4th Annual Equity Development Institute
May 6, 2022
Watch Presentation Recordings from EDI 2022
Natasha Burrowes: Connecting the Past to the Present: A Collective Reflection on Highline’s Journey Towards Equity
Dr. Michael Benitez, Jr.: Radically Reimagining Equity in Higher Education: Centering Equity as Episteme, Canon and Praxis
AGENDA
10:00 – 10:15am | Welcome and Land & Labor Acknowledgments
10:15 – 11:45am | Reflect: Natasha Burrowes
Connecting the Past to the Present: A Collective Reflection on Highline’s Journey Towards Equity
Reflection, pause and listening are essential tools in the work of personal and institutional transformation. Drawing on wisdom and lessons from the past, participants will be invited to reflect on Highline’s present equity moment and what that means for future equity-centered visions for the college.
Who it’s for: All campus
Modality: This Morning Keynote will be virtual on Zoom. Join on Zoom or join us in Building 8 with the live-stream.
11:45am – 12:30pm | Break
12:30 – 2:30pm | Repair: Choose a Workshop Session:
Nani Jackins Park
What does it mean to be anti-racist? And why is it so critical to the success of colleges and their communities?
Just as important are questions about why it’s so hard to talk about these issues and why it’s imperative that we learn how. Please join Nani Jackins Park, Principal of EquityworksNW, for an interactive session that will address these questions and help participants collaboratively build understanding.
Please feel free to attend even if you’re new to equity work and not experienced with related language and theory. Hopefully session participants will represent a range of learning and development and our conversation will contribute to a broader goal of establishing shared language and vision for an equity first Highline.
Who it’s for: This workshop is designed for those who are looking to build their understanding of equity and its role in higher education.
Modality: Facilitator will be in-person, and the session will be hybrid. Join on campus or on Zoom.
Karena L. Hooks, MSW
Healing in the Trenches of Equity Work
As educators, we are experiencing an increase in emotional fatigue as we navigate both personal and professional responsibilities. While it can be tempting to push through stress and burnout for the sake of our students, it is important to take the time to look inward. Ask ourselves what it is that we need to go from surviving to thriving, and to support our students in doing the same. In this session, we will explore what it means to revisit our personal “Why” and realign our core values with action at Highline College. Participants will assess what’s working, and explore new ways to approach their work in a way that elevates student success and engagement in 2022 and beyond.
Who it’s for: This workshop is for equity practitioners at Highline who have demonstrated commitment to and been at the forefront of implementing systemic changes and are in need of rejuvenation for continuing the work.
Modality: Facilitator will be virtual on Zoom. Join on Zoom
Caitlin D. Hoover, MPA
Ally or Co-conspirator? How to shift from performance to partnership
This session will focus on ways for allies to deepen our commitment to equity work, making the shift from “ally” to “co-conspirator.” We will discuss common “sticking points” for white people in equity work, ask the questions we’ve been afraid to ask previously, and explore ways to show up courageously in support of those who have paved the way in equity work at Highline College.
Who it’s for: Attend this workshop to explore ways to shift from ally to co-conspirator in equity work. This workshop will be particularly beneficial for white-identified staff and faculty.
Modality: Facilitator will be virtual on Zoom. Join on Zoom.
Dr. Brett Kuwada, Psy. D
Deeper Listening to Truly Hear Highline College Trauma
This session is focused on helping HC leaders understand the identity based trauma experienced at HC. In order for Highline College leadership to dismantle trauma, leadership must first collectively understand what this trauma is. In any setting we play a role, and within that role we experience our own trauma connected to the setting. Dr. Kuwada will model using Cultural Humility, Empathy, and Compassion as well as mindful facilitation to help leadership tap into their own experiences of trauma at HC. The goal of this session is to not only uncover HC related trauma within the leadership team, it is also to demonstrate how leaders might facilitate and hold similar spaces within HC to understand the trauma within their own sphere of influence on campus. From there, leadership can move toward taking steps to dismantle the trauma they’ve come to understand.
Who it’s for: This workshop is reserved only for those in upper leadership positions (specifically: President, Vice Presidents, Executive Directors, Deans, Associate Deans, Division Chairs) to be supported in understanding how trauma impacts spaces within their influence.
Modality: Facilitator will be virtual on Zoom. Join on Zoom.
2:30 – 2:45pm | Break
2:45 – 4:00pm | Reimagine: Dr. Michael Benitez, Jr.
