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SETON
HALL UNIVERSITY
29 MARCH 2008 10:00 am ~
2:00 pm
A WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH EMPOWERMENT CONFERENCE
FOR GIRLS AND WOMEN!
“DREAM CHANGE”
“Our Lives Begin to End the Day We
Become Silent About Things That Matter.”
DIANE WEATHERS
~ Keynote Speaker
GUEST PANELISTS
VALENCIA
YEARWOOD STACEY
PATTON
RACHEL BRANSON, ESQ.
CHRISTINE ROBBINS, Ed.D.
KENDAL
WHITLOCK KAREN
BAICKER
SELINA MKANDAWIRE, Ph.D.
JENNIFER KONAWALD
PHYLLIS
MANGINA
SHARESE K. YORK
CAROL COLLINS,
Ph.D. NANCY
HEINS-GLAZER
FROM THE ADVISORS…
The planning for this program, honoring women, represents a unique
collaboration between the South Orange Middle School, Martin Luther
King Jr. Cultural Club; the Seton Hall University, Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. Leadership Program and the Imani Chapter of the National
Council of Negro Women at Seton Hall. “These powerful women are
being brought together in New Jersey as inspirational role models
for girls/women and to influence many of them to consider careers in
the fields represented by these women” according to Johanna Wright
and Rev. Forrest Pritchett, the faculty directors of the two MLK
organizations. Brenda Knight, faculty advisor to the Seton Hall
National Council of Negro Women chapter believes the “the
involvement of her chapter members will help each of them to have
the ability to plan and facilitate this type of conference when they
graduate”.
ABOUT THE ORGANIZATIONS…
The SOMS MLK Cultural Horizons Club is designed to identify and
develop student leaders, while providing service to the school and
global community at large. Dr. King prayed, worked for, and
envisioned the time when all would be judged by the content of their
character and not by the color of their skin. At SOMS, this club
has a tradition of service, education, giving back and recognizing
those who have come before us.
The SHU Imani chapter NCNW is an affiliate the national organization
that educator and political leader Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955)
founded in 1935. She envisioned it to be an “organization of
organizations” that would represent the national and international
concerns of Black women. It would also give Black women the
opportunity to realize their goals for social justice and human
rights through united, constructive action. Today, the National
Council of Negro Women, Inc. (NCNW) is a council of 39 affiliated
national African American women’s organizations and over 240
sections-connecting nearly 4 million women worldwide! Their mission
is to lead, develop and advocate for women of African descent as
they support their families and communities. They fulfill that
mission through research, advocacy and national and community-based
health, education and economic empowerment services and programs in
the United States and Africa. Through section and affiliate
volunteers in 34 states, NCNW addresses local needs while impaction
communities nationwide.
The Seton Hall University Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership
Program is one of the oldest servant leadership programs in the
United States. The program provides scholarships and fosters
leadership skills in academics and community service. The student
component of the program, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship
Association (MLKSA), functions as an honorary society.
Seton Hall University is a major Catholic university, which prepares
students by facilitating a diverse and collaborative environment
that focuses on academic and ethical development. Seton Hall
students are prepared to be leaders in their professional and
community lives within a global society. They are challenged by an
outstanding faculty, in a technologically advanced setting with a
values-centered curriculum.
VALENCIA YEARWOOD
Valencia Yearwood started her career as a dancer with the Dance
Theatre of Harlem, where she rose to the rank of soloist. After
leaving DTH, she started working in film and television. Her
appearances include the Guiding Light, Clockers, Malcolm X, The
Cosby Mysteries, and Law & Order. She has appeared in numerous
national and regional commercials, including Verizon, FedEx, BJ’s
Warehouse, Publix, New York Lotto, and Partnership for a Drug
Free America. Her voiceover work includes Nickelodeon,
Goodwrench, Soft Sheen Carson, University of Maryland, and
BellSouth. Her Off-Broadway credits include Encores! @City
Center, and the Tropicana in Atlantic City. She co-produced a
one-woman show entitled ShelfLife, which recently debuted at
the Fringe Theatre Festival in New York City. Valencia’s Broadway
credits include Once Upon a Mattress with Sarah Jessica
Parker, and she was last seen on Broadway in The Lion King.
