Featured Speakers
The following is a sampling of Fall 2018 Diversity Summit speakers!
Jemele Hill
Emmy Award winning journalist, Jemele Hill is the Co-founder of Lodge Freeway Media and a staff writer for The Atlantic.
Hill was previously the chief correspondent and senior columnist for The Undefeated, ESPN’s content initiative exploring the intersections of sports, race and culture. While at the Undefeated, Hill wrote, conducted newsmaker interviews, offered commentary of content for The Undefeated’s digital, television and audio platforms. She also hosts events and other important initiatives, including The Undefeated town halls and television specials.
Prior to joining The Undefeated, Hill co-anchored SportsCenter for a year with her longtime friend and colleague Michael Smith. SC6 with Michael & Jemele debuted in February 2017 as a more personality driven approach to the traditional 6 p.m. SportsCenter. Focusing on sports, music, movies and more, SC6 was born from Hill and Smith’s popular His & Hers podcast and weekday television show, which debuted on ESPN2 in 2014.
In August 2018, the National Association of Black Journalist awarded Hill with Journalist of the Year Award. In July 2016, Hill participated in The President and the People: A National Conversation – a one-hour town hall with President Barack Obama on race relations, justice, policing and equality .
Before joining ESPN, Hill was a sports columnist for the Orlando Sentinel from 2005–06 – the lone African-America female sports columnist in the country.
A native of Detroit, Hill is a Michigan State Alum.
Sara Singha
Sara Singha has a Ph.D. in Comparative Religion from Georgetown University. Originally from Karachi, Pakistan, Singha conducts comparative research on Christianity and Islam, and wrote her dissertation on Christian Dalits (untouchables) in Pakistan. Her research interests include religion and politics, marginalized communities, and religion and gender. Her recent publications focus on communal violence and persecuted religious communities in North India and Pakistan. Singha runs undergraduate student programs at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University.
Devan Cole
Devan Cole is a digital reporter for CNN Politics, where he covers breaking news from Washington. In this role, Devan has reported on everything from Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s bitter confirmation fight to the 2018 midterm elections and the US response to the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. He previously served as both a news associate and a CNN Politics intern in the bureau, where he helped cover the Parkland school shooting, President Donald Trump's White House and the funerals of Sen. John McCain and former first lady Barbara Bush.
A 2018 graduate of GW’s School of Media and Public Affairs, Devan was an active member of the GW community. He was the president of the school’s chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists and served as a senator in the Student Association for two years, where he managed the association’s $1.7 million budget as vice-chair and chair of the finance committee.
Devan comes to Washington from the state of Michigan, where he got his start in journalism in high school.
Dr. Bettina L. Love
Dr. Bettina L. Love is an award-winning author and Associate Professor of Educational Theory & Practice at the University of Georgia. She is one of the field’s most esteemed educational researchers in the area of Hip Hop education. Her research focuses on the ways in which urban youth negotiate Hip Hop music and culture to form social, cultural, and political identities to create new and sustaining ways of thinking about urban education and intersectional social justice. Her work is also concerned with how teachers and schools working with parents and communities can build communal, civically engaged schools rooted in intersectional social justice for the goal of equitable classrooms.
For her work in the field, in 2016, Dr. Love was named the Nasir Jones Hiphop Fellow at the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University. She is also the creator of the Hip Hop civics curriculum GET FREE. In April of 2017, Dr. Love participated in a one-on-one public lecture with bell hooks focused on the liberatory education practices of Black and Brown children. In 2018, Georgia’s House of Representatives presented Dr. Love with a resolution for her impact on the field of education.
Dr. Love is a sought-after public speaker on a range of topics, including: antiblackness in schools, Hip Hop education, Black girlhood, queer youth, Hip Hop feminism, art-based education to foster youth civic engagement, and issues of diversity and inclusion. In 2014, she was invited to the White House Research Conference on Girls to discuss her work focused on the lives of Black girls. In addition, she is the inaugural recipient of the Michael F. Adams award (2014) from the University of Georgia. She has also provided commentary for various news outlets including NPR, The Guardian, and the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
She is the author of We Want To Do More Than Survive: Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom and Hip Hop’s Li’l Sistas Speak: Negotiating Hip Hop Identities and Politics in the New South. Her work has appeared in numerous books and journals, including the English Journal, Urban Education, The Urban Review, and Journal of LGBT Youth. In 2017, Dr. Love edited aspecial issue of the Journal of Lesbian Studies focused on the identities, gender performances, and pedagogical practices of Black and Brown lesbian educators.