Radically Reimagining Equity in Higher Education: Centering Equity as Episteme, Canon and Praxis
Educational institutions have come a long way in their efforts to better understand diversity and inclusion, but continue to fall short of addressing systemic inequities, and realizing visions of equity. Alongside, COVID 19 has further exposed racial systemic inequities—causing a host of uncertainties for higher education and students from all walks have become increasingly engaged in challenging racial injustice in efforts to bring greater awareness to, and dismantle dominant epistemologies and practices. A leading scholar-practitioner and bold national voice on EDI, Dr. Benitez touches on what institutions should be doing in efforts to acknowledge and mend harm, become culturally relevant and responsive, and offers tools to intentionally and innovatively address equity, social justice and institutional accountability in higher education.
Who it’s for: All campus.
Modality: This Closing Keynote will be in-person, and the session will be hybrid. Join on campus or on Zoom.
4:00 – 4:15pm | Closing
SPEAKERS
Natasha Burrowes
My name is Natasha Burrowes and I am a trained spiritual director, workshop leader, retreat facilitator, educator, and writer. Rooted in a deep belief that Spirit calls each person to a greater purpose to bring about the common good and to be in more alignment with the spiritual path, I journey with individuals, groups, and organizations to connect to a deeper purpose, to elevate consciousness, and to create meaningful and spirit-filled action and expression in the world. I base teaching practices, spiritual direction, and writing on wisdom drawn from the world’s diverse spiritual traditions. I feel called to support individuals and communities in their spiritual growth and development.
With a commitment and dedication to social justice and freedom, I believe that liberation and healing is connected to having a deeper sense of Spirit in our individual and collective lives. My educational, professional, and ministerial pathways have led me to the intersections of spirituality and justice making. I have over 20 years of experience working in nonprofit, higher education, community-based, and faith-based settings. I earned a Masters of Arts Degree in Transforming Spirituality (MATS) with an emphasis in Spiritual Direction from Seattle University’s School for Theology and Ministry and also earned my Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Ethnic Studies and African American Studies.
As a Spiritual Director, I am rooted in the Christian tradition and have an expansive sense of spirituality. I incorporate beliefs and spiritual practices from many faith and wisdom traditions to connect with Spirit. I am an Interspiritual/Interfaith Spiritual Director and journey with people of all faiths, spiritualities, and belief systems. I have worked as a mentor and educator for many years and journeyed with many people from diverse backgrounds and spiritual traditions in educational settings, prisons, churches, one-on-one settings, and have even been known to do this on public buses or coffee shops with perfect strangers at times (wherever Spirit calls). I also write through my blog called Mindful Mondays and the content is focused on meditations on wisdom from diverse spiritual traditions.
With 20 years of retreat and workshop facilitation experience, I present on many topics in the areas of social justice, leadership, diversity, and spirituality. Presentations and workshops explore issues through a holistic lens that engage mind, body, and spirit; collective and individual agency; consciousness and concrete action; transformation and healing. I have facilitated spiritual retreats for youth in juvenile detention centers, theology students, and undergraduate students; led interfaith initiatives and dialogues from classrooms to educational institutions to statewide conferences; conducted cultural responsiveness retreats and workshops in higher education setting for students, staff members, and faculty members. Receiving training from the Fellowship of Reconciliation and The Center for Nonviolence & Peace Studies at the University of Rhode Island, I am a certified Nonviolence trainer. I also received intensive training from the Mandala Center for Change and facilitate some dialogue and discussion through Theater of the Oppressed.
Brett Kuwada, Psy.D.
My name is Brett Kuwada, and I identify as a temporarily able-bodied, multi-racial, cisgender, heterosexual, man, who is also a father, family member, life partner, and a lover of all people and others. I am the President of The CHEC (Cultural Humility, Empathy, & Compassion) Center, where I provide consulting, coaching, workshops, education, and keynote addresses, focused on diversity, equity, inclusion, and access (DEIA). I am also a professor of psychology at Everett Community College, and an instructor at Western Washington University, in their Rehabilitation Counseling graduate program. I also maintain a small private practice where I focus on the mental health concerns of the clients I serve.
I began diversity work in the private sector before I even realized I was doing diversity work. Having the skin tone of the Global Majority, which doesn’t conform to the White standard in the US, I was frequently asked to be on diversity initiatives to represent the voice and perspective of, at the time, “colored people”. This role seemed to follow me wherever I landed and it started me on a journey that has lasted now almost thirty years. In 2014, after previously being introduced to Tervalon and Murray-Garcia’s Cultural Humility (1998), I developed and presented a framework for deep connection around DEIA issues through open dialogue called CHEC (Cultural Humility, Empathy & Compassion). This framework was quickly embraced by many and in 2018 The CHEC Center was formed to deliver services to as many individuals and organizations as is needed. The work at The CHEC Center has grown to include healing from the trauma of White Supremacy, which everyone in our country experiences. Movement toward healing has inspired me to help develop spaces, with participants, where we access our trauma, support each other, and collectively reprocess this trauma in a way that allows for healing to occur so we don’t continue to pass this trauma to the next generation.