Valencia is a member of Canaan Baptist Church of Christ in Harlem,
New York, where she currently serves as 2nd
Vice-President of the Deaconess Board, as well as the Co-Founder and
Advisor for the Daughters of Ruth, a mentoring program for female
youth. She served as the Co-Chair of the Installation Celebration
of the Rev. Dr. Thomas D. Johnson, and the Programming Chair of the
Retirement Celebration for the Rev. Dr. Wyatt T. Walker. She
serves on the Board of Directors of 651 Arts, an arts organization
in Brooklyn, New York, dedicated to bringing dance and musical
artists from the African Diaspora to the New York City area.
Valencia also serves on the Programming Committee at the South
Orange Performing Arts Center, a new performing arts facility
located in South Orange, New Jersey. She has served as a judge at
the McDonald’s Gospelfest, and she is Mistress of Ceremonies
for the Modeling Association of America International’s Annual
Grand Awards Ceremony. Valencia is also a member of the
Mid-Manhattan branch of the NAACP. She is married, and has one
child.
SHARESE K. YORK
Born on 9 June 1983 in Hinesville, Georgia, Sharese has risen from
the depths of growing up in an educationally and economically
disadvantaged community with her mind-set on one goal…exemplify the
change she wishes to see in the world. In May 2006, Sharese
received her Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice and African
American Studies from Seton Hall University. She uses her
leadership abilities and attitude of empowering youth to mobilize
students by facilitating seminars on Leadership Development,
Entrepreneurship, and Sexual Harassment/Abuse.
Inspiring many youth to learn from their past while forging into
their future with confidence and creativity, Sharese has served as a
creative writing instructor for Arts 4 Kidz and is currently a
teacher for Florence Avenue After-School Program in Irvington, NJ.
She is the author of Through My Eyes, an autobiography in
poetry and spoken word, which seeks to heal the broken hearts of
young women while promoting self-love and social change. Sharese is
determined to teach youth it does not matter from where one
emanates, but where one is going, and the road that one chose to
arrive at their destination. She strives to always be a constant
source of inspiration, while displaying integrity and grace to
future generations.
DR.CHRISTINE ROBBINS
Dr. Robbins, Former Columbia High School Principal, chose the topic
of “Attitudes Toward School Board Members for Selection of Hiring
women for administrative Positions” as her research topic while at
the University of Virginia where she served as a graduate assistant
to the Executive Director of the Virginia Association of School
Administrators. The published article titled, “Hire Him, He’s
Got Great Legs” details the continued bias against women in
line positions in a female-dominated profession related to
attitudes, comments, and hiring practices.
Dr. Robbins has served as a building and central office
administrator. She has received awards from the Righteous Persons
Foundation which is sponsored by Steven Spielberg, a $5,000 Dodge
Grant, served as a guest panelist for the McGuire Foundation with
Ms. Johanna Wright as well as Bobby Knight at Madison Square Garden,
and participated in the Oxford University Roundtable sponsored by
Dr. Kern Alexander.
She is the mother of two daughters.
RACHEL E. BRANSON
After earning her bachelor’s degree in Physics, with minors in
Mathematics and Japanese from Lincoln University, Rachel Branson
taught English at a high school in Saitama, Japan. Upon returning
to Pennsylvania, she worked for Accenture, LLP as an information
technology consultant, designing, testing, and developing software
before entering Villanova University School of Law in 2003.
As a law student at Villanova, Ms. Branson was actively involved in
several organizations and activities including: the American Bar
Association Minority Judicial Clerkship Conference; president of the
Black Law Students Association; and member of the law school’s
Inclusiveness Commission, which provided her the opportunity to
travel to Florida, Virginia, and Pennsylvania to assist the school
with recruiting future law students. She also participated in
community outreach projects including service as a life-coach and
math tutor for middle school students. Upon earning her law degree,
Ms. Branson accepted a position as an associate in the Philadelphia
office of Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP, the same firm she
worked with as a summer associate during law school.
At Schnader, Ms. Branson is a second year associate in the Business
Services and Intellectual Property Departments. The focus of her
practice is software licensing, but she engages in trademark
prosecution and general business services.
