine Kingdom Builders.
The conference includes concurrent sessions on the theme Appalachian Crossroads: Conversations on Diversity. Some session topics are outlined below.
Where Im Going, Where Im From is the topic for Sarah Diamond Burroway. Knowing where we come from helps us navigate our goals as we move through life, Burroway said. Participants will be guided through a hands-on workshop based on the poem, Where Im From, by George Ella Lyon, a Harlan native and Kentuckys Poet Laureate. Through discussion and facilitated writing, participants will explore how being from Appalachia influences their view of themselves and others.
Burroway is ACTCs Director of Grants and Contracts. A former radio journalist and marketing/media writer, she now writes plays and monologues in her free time. Her essays and poems have been presented in the annual Women Speak event of the Women of Appalachia Project. She co-founded the Actors for Children Theatre and is a members of the Greenup Arts Council.
Targeted Enrichment Programs: Supporting African American Males and Foster Care Students for Holistic Success is the topic for Billy R. Kennedy. This session will present two initiatives used to retain African American males and other at risk students and help them persist to graduation. Ohio University has a first year LINKS retention program and an appreciative advising model used in partnerships with the Patton College of Education and African American Male Initiative.
Kennedy is Coordinator of Undergraduate Persistence and Transitional Success in the Office for Multicultural Student Access amp; Retention at Ohio University. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts Degree from Hiram College and Masters Degree in Education from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. Before becoming an academic advisor, he worked in Residence Life at several different institutions in the Midwest.
Lets Give Them Something to Talk About is the topic for Jacqueline Yahn. Participants will learn three strategies that can be used to engage small and large groups in meaningful discussions of equity and diversity issues. The strategies are Blind Date with a Book, Cultural Autobiography and Partners in Problem Solving.
Yahn is the Middle Childhood Education Coordinator for Ohio Universitys Eastern Campus. Her area of specialty is policy and leadership in rural and small schools. She teaches classes on equity and diversity issues in middle schools and has co-authored articles on equity and diversity in rural and small schools. An Ohio native, she is a doctoral candidate in Ohio Universitys Educational Administration Program.
AIM: All Inclusive Multicultural Lens for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is the topic for Tony Sweat. AIM is a new approach to diversity and inclusion. Previous approaches such as colorblindness and multiculturalism have clear benefits but also can contribute to feelings of exclusion. Through the development of social capital and positive relationships, AIM can be a catalyst for positive and effective organizational change.
Sweat is a Harlan KY resident and a Doctoral student in Education at Eastern Kentucky University.
For additional information on conference presenters, go to the Conference website at www.tristatediversity and inclusion.com.
Conference cosponsors are ACTC, Morehead State University, Marshall University, Shawnee State University, Ohio University and Ohio University-Southern, Mountwest Community amp; Technical College, Lindsey Wilson College and Walmart.
The conference will be held at ACTCs Technology Drive Campus. The fee is $40 per person or $15 for secondary and post-secondary students, and the fee includes continental breakfast, luncheon, workshops, and a Certificate of Cultural Competency. Continuing Education Units (CEU) and university credits are available for additional fees.
Registration is online. For more information, contact Conference Chair Al Baker, ACTC Director of Cultural Diversity, at 606.326.2422 or email: alvin.baker@kctcs.edu.
