DDI Good News | February 2025
Welcome to DDI!
If you haven’t had a chance yet to say “hello”, please do to our two newest colleagues in MCAS. Will Walker is associate director, Rochester City Scholars. He worked at SUNY Brockport where he oversaw the Joey Jacskon Intercultural Center, focusing on AALANA student development. He earned an M.Ed. in Higher Education Administration from Auburn University and a B.A in African American Studies from the University of Florida. Holley Gallo is associate director for Student Success and Engagement. She is an educator and curriculum designer, with a strong background in creating programs that engage diverse and nontraditional learners, including experiential and service-learning approaches. She has an MS in Psychology and is currently working on her PhD in Education at Liberty University. Both started in their respective roles last month, January 20th. We are so happy to have you as part of the DDI family!
Dynamic Duo: Keith Jenkins, vice president and associate provost for Diversity and Inclusion, and Tina Chapman DaCosta, director of Diversity Theater were invited to present last month at the RIT AWARE-AI NSF Research Traineeship Program Winter Symposium. The title of their session: Diversity Theater Workshop-Building Community in the AI Field: Effective Intercultural Communication. They presented various strategies using interactive theater-based methods of role play, character enactments and the DEAR ELEANOR film. Joining them were Diversity Theater facilitator-actors: Shirlyn Washington, Emmett Michie and Tyler Owens.
By the way, Chapman DaCosta will present a screening of DEAR ELEANOR on February 6th at the invitation of the Irondequoit Historical Society as part of a “Sharing Our Stories Past and Present” program. It’s taking place at the Irondequoit Library and begins at 7pm.
Thanks, mom! Kendall Scott, director Native American Future Stewards Program, says he’s had a lifelong passion for Tribal justice. That passion- and- his mother’s example led him to earn a Professional Development Certificate in Tribal Courts and Justice Administration from the University of Arizona. Scott says, “This certificate, which deepened my knowledge of federal Indian law, criminal law, and family law was inspired by my mother’s years as the court clerk for the Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma. This achievement is a step toward supporting Tribal communities.” Scott is keeping a busy schedule! Coming up: a talk titled “Innovation at the Intersection: Indigenous Resilience, Education, and Public Health” at TEDxRIT 2025 on February 15th. He is also wrapping up the RISE Fellowship, which focuses on leadership development and equity-driven social impact. Last month he took part in a panel discussion on Native American mental health at the Action for a Better Community Signature Conference and he recently completed the Paragon Policy Fellowship, a program that connects students with science and tech policy opportunities. His cohort worked on developing AI frameworks for the city of Tempe, Arizona. He says, “The fellowship provided invaluable experience in policy research, writing, and presenting findings to government partners.”
Phillippa Thiuri, assistant vice president for Academic Access and Success will serve as the emcee for Saunders College of Business annual Power Your Potential Women’s Leadership Conference. It is Friday, February 28th in Max Lowenthal Hall. Thiuri is also an adjunct professor at Saunders. Register here
Ting Zhang, assistant director for the Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program is back from New Orleans. She attended the McNair Promising Practices Institute (MPPI) January 29 through the 31st. She says she was “excited to connect, learn and explore new ideas” for supporting McNair Scholars.