Lorelle Espinosa
Lorelle Espinosa serves as ACE’s vice president of research. She is responsible for developing and managing the organization’s research agenda, including the portfolio of ACE’s Center for Policy Research and Strategy, which focuses on issues of diversity and equity in 21st century higher education, dynamic and resilient institutions, and transformational leadership. Her personal scholarship focuses on diversity and inclusion and STEM education, and she is co-chair of the National Academies study committee, “Closing the Equity Gap: Revitalizing STEM Education and Workforce Readiness Programs in the Nation’s Minority-Serving Institutions.”
Espinosa has served the higher education profession for 20 years, beginning in student affairs and undergraduate admissions at the University of California, Davis; Stanford University; and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She has contributed opinion and scholarly works to peer-reviewed journals, academic volumes, and industry magazines on a variety of topics, and is a national thought leader on issues pertaining to college access and success for diverse populations. She has lived and worked in Washington for nine years and prior to ACE served as a senior analyst at Abt Associates and as director of policy and strategic initiatives at the Institute for Higher Education Policy. She currently serves on the boards of College Possible and the American Youth Policy Forum.
Espinosa earned her Ph.D. in higher education and organizational change from the University of California, Los Angeles; her bachelor of arts from the University of California, Davis; and her associate of arts from Santa Barbara City College.
Maxwell C. Little
Maxwell C. Little is a graduate from the University of Missouri, Columbia (Mizzou) where he received his Master's of Education in Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis with an emphasis in Higher Education Leadership. He has a decade of professional experience in the field of Higher Education as a student-centered leader; serving in various departments such as student activities, athletics, and academic instructor. Little was recognized as the 2016 Graduate Studies Commencement Ceremony Marshal at Mizzou for his academic achievements and community service during his graduate program. As a founding member of Concerned Student 1950 (CS1950) vanguard, he played an essential role in mobilizing students to address issues of racial inequity within the campus community, and worked closely with university administrators at Mizzou to improve diversity, inclusion, and equity on campus. In February 2016, Concerned Student 1950 Collective were the recipients of the 47th NAACP Image Chairman's Award for using their distinct platform to be agents of change.
Nadine Strossen
Nadine Strossen, the John Marshall Harlan II Professor of Law at New York Law School, has written, taught, and advocated extensively in constitutional law, civil liberties and international human rights. She is the immediate past President of the American Civil Liberties Union (1991-2008), and now serves on the ACLU’s National Advisory Council, as well as the National Advisory Boards of EPIC (the Electronic Privacy Information Center), FIRE (the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education), and Heterodox Academy. When Strossen stepped down as ACLU President, three Supreme Court Justices (Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Antonin Scalia, and David Souter) participated in her farewell/tribute luncheon.
The National Law Journal has named Strossen one of America’s "100 Most Influential Lawyers," and several other national publications have named her as one of the country’s most influential women. She has received multiple honorary degrees and awards, including the American Bar Association’s prestigious Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award (2017).
Strossen has made thousands of public presentations before diverse audiences, including on more than 500 campuses and in many foreign countries. She has commented frequently on legal issues in the national media. Her more than 300 published writings have appeared in many scholarly and general interest publications. Her book, Defending Pornography: Free Speech, Sex, and the Fight for Women's Rights, was named by the New York Times as a "notable book" of 1995. Her new book HATE: Why We Should Resist it With Free Speech, Not Censorship (Oxford University Press 2018) has been strongly endorsed by ideologically diverse experts, including Professors Cornel West (Harvard) and Robert George (Princeton).
Victoria Lopez-Herrera
Victoria Lopez-Herrera currently serves as the Senior Associate Director for Campus Recreation at the University of Texas at San Antonio. In her role, she oversees the development and training for approximately 300 student staff; the management of a 185,00 square foot facility; the Aquatics Center, Members Services and administrative staff. Victoria is a certified indoor cycle instructor, facilitator for The Student Leadership Challenge and True Colors International, and a Strengths Coach.