Licensed to practice in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey, her
commitment to the practice is distinguished through her memberships
in the American Bar Association’s Intellectual Property Section,
Willard J. O’Brien Inn of Court, and Philadelphia Lawyer’s Club.
Recently, she was elected to the board of the Barristers’
Association of Philadelphia.
Ms. Branson’s commitment to increasing diversity in the practice of
law is demonstrated through her participation as a member of her
firm’s Diversity Committee and as a mentor for the villanova
Minority Alumni Association.
Her commitment to the community is most evident in her volunteerism
at Caton Village a shelter for women and children in Philadelphia.
CAROL COLLINS, Ph.D.
Carol Collins has had three separate careers. She began as a social
service administrator and served variously as director of a drug
abuse treatment referral program and director of a child abuse
treatment program, ending that phase of her work life as interim
executive director of a non-profit agency that provided
psychotherapeutic services to families and children. She taught
English at Columbia High School in Maplewood, New Jersey, leaving
that position to pursue her present career path in school
librianship. She has been a librarian at the Montclair Kimberley
Academy in Montclair, New Jersey and at Columbia High School in
Maplewood, New Jersey. She is currently the library coordinator at
Hanover Park High School in East Hanover, New Jersey.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Cheyney University and
a master’s degree in human relations from New York University.
Additionally, she earned a master’s degree in library studies and a
Ph.D. degree from Rutgers University.
DIANE WEATHERS
Keynote Address
Diane Marie Weathers began her career as an avid writer/reporter and
Washington Bureau Correspondent for Newsweek covering a
plethora of assignments. After leaving Newsweek, she
established her passion working for the United Nations World Food
Program. She helped organize and lead press missions to relief
operations in Sudan, Iraq, Mozambique, Cambodia and other areas in
the Asia, Africa and the Middle East. She also served as WFP’s
Nairobi-based press spokesperson on Operation Life Sudan, the first
major U.N. relief effort to transport emergency relief supplies into
southern Sudan. She then dove into her creative side, and began
working for Essence Magazine as an Articles Editor where she
cultivated relationships with leading writers such as Pulitzer
Prize-winner journalist Isabel Wilkerson and authors Bell Hooks, and
John Wideman. Here she received awards for outstanding feature
writing from the National Association of Black Journalists for “Death
of a Super Woman,” “Stop the Guns” and “Foster Care in
Crisis.” From there, she entered a different field working for
Consumer Reports as an Associate Editor where she had the
opportunity to work closely with product engineers to re-package
technical reports into breezy, reader-friendly copy. Then it was
back to Essence Magazine where she cultivated society as the
Editor in Chief. Here she launched major initiatives vastly
improving covers, cover lines and overall editorial content. She is
well-known for helping the magazine gain industry-wide acclaim for
double digit percentage increases in monthly news stand sales,
developing a mentor system for junior editors and for strengthening
the network of freelance writers and columnists.
Diane Marie Weathers is presently captivating a variety of audiences
as a Freelance Writer and Lecturer. A first novel is in the making
and she never steers shy of sharing her experience/knowledge in her
non fiction. She is accredited for freelance articles appearing in
Readers Digest, Ebony and Essence. She has appeared
as a guest lecturer at Syracuse University, Rutgers University, and
Essex County Community College. She captures the attention of
people around the world through her guest appearances on the
Oprah Winfrey Show, August 2007, Hip Hop Town Hall Meeting, and
BET, October 2007, “Hip Hop vs. America,” to name a few.
Diane is known as a visionary leader with a strong track record for
conceptualizing and packaging fresh and innovative editorial
content.
She is a member of the Board of Trustees at Syracuse University and
Brady Campaign Against Gun Violence.
STACEY
PATTON
Stacey Patton was born February 24, 1978 in Montclair, New Jersey.
In 1996 she graduated from the Lawrenceville Preparatory School
where she received a full academic scholarship and excelled in
varsity soccer, basketball, and track. During her senior year at
Lawrenceville she began writing what was then titled Somebody’s
Child.
