I am a LEADer Conference Schedule
Thank you for attending the first annual I am a LEADer conference 2021. Stay tuned for updates on next years conference!
FEBRUARY 1-12, 2021
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 1
Time: 1:30-2 PM EST
Presenter(s): Nina DeAgrela, Rebecca Black
Description: Join us for the kickoff opening session of the I am a LEADer conference!
Presenter(s) Bio: Nina DeAgrela is the Assistant Dean of Intercultural Engagement and Multicultural Programs at SPXCE. Rebecca Black is MIT's ASA President.
Time: 2-3 PM EST
Presenter(s): Patricia Saulis
Description: See opening for full recording of this session
Presenter(s) Bio: Click here for bio
Time: 8-9 PM EST
Presenter(s): SOLE
Description: Meet up and network on the Gathertown platform with your fellow MIT peers and have group conversations to set intentions for the conference. This will not be directly facilitated so this will be your opportunity to get to know other participants in a more laid back setting.
Presenter(s) Bio: n/a
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2
Time: 2-3 PM EST
Presenter(s): SPXCE Graduate Assistants
Description: Join this workshop to discover who you are and how to connect with others.
Presenter(s) Bio: TBD
Time: 6:30-7:30 PM EST
Presenter(s): Junior Pena
Description: How to start and establish accountable conversations on social justice issues
Presenter(s) Bio: TBD
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 3
Time: 1-2 PM EST
Presenter(s): Lauryn McNair (she/they)
Description: This workshop is open to all LGBTQ+ individuals and allies on how to support LGBTQ+ students in your communities. Topics of mixed lecture and group discussion include: current statistics of LGBTQ+ students during the pandemic, visibility of students who are "back in the closet", and a variety of best practices on how to use remote tools to connect with students.
Presenter(s) Bio: Lauryn collaborates with departments, administrators, and student groups to develop and implement educational, intersectional LGBTQ+ programs at MIT. Lauryn joins us after working at Babson College as the Multicultural and LGBTQ+ Program Coordinator. There, her programs spanned campus wide events such as the Multicultural Festival and heritage month celebrations to providing group education on leadership and identity, safe zone trainings, gender expansive trainings, and club support. In her intern roles, she advised first-generation college students and developed and facilitated programming for Trans and Gender Non-conforming communities throughout Greater Boston area. McNair holds an MSW from Boston College School of Social Work with a macro concentration in family, youth, and children and a BA from Colgate University with a double major in sociology and Caribbean studies.
Time: 5-6 PM EST
Presenter(s): Jacklyn Liberman (she/her/hers)
Description: Join Jacklyn as she leads peer to peer conversations on how you can support and advocate for each other both on and off campus.
Presenter(s) Bio: Jacklyn serves as the Associate Director for Student Activities and Leadership Programs at the SOLE office at MIT. In this role she has the opportunity to manage a number of MIT's premier leadership programs and initiatives and continue her passion for developing student leaders. Jacklyn received her bachelor's degree from the University of Washington in International Studies, and a master's degree in Diplomacy, Conflict Resolution and Negotiations from the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, Israel.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4
Time: 1-2:30 PM EST
Presenter(s): GSA, ICEO, MIT Police
Description: TBD
Presenter(s) Bio: TBD
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5
Time: 12-1 PM EST
Presenter(s): Vivek Bald
Description: Join us as we learn more about using South Asian American history to outline the problematic construction of the model minority myth and explore its origins and workings.
Presenter(s) Bio: Click here for bio
Time: 2-2:45 PM EST
Presenter(s): Nina DeAgrela
Description: This microchat is a chance to hangout with peers, reflect about lessons learned, and connect with others over the sessions you’ve attended.
Presenter(s) Bio: n/a
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8
Time: 2-3 PM EST
Presenter(s): Danny Becker (he/him/his), Jacklyn Liberman (she/her/hers)
Description: Join the PKG Center for Public Service and SOLE as they lead an intensive workshop on reflecting and understanding one's power, privilege and biases.
Presenter(s) Bio: As Program Coordinator, Danny manages student engagement, outreach, and recruitment for the PKG Center's programming. His role includes establishing and further developing partnerships with a range of MIT partners, departments, and student communities, as well as civic engagement opportunities for students! Danny graduated from Michigan State University with degrees in Comparative Cultures & Politics and International Relations and has spent significant time learning about social, political, and identity-based challenges in Latin America and Israel. He is currently pursuing his Master of Social Work degree at Boston University's School of Social Work.