Victoria’s passion for equity, access, advocacy and support for underrepresented students has guided her work in the field of Student Affairs for almost 20 years. She has served in administrative capacities at Columbia University, The New School, Cornell University and Texas State University-San Marcos where she earned her Bachelor and Master Degrees.
Outside of her responsibilities as a student affairs professional Victoria is a volunteer leader for Gamma Phi Beta Sorority, facilitator for CAMPUSPEAK, and Executive Board member of the Sunshine Cottage for Deaf Children Parent Teacher Group. Victoria is passionate about the empowerment of women, social justice issues and energized by thoughtful debate and dialogue that pushes the fraternal movement forward.
Anthony R. Keith Jr. (Tony)
Anthony R. Keith, Jr. (Tony) is an award winning spoken word poet, educator, and nerd who writes, reads, and performs about topics dealing with love, liberation, and racial equity in education. He is recipient of the 2018 D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities Fellowship Award, and his co-authored book, “Open Mic Night”, received the 2018 Outstanding Book Recognition Award from The American Educational Research Association. Tony is a doctoral student in education leadership at George Mason University, where his research examines the educational experiences of high achieving Black and Brown youth spoken word poets. He is an alumni of the Barbara Jackson Scholars program, which supports doctoral students of color in their pursuit of an academic career in education leadership.
Tony currently serves as the Chief Dream Director for The Future Project in Washington D.C., which is a national movement to inspire young people to discover their purpose and pursue their passions and dreams. He is also a part-time research assistant in the College of Education and Human Development at George Mason University.
Tony has a B.A. in Communication from The University of Maryland College Park, and a M.Ed. in College Student Affairs from Penn State University. He currently lives in his hometown of Washington D.C. with his newlywed husband, Harry.
Crystal Leigh Endsley, Ph.D
Crystal Leigh Endsley, Ph D. is Assistant Professor of Africana Studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York. where she was honored with the 2016 Distinguished Teaching Award. Crystal Leigh is an internationally renowned spoken word artist. Recognized by Cosmopolitan Magazine as a “Fun, Fearless Female,” and honored by George Mason University with the 2015 Sojourner Truth Award for her social justice work, Crystal Leigh is a poet and performer and professor, and works to serve her community as an artist, activist, and academic.
Two-time co-host of the Zanzibar International Film Festival Music and Performing Arts stage, Crystal Leigh has collaborated with communities in Tanzania since 2006. Her most recent scholarship-activism focuses on how spoken word poetry and performance can connect girls to each other globally, impact their communities, and inform government policy. Since 2015 Crystal Leigh has directed the creative performance of spoken word at the United Nations for International Day of the Girl program hosted at the UN Headquarters each year in the month of October. She is the co-chair of the Working Group on Girls, Girls Participation committee, where she trains high school girls for advocacy at the UN. She was a featured performer for the closing of the 61st United Nations Commission on the Status of Women – Youth Forum in March 2017.
Crystal Leigh’s first book, The Fifth Element: Social Justice Pedagogy Through Spoken Word Poetry was released in March 2016 by SUNY Press and explores spoken word poetry as a tool for social justice, critical feminist pedagogy, and new ways of teaching and learning. Her second co-authored book entitled Open Mic Night: College Programming that Champions Student Voice was published September 2017 and was awarded a 2018 Outstanding Book Award by Division B from the American Educational Research Association. Crystal Leigh’s scholarship has been published in Feminist Formations, Transformations, Journal of Black Masculinities, and Words, Beats, Life among others.
Spoken word poetry performances, workshops and curriculum development have taken Crystal Leigh around the world from New Orleans, Louisiana, to Hawassa, Ethiopia. In March of 2017, she co-chaired the 7th Annual Hiphop Literacies conference which was themed Hiphop Justice, and brought together 200 scholars, practitioners, students, academics and activists. From upstate New York to Managua, Nicaragua, Crystal Leigh delivers powerfully through performance. Check out her most recent TEDx talk hosted by Hamilton College entitled “Re-Mixing Master Narratives through Spoken Word Poetry”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_k2j22gfIY8&t=3s