In the fall of 1996 Patton enrolled in the Writing Seminars
Department at Johns Hopkins University where she studied with the
late Chaim Potok, author of the critically acclaimed novel The
Chosen. It was Potok who gave Patton her most useful lesson on
writing: “Patton, write what you know and keep it simple!” During
her first two years at Hopkins Patton discovered her love for
journalism and wrote a weekly column on the undergraduate experience
for the university’s faculty newspaper The Gazette. She was
then discovered by the managing editor of The Baltimore Sun
newspaper. For the next two years Patton worked as a staff reporter
for the Metro and Features section covering African American life
beyond the scope of crime and sports.
After two meetings with Woodruff she rewrote the entire manuscript.
Six months later she submitted her manuscript to a well-known N.Y.C.
literary agent who told her that her book was too angry and could
not be sold to a major publishing house. That same week Patton
contacted Faith Childs who immediately took on the project and
helped her sign her first contract with Simon & Schuster in less
than five months.
Patton eventually decided to transfer to New York University in the
fall of 1998. She majored in journalism and also discovered her
passion for African American history. She studied with
Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Pamela Newkirk and award-winning
historian Robin Kelley. During the summers Patton worked as a staff
reporter for the Metro Section of The Washington Post. She
became the most awarded student journalist in recent times at
N.Y.U. She is the two-time recipient of the William Randolph Hearst
Foundation’s national feature writing award, the collegiate Pulitzer
prize in journalism. She is also the recipient of writing awards
from the National Association of Black Journalists, The Scripps
Howard Foundation, the New York Women In Communications, and is the
recipient of other academic awards. Patton graduated with honors
from N.Y.U in 2001.
Patton resides in N.Y.C. where she is currently working on her
dissertation and other writing projects. She enjoys playing
basketball and can often be seen playing at N.Y.C.’s famous outdoor
court “The Cage.”
PHILLIS MANGINA
The most prominent name in Seton Hall women’s basketball history,
Phyllis Mangina has been a mainstay in the Pirate program for over
25 years, first as a star point guard and then later as an assistant
before assuming her current role as head coach in 1985.During her
tenure, the Seton hall program has risen to prominence within the
BIG EAST Conference and has consistently produced quality
student-athletes who excel both on the court and in the classroom.
Mangina became Seton Hall women’s basketball’s winningest coach
during the 1997-98 season. She has coached three Honorable Mention
All-Americans and 19 All-BIG EAST performers. She has also seen two
of her former players, Texlin Quinney and former assistant coach
Dana Wynne, play professionally in the WNBA.
In 1993-94, Seton Hall achieved national prominence for the first
time and posted the finest season in school history. Seton Hall
garnered a best-ever 27-5 record and attained its first-ever
national ranking, ending the year ranked 14th by the
Associated Press and USA Today, the highest of the
season. The Pirates earned the program’s first bid to the NCAA
Tournament and won their first two games against Vermont and Texas
to reach the NCAA Sweet 16, where the season ended with a 64-60 loss
to top-seeded Penn State in the Midwest Regional Semifinals. Mangin
also led the team to a best-ever second-place finish in the BIG
EAST Conference with a 16-2 record. She was honored as the 1994
BIG EAST Coach of the Year, for the second time in her career, and
earned a sweep of the regional coaching honors as she was named the
1994 Coach of the Year in Converse District 2, New Jersey and the
Metropolitan Women’s Basketball Association (MWBA).
DAWN A. HOLDEN
Dawn A. Holden is a certified public accountant licensed in the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. During the last 8 eight years, Ms.
Holden has been employed as an accounting professional in the
Philadelphia area by national organizations such as
PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP and Exelon Corporation. After working 4
years in corporate america, Ms. Holden decided to move in to the Not
for Profit sector and currently serves as the Chief Administrative
Officer of Children's Aid Society of Pennsylvania, a child welfare
agency in Philadelphia. Ms. Holden enjoys teaching and also works
as an adjunct instructor at the PJA School teaching courses in
Auditing, Advanced Accounting and Managerial Accounting.
Ms.
Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Accounting, with a minor
in Japanese from Lincoln University of Pennsylvania in May of 2000.
Ms. Holden's education has been supplemented by various continuing
education courses provided by the American Institute of Certified
Public Accountants, the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public
Accountants, the National Association of Black Accountants and other
professional organizations.