Caitlin Hoover
Caitlin Hoover is a queer white woman who uses she/her pronouns. She is a coach, change agent, disruptor, and co-conspirator. With backgrounds in public policy, international development, and community development, Caitlin merges many perspectives in pursuit of liberation for all. Her passion is facilitating the development, growth, and healing of relationships, and she has a talent for creating and protecting spaces where people can access their full humanity.
Caitlin received her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Western Washington University, and her MPA from the University of Washington’s Evans School of Public Policy and Governance. As the Director of Partnerships for Hooks Global, Caitlin works both as a Liberation Coach and as the first point of contact for client communications, ensuring that each client has access to a holistic, transformational experience that ignites their power to heal.
Karena L. Hooks, MSW (she/her/goddess)
I am a Black, cisgender, queer woman, born and raised in California. My parents are southern blues and country musicians, a Black father from Columbus, Mississippi, and a white mother from Lawrenceburg, Tennessee. I deeply love music, the ocean, community, martial arts, poetry, learning, teaching, and traveling. Laughing is one of my favorite pastimes. My passion is all things social justice and healing while I dream of making freedom and liberation a reality. My superpower is my ability to make deep connections in an instant. I listen for what’s not being said, and I explore the soul of a person or organization with endless curiosity. My come-from is influenced by what I’ve witnessed and experienced. I promise: Liberation is possible for you and for us.
As a Leader, Organizer, Healer, Liberation Coach, Mentor, Educator and Facilitator, I bring over 20 years of experience working with individuals and organizations at all stages of life. My roots run deeply in the fields of Social Justice, Organizational Development and Leadership, and Community-based Systems Change for nonprofit/non-governmental, public, and private sectors globally.
Those roots support me in leading a collective that provides premier coaching services grounded in liberation and healing. In my healing and justice work, I have wondered for a long time — how can I help people get out of their heads and go more into their hearts? This shift is critical for us, and it’s what we need to reach holistic liberation. Through a collaborative approach, I utilize anti-oppressive practices and experiential techniques to ignite individual, collective, and global transformation.
I earned my bachelor’s degree from New York University, and my master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Washington. I am a certified Transformational Coach and received my anti-racist training through the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond. Additionally, I serve as Adjunct Faculty at Columbia University’s School of Social Work online program. Within each community I serve, I bring passion and commitment as evidenced in my most recent feature on KING 5’s award-wining series, Facing Race. According to KING5, this groundbreaking segment was unlike anything they have broadcasted in recent history. This segment is a clear example of how I approach my heart’s work.
Michael Benitez, Jr., Ph.D.
A highly sought out speaker, consultant and workshop leader, Dr. Michael Benitez is an acclaimed scholar practitioner and educator in the field of diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education. As a seasoned and proven educator, Dr. Benitez is called upon to speak and consult on for colleges and universities, community organizations and corporations across the nation and internationally.
Dr. Benitez has authored book chapters and articles on student identity, hip hop culture, cultural centers, cultural and ethnic studies, institutional research and campus climates, and faculty development. He the is co-editor of the anthology, Crash Course: Reflections on the Film “Crash” for Critical Dialogues About Race, Power and Privilege; has contributed to online magazines, scholarly databases, books, and peer reviewed journals throughout his career; has been featured in educational documentaries such as Cracking the Codes: The System of Racial Inequity; appeared on talk shows such as Worlds Apart, Hard Knock Radio, and Speak out with Tim Wise; and is occasionally invited to contribute to and appear on podcast, addressing some of today’s most pressing diversity, equity, and inclusion issues and challenges.
Benitez brings deep knowledge and experience working in and leading areas in academic and student affairs, campus wide programming, assessment and evaluation, recruitment and retention, organizational leadership, intercultural development, structural transformation, education policy, research and practice, inclusive excellence, and equity in the work place.
Benitez has served higher education in different capacities over the last 20 years, including academic affairs, student affairs, diversity and inclusion and teaching, and currently serves as the Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion, and Associate Professor or Multicultural Education at Metropolitan State University of Denver.
Nani Jackins Park
Nani Jackins Park is an equity strategist working to promote racial and social justice within higher education and health care domains. She is the Principal for EquityworksNW and holds a master’s degree in Counseling Psychology and is ABD in her doctoral work in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. For years she was the principal equity thought partner for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Postsecondary Success Team and has worked with a wide range of clients and leaders who are working to transform higher education on a national level.