Jacklyn serves at the Associate Director for Student Activities and Leadership Programs at the SOLE office at MIT. In this role she has the opportunity to manage a number of MIT's premier leadership programs and initiatives and continue her passion for developing student leaders. Jacklyn received her bachelor's degree from the University of Washington in International Studies, and a master's degree in Diplomacy, Conflict Resolution and Negotiations from the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, Israel.
Time: 5-6 PM EST
Presenter(s): Dr. Alma Jam (she/her)
Description: The potential to becoming a leader is inherent in the human spirit of every person. This interactive 60-minute session will provide a fresh look at what it means to lead. It is designed to empower students who desire to inspire others by exploring key principles to becoming authentic and responsible leaders.
Presenter(s) Bio: Dr. Alma Jam is pleased to join the Intercultural Engagement team as the Assistant Director for Multicultural Programs at MIT. Her passion for serving in higher education is driven by her quest to listen and understand students' lived experiences and how these conversations can inclusively represent and inform curriculum development, institutional policies/strategies, and administrative practice. As a practitioner with experience in event-driven programming and digital/web content design, Dr. Jam is thrilled to help midwife the shift of connection, engagement, and empowerment in such a revolutionary era for students at MIT. Her work's focus will be centered on the intention to boldly protect, engage and amplify student voices through inclusive diversity and equity education, programming, training, and research.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9
Time: 5-6 PM EST
Presenter(s): Gurleen Singh
Description: Worried about saying the wrong thing? Join us as we learn to navigate difficult conversations.
Presenter(s) Bio: Click here for bio
Time: 7-7:45 PM EST
Presenter(s): Lauryn McNair (she/they)
Description: This microchat is a chance to hangout with peers, reflect about lessons learned, and connect with others over the sessions you’ve attended.
Presenter(s) Bio: n/a
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10
Time: 2-3 PM EST
Presenter(s): Dr. Sejal Patel (she/her/hers)
Description: Guidelines for Cross Cultural Communications describes 8 guidelines that aid in more effective dialogue across differences. This session will include an opportunity to share examples and reflect and share which guidelines are most easy and difficult for participants.
Presenter(s) Bio: Dr. Sejal Patel is a staff psychologist and the group coordinator at MIT student mental health and counseling. She is also in private practice where she primarily treats interracial couples and individuals who identify at BIPOC. She has been a lead DEI consultant with VISIONS, Inc for three years now. She has over 10 years of experience creating and teaching workshops and courses on diversity/inclusion/equity and multicultural issues. She is committed to reducing barriers to mental health treatment by integrating social justice concepts into her work as a psychologist and coaching other clinicians. She has taught college level courses on Oppression and Privilege and Cross Cultural Psychology. She currently leads a women of color group at MIT and is on the social justice task force at MIT mental health. She has a doctoral degree and master’s degree in clinical psychology from the University of Denver.
Time: 3:30-5 PM EST
Presenter(s): La-Tarri Canty, Nina DeAgrela
Description: Participants will take an implicit bias test ahead of the session and learn more about disrupting microaggressions. We'll also engage participants in activities that both define and acknowledge microaggressions and implicit bias.
Presenter(s) Bio: La-Tarri Canty is the Associate Dean for Intercultural Engagement for SPXCE. Nina DeAgrela is the Assistance Dean for Intercultural Engagement and Multicultural Programs at SPXCE.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11
Time: 10-11 AM EST
Presenter(s): Stephen Gresham, Sahiba Chowdhary & Chivi Kapungu
Description: Join this interactive workshop to be inspired to create, and fund programs as a LEADer. This interactive workshop we will present the journey of Fire Lounge, an affirming space to reflect upon the impact of social injustice. Participants will engage in a brief guided meditation yoga session developed to support communion, resilience and skills to navigate stress among BIPOC students. We will shared lessons learned and encourage ways to create and obtain grant funding to support resiliency among students at MIT.
Presenter Bio: Stephen Gresham (he/him/his) is Director of Faculty of at Down Under School of Yoga and Associate Director of Psychology Training at Bedford VAMC. Sahiba Chowdhary (she/her/hers) is a clinical psychologist practicing in California. Chivi Kapungu, (she/her/hers) is a faculty member in the Women and Genders Studies Program at MIT. We are all committed to engaging in social justice initiatives for LGBTQI +, BIPOC, and various communities recovering from trauma including refugees/asylees
Time: 1-2:30 PM EST
Presenter(s): Nina DeAgrela
Description: Join us for an opportunity to share and listen to your peers' stories. Everyone will receive a prompt and be given uninterrupted time to share more about their experiences with identity.
