8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. - Registration at Yale School of Management, 165 Whitney Avenue, New Haven, CT
Morning Sessions
8:30 a.m. - Continental Breakfast
9:00 a.m. - Welcome from the Yale Alumni Association
9:15 a.m. - The Healing Power of Listening with Joyce Mercer '84 MDiv
9:30 a.m. - Inspiration: Alumni Stories, moderated by Marta Moret '84 MPH
- Wendell Nii Laryea Adjetey '15 MA, '15 MPhil, '18 PhD, W. L. Mackenzie King Postdoctoral Fellow at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs and Lecturer in the Department of History, Harvard University
- Rashayla Marie Brown '04, Artist-Scholar
- Jason Green ’08 JD, Co-Founder, SkillSmart
11:00 a.m. - Understanding: Historical Breakout Sessions
- "Artful Impact: How Middle Eastern Art Became a Catalyst for Change" - Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi, Lecturer, Council of Middle East Studies, Yale University
- "Frederick Douglass and the Legacies of Slavery" - David Blight, Class of 1954 Professor of American History; Director, Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition; Yale University
- "Strategy and Social Change" - Beverly Gage '94, Professor of History & American Studies; Brady-Johnson Professor of Grand Strategy; Yale University - This session will discuss the various strategic options available to movements and organizations seeking to make a difference in the world, ranging from strikes to nonviolence to public advocacy and legal change.
- "Whiteness and American Citizenship" - Matthew Jacobson, William Robertson Coe Professor of American Studies & History, Yale University
- "Exclusion and Its Impact on Asian Americans: Past and Present" - Grace Kao, Chair, Department of Sociology; IBM Professor of Sociology; Faculty Director; Education Studies; Director, CERSI; Yale University; and Mary Lui, Professor of American Studies & History, Yale University
Afternoon Sessions
12:00 p.m. - Lunch and Discussion Groups
1:15 p.m. - Be the Change: Stories of Alumni Addressing Challenges
- Jerry Henry '80 MDiv, Moderator - We will hear from alumni about Diversity, Equity & Inclusion challenges faced in their lives, what they did to address these challenges, and ultimately, the lessons learned.
2:45 p.m. - Impact: Experiential Workshops
- "Bystander Intervention Training" - Melanie Boyd '89, Assistant Dean of Student Affairs, Yale College; and Stephanie Spangler, Deputy Provost for Health Affairs & Academic Integrity; Clinical Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology; University Title IX Coordinator; Yale University - This workshop focuses on everyday incidents of disrespect and discomfort that too often undercut our DEI efforts. People tend to underestimate their ability to intervene, but even small actions can have big impacts. By exploring and practicing intervention strategies, we can learn to make a real difference both for the individuals involved and for our broader communities.
- "Leveling Up Your Legacy on Gender Equity" - Araceli Campos ’99, Chair, Los Angeles County Women & Girls Initiative; Executive Director, Miguel Contreras Foundation - Drawing from experiences in the labor movement, non-profit sector and with the City and County of Los Angeles, this talk will explore the importance of an inter-sectional gender lens and what it means to have one as a policy maker, non-profit or business leader, and ultimately just as people.
- "Navigating Differences When We Don’t Agree on What Counts as Good" - Matthew Croasmun '01, '06 MAR, '11 MA, '14 PhD, Associate Research Scholar and Director, Life Worth Living Program at the Yale Center for Faith and Culture
- This session will offer tools for understanding the differences among the visions of flourishing life that contend in our public discourse. Along the way, we will also find resources that will help each of us refine our own sense of what the flourishing life is and where it can be found.
- "Diversity and Environmental Justice" - Thomas RaShad Easley, Assistant Dean of Community and Inclusion, Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies - In this interactive session, participants will learn about the origins of environmental justice and will focus on the intersection of diversity and the environment. Participants will be encouraged to consider their positions on the underlying issues to help advance awareness and further discussion.
- "Running for Office" - Patricia Russo, Executive Director, Women's Campaign School at Yale; Jason Green '08 JD, Co-Founder, SkillSmart - Join two political dynamos, Jason Green and Patti Russo, share their stories of the good, the bad and the unpredictable on the campaign trail as you prepare a run for office. Jason and Patti will provide ways in which you can avoid expensive, rookie mistakes in order to run effectively and successfully. If you are interested in leading a more civically engaged life, this workshop will help you find your footing quickly and easily. Come jump into the political pipeline with Jason and Patti!
- "More Light, Less Heat: Mastering the Art of Opinion Writing" - Allison Silver ’78, Founder and President, 4Context; Consultant, NBC News Think; Former Politico Opinion Editor, Los Angeles Times Sunday “Opinion” Editor and Reuters Executive Editor of Opinion - This session will help experts armed with facts play a larger role in the public debate, which is ever more fast and furious.
4:30 p.m. - Keynote Address
- "A Woke Democracy: Leadership Lessons in Democracy, Diversity and Meritocracy" - Cornell William Brooks ’90 JD, Professor of the Practice of Public Leadership and Social Justice, Harvard Kennedy School. He is also Director of The William Monroe Trotter Collaborative for Social Justice at the School’s Center for Public Leadership, and a visiting scholar at Harvard Divinity School. Learn from one of our nation’s leading civil rights attorney’s on applying leadership lessons from servant and citizen leaders like Pauli Murray ‘65 JSD to contemporary American social justice challenges for impact—with inspiration.
5:00 p.m. - Closing Reception
