Companies understand the importance of taking constructive action to ensure that their educational content is culturally responsive but may be uncertain what steps they should take to achieve this.
On Tuesday, September 1, Westchester Education Services hosted a webinar discussion entitled, “Considerations for Developing a Culturally Responsive Curriculum,” led by Nilofer Ali, Westchester’s Resources Manager and DEI Committee Lead. Our featured panelists discussed the short and long term goals companies should be looking towards for DEI, tactical steps to reach these goals, and how companies can incorporate these principles when developing culturally responsive content.
Watch the webinar here, and scroll down to learn more about each of our panelists:
Stephen D. Alkins, Ph.D., Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer, TERC
Stephen D. Alkins, Jr., Ph.D. is the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer (DEIO) and Co-chair of the Diversity Council at TERC. With his leadership, Stephen helps craft and implement the vision for diversity, equity, and inclusion at TERC through his support of NSF STEM education grant and contract development. His role and responsibilities include recruitment and retention of a diverse research and infrastructure staff, analysis and development of inclusive training and social programming, and establishment of collaborative partnerships to promote equity for all STEM learners, dismantle systemic racism, and encourage belonging for underrepresented and marginalized communities in STEM education. He also serves as director of the TERC Scholars Program, an undergraduate internship experience, to nurture the next generation of STEM education researchers. He received his B.S. in Biology from Morehouse College and his Master’s and Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Brandeis University.
Katrina Gutierrez, Ph.D., Chief Communications Officer, Lantana Publishing
Katrina Gutierrez is the Chief Communications Officer of Lantana Publishing, a children’s book publisher and social enterprise with a mission to publish inclusive books celebrating diversity, social-emotional learning, and environmental sustainability. A former academic, Katrina completed a Ph.D. in children’s literature at Macquarie University in Sydney and several fellowships in research centres in Germany, Sweden and Denmark, before becoming a university lecturer in the Philippines. Now, she takes care of publicity and engagement at Lantana. She is committed to amplifying their mission for all children to be reflected in books and supporting their diverse writers and illustrators and is enjoying every minute of it.
Beau McCoy, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, SOLcademy
Grant M. Warner, Ph.D., Director of Innovation for the College of Engineering & Architecture, Howard University
Grant M. Warner is the Director of Innovation for the College of Engineering & Architecture on Howard University’s campus. He is also the co-founder of ConnectYard, a social analytics platform integrated into leading learning management systems and e-learning platforms. He received a B.S. degree from Cornell University, an M.S. degree from Penn State University, and a Ph.D. from Columbia University all in Mechanical Engineering.
To learn how Westchester can evaluate your existing content to ensure it is culturally responsive, or to create new materials that reflect all learners, please contact us to find out how we can help.