Presenter Bio: As a first generation Portuguese-American, Nina has dedicated most of her time being an advocate for marginalized populations. Born and raised in southeastern Massachusetts, Nina's passion is connecting students to their purpose so that they "thrive, not just survive" in their college years. Creating a sense of belonging and community is important to her personally and professionally. As a higher education professional for over a decade, she has experience working in residence life and housing, student conduct, new student orientation and diversity and inclusion. She advises a number of cultural student organizations and enjoys working directly with student leaders on new programs and initiatives. Nina joined MIT and the Intercultural Engagement team as the Assistant Dean for Multicultural Programs in October, 2018. She manages OMP's daily operations in addition to creating, implementing and assessing social justice programming and educational opportunities on campus.
Time: 8-9 PM EST
Presenter(s): SOLE
Description: Meet up and network on the Gathertown platform with your fellow MIT peers and have group conversations within your chosen affinity groups. This will not be directly facilitated so this will be your opportunity to get to know other participants in a more laid back setting.
Presenter(s) Bio: n/a
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12
Time: 12-1 PM EST
Presenter(s): Ashleigh Teygong, Mia Reilly, Mimi Wahid
Description: In this workshop we will play a collaborative game, with participants working in teams to share in conversation and storytelling together, and encourage each other to open up and challenge their personal perceptions of diversity, equity, and inclusion. The SPXCE Game opens conversation on introductory diversity, equity, and inclusion terminology and topics.
Presenter(s) Bio: Ashleigh Teygong (she/her/hers) is a junior majoring in Chemical Engineering. She previously served as the MIT Panhellenic VP of Diversity and Inclusion, and is also involved in MIT Global Health Alliance and MIT AlChE.
Mia Reilly (she/her/hers) is a junior undergraduate majoring in Business Analytics and Computer Science. At MIT, Mia is on the varsity field hockey team and is also a member of the Sloan Student Advisory Board and the Community Catalyst Leadership Program.
Mimi Wahid (she/her/hers) is a senior double-majoring in Urban Studies and Planning and Writing. She enjoys studying social justice, the environment, storytelling, and exploring the intersections between these topics. At MIT, Mimi works with minority support and intercultural engagement through roles with OMP, OEOP, and Admissions Office. She also serves as a faculty member for the Student Diversity Leadership Conference, where she helps develop and facilitate curriculum for high school students.
Ashleigh, Mia and Mimi are PEP leaders. The Peer Educator Program (PEP) is a new initiative that trains and supports a team of leaders to create and distribute workshops to educate MIT organizations about diversity, equity and inclusion.
Time: 1:30-1:50 PM EST
Presenter(s): Kiana Pierre-Louis, Esq.
Description:Join us for the I am a LEADer closing session. There will be a raffle at the end of this session where 10 people will be selected to win $100 to BIPoC, LBGTQ+, and QTPoC online businesses!
Presenter(s) Bio: Kiana Pierre-Louis, Esq. is a real estate and corporate lawyer who is a Senior Law Lecturer and a Course Coordinator at Bentley University in the Law & Taxation Department. Kiana teaches a number of business law courses and courses that deal with diversity and inclusion like, Race and the Law and Social Justice Law an embedded travel course. In addition to being a Professor at Bentley University, Kiana is also an alumnus of Bentley University having graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Communications and a minor in English in 1999. She received a Juris Doctorate, from Suffolk University Law School in 2002 cum laude and passed the bar that same year. Kiana has a passion for Social Justice and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice. Her work at Bentley and in her hometown centers on social justice advocacy. She has won numerous awards that recognize her work in advising and mentoring students, her leadership and dedication to advancing diversity initiatives, and her outstanding teaching capabilities. Kiana is the Chair of the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee for the Town of Sharon. She sits on the Board of Directors for KodeConnect, Inc. a non-profit organization helping marginalized youth to get access to STEM classes for little to no cost. She also is the Vice President and a board member of Sharon Racial Equity Alliance an antiracist non-profit centering the racial inequities of Blacks in Sharon, Ma. Her current research areas deals with maternal mortality in women of color and the laws around chemicals used in the United States that affect women, in particular women of color and intersectionality issues in Business schools.