Thursday, July 29 at 2:00 PM-3:15 PM

Perspectives from GSPIA Students of Color Alliance (SOCA) and the Cross Policy Program Anti-Racism Coalition

Educated policymakers have created and continue to create discriminatory policies that cause death and harm to marginalized communities. For example, Ray Kelly, New York City’s longest-serving police commissioner, went on to become the chief enforcer of NYC’s racist stop-and-frisk policy after receiving his master’s from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government; KirstjenNielsen, former Secretary of Homeland Security, defended the family separation policy after graduating from Georgetown’s Walsh School of Foreign Service. The curriculum that we study influences our behavior. During our workshop, participants will learn how to create a learning environment that supports diverse identities by examining how current classroom norms uphold systemic, institutionalized natures of oppression by not implementing the ideals of diversity and inclusivity in their classroom.

Presenters

Uchenna Mbawuike

Uchenna Mbawuike is a Master’s of Public Policy and Management Candidate (MPPM) focusing on Nonprofit Management at Pitt’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA). she also works full-time as a research specialist at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing, managing several federally funded projects related to late-life cognitive disorders. At GSPIA, Uchenna is a member of the Executive Board Leadership for the Students of Color Alliance (SOCA), recently awarded the Inclusion Award for Community Building by the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs (APSIA). Uchenna also serves as a Committee Member for Diversity Equity and Inclusion Board along with the GSPIA Board of Visitors -Student Pathways Committee. Uchenna is also Advocacy Chair for the Pitt Policy Science Group and a Community Research Advisory Board (CRAB) Board member through The Center for Health Equity at The University of Pittsburgh Department of Public Health. Uchenna received a graduate certificate in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology from Pitt and an undergraduate degree in Biology from Syracuse University.

Adelina Treviño Bradshaw

Hailing from Texas, Adelina Treviño Bradshaw is a second-generation Chicana. She is in the School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA) at the University of Pittsburgh and is studying for a Master’s in Public Administration with a focus on Public and Nonprofit Management. For the last six years, she has worked in refugee resettlement andhopes to continue supporting immigration and social justice. AnExecutive Boardmember of the Latin American Graduate Organization of Students and a member of the Leadership Board of the Students of Color Alliance at GSPIA, Treviño Bradshawis working with her colleagues to make the school a more inclusive, supportive, and decolonized environment.

Gifty Owusu-Tawiah

Gifty Tawiah is a Ghanaian-American from Michigan. Gifty is a rising second year graduate student at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs pursuing a Masters in international development with a major in governance and international public management. Gifty's research interests are in gender equity policies in the Sub-Saharan Africa region.

Natividad Zavala

Natividad Zavala is a MID candidate focusing on Human Security. Prior to attending GSPIA, Natividad has worn a few different hats, working as a political staffer in local government, in development work focusing on international education with the Peace Corps, in the nonprofit sector on mentorship initiatives in communities of color, and as a community and labor union organizer with SEIU

If you require an accommodation to participate in this event, please contact the Office for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at diversity@pitt.edu by July 21