Community service is very important to Ms. Holden which is why she
currently serves as the Secretary of the Board of Directors of the
Black Women’s Health Alliance. In addition, she has served as the
Treasurer and Recording Steward of the Mt. Zion C.M.E. Church. She
is a strong advocate of mentoring and works with young women ages
12-17.
KAREN BAICKER
Karen Baicker is a children’s book author, (Tumble Me Tumbily, I Can
Do It Too, Pea Pod Babies) as well as a writer and editor for
educational publishers, including Scholastic and Hooked on
Phonics. Karen works freelance from home so that she can balance
her writing with being available and involved in her children’s
lives.
KENDAL WHITLOCK
Kendal Whitlock received her Masters in Public Health-Sociomedical
Sciences, Health Promotion/Disease Prevention in 1996; she attended
Rutgers University post baccalaureate pre-medical program and, the
Yale University School of Medicine-Basic science review program in
1994. Kendal graduated from Spelman College with Honors in 1991 and
was inducted into Psy Chi honors society in 1990. She is a graduate
of Columbia HS.
Currently Kendal is a Medical Science Liaison/researcher/medical
educator in the Pharmaceutical sector for the last decade. She
developed and presented investigational clinical data at national
medical conferences, managed care organizations, and peer-reviewed
publications in hypertension, diabetes, chron’s disease, asthma,
cystic fibrosis, depression, generalized anxiety disorder,
Alzheimer’s disease, and alcohol addiction. She has worked with
academic research scientists at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine,
Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington Hospital
Center, Howard University, Cornell, Columbia, Yale, Brown, Boston
Medical Center, Deaconess Hospital, Brigham & Women’s both in
Boston, and McGill University in Quebec and McMaster University in
Toronto.
Following an internship at the Center for Disease Control and
Prevention, she worked as the Quality Assurance Coordinator for the
Fulton County Health Department in Atlanta, and redesigned the
syphilis and HIV epidemiology surveillance and training program,
identifying 375 new cases, thus preventing the spread of
life-threatening infections.
Kendal completed a 300-mile, 3 day AIDSRIDE from North Carolina to
Washington, DC, and a 500-mile 7-day AIDSRIDE from Amsterdam to
Paris and the Philadelphia marathon 2 times.
Kendal is married and resides in Edgewater, NJ.
JENNIFER KONAWAL
Jennifer Konowal has been at the Gersh Agency for 10
years working with Directors, Writers and Actors. Some of her
clients are Morgan Spurlock, Judah Friedlander, Lin-Manuel Miranda,
BD Wong, Zoe Kazan and Shareeka Epps. Currently Jennifer is
interested in meeting actors of all types, ethnicities who play
teens through early 30’s. Aside from working with celebrity
clients, she is interested in developing fresh new talented unknowns.
Jennifer is also a graduate of Columbia High School.
PROGRAM
WELCOME……………………………………………………………BRENDA KNIGHT
REV.
FORREST PRITCHETT
JOHANNA WRIGHT
MUSICAL SELECTION……………………………………………..SARAH RADDI, MLK Club
MODERATORS…………………………………….JOHANNA WRIGHT & MISHA BERNIER,
Columbia High School Senior Class President
PRESENTERS
VALENCIA YEARWOOD NANCY HEINS GLAZER
SHARESE K. YORK
DR.
CHRISTINE ROBBINS JENNIFER KONAWAL DR.
CAROL COLLINS
DR.
SELINA MKANDAWIRE KENDAL WHITLOCK
PHYLLIS MANGINA
RACHEL E. BRANSON, ESQ. STACEY
PATTON DIANE WEATHERS
LUNCH & GIRL TALK ……UNIVERSITY CENTER
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SPECIAL THANKS ~
SETON HALL UNIVERSITY KATHY
HESTER JAZMINE WRIGHT
KAREN HOARE NORMA
KONAWAL JANE COLDING
GREGORY BURRUS PHYLLIS
CEDOLA FAYE CLARK
PAULA BETHEA MELISSA
WILLIAMS SOMS MLK CLUB
“A
strong woman has faith that she is strong enough for the journey…but
a woman of strength has faith that it is in the journey that she
will become strong.”
We sincerely apologize to those who may have inadvertently been
omitted from this program.
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