Diversity Lecture Series

The 30th Annual Diversity Lecture Series

The Diversity Lecture Series provides GRCC stakeholders and members of the Grand Rapids community with tangible access to society’s most prolific scholars, thought-leaders, activists and innovative artists. The lecture series aims to connect members of the community with people that hold a compelling interest in shaping a culture of inclusion and social justice.

For over twenty years, the diversity lecture series has helped attendees consider different perspectives through cultural engagement, critical thought and civil discourse. 

• Lectures are free and open to all.
• American Sign Language interpreter or closed caption service available.
• For more information contact WCIMA@grcc.edu.

30th Annual Diversity Lecture Series Line-up

LaTosha Brown, Co-Founder of Black Voters Matter, Award-Winning Visionary Thought Leader, Institution Builder, Cultural Activist & Artist

• When: January 20, 2025, 6-8 p.m.
• Where: Fountain Street Church, 24 Fountain St NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503

“There is power in my voice! It is a divine gift that I use to connect different worlds. I bridge the philanthropy world to the grassroots community, traditional politics to grassroots politics, and practitioners to the scholarship of movement building.”

LaTosha Brown is an award-winning visionary thought leader, institution builder, Cultural Activist and Artist, and Connector. She is a nationally recognized, “go-to” expert in Black Voting Rights and Voter Suppression, Black Women’s Empowerment, and Philanthropy. Her voice is the nexus between the Civil Rights Movement, the Black Power Movement, and Black Lives Matter. LaTosha is the Co-Founder of Black Voters Matter, Black Voters Matter Fund and Black Voters Matter Capacity Building Institute. These initiatives are designed to boost Black voter registration and turnout, as well as increase power in marginalized, predominantly Black communities.

LaTosha is also the Visionary, Founder and Co-Anchor of a regional network called the Southern Black Girls & Women’s Consortium. This is $100 million, 10-year initiative to invest in organizations that serve Black women and girls. The goal of the consortium is to create a new approach to philanthropy by allowing every component of the program, inception to execution, to be created by Black girls and women in the South. Ms. Brown is also the 2020 Hauser Leader at the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard Kennedy School, the 2020 Leader in Practice at Harvard Kennedy School’s Women and Public Policy Program, and a 2020-2021 American Democracy fellow at the Charles Warren Center at Harvard.

LaTosha has worked in 23 different countries to include Kenya, Guyana, and Brazil. Her next mission involves resourcing and empowering women across the Diaspora. “I don’t want women to be seen as victims; they are the problem solvers for the world. I am convinced that Black Women are going to liberate the world!” Ms. Brown has received numerous awards and accolades for her work. She has been featured on ABC, CBS, CNN, Democracy Now, and PBS. Her Op-Eds have been showcased in the New York Times, Politico and Essence. Her work has also been highlighted in several docuseries: What’s Eating America?, American Swamp, 
and Finding Justice.

Topics:

• The Death of Democracy: Voter Suppression in the 21st Century
• Culture & Context Matters! Building Political Power through Storytelling & Strategic Messaging
• Who Will Save America Democracy? The Role of Women, Young Voters & People of Color in American Politics
• We the People: Mobilizing Voters, Strengthening Voting Rights & Combating Voter Suppression
• Tapping into the Power of the Sister Vote! The Impact & Influence of Women Voters in the 21st Century
• How to Make a Voter: Creating an Engaged & Informed Citizens in Democracy

Ovell Barbee Jr., Human Resources Strategist  

• When: February 20, 2025, 5:30-7 p.m.
• Where: Applied Technology Center 168, 151 Fountain St NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503
• AskOvell.com

Owner/Principal of Ovell Rome & Associates, Ovell Barbee Jr., is a renowned, visionary human resources leader, consultant and speaker with a passion for diversity, equity, and inclusion. He’s held executive leadership roles at Fortune 500 companies in an array of industries including Motorola, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, General Motors/OnStar, Spectrum Health (now Corewell Health) and Indiana University Health.

In these roles, he drove sustained cultural change and reduced barriers for diverse populations
with a “human-centered” approach that encouraged team members to use their voices as a catalyst for understanding and change. He implemented policies and practices addressing systemic and unconscious barriers and bias to allow everyone opportunities to thrive within a corporate culture.

With his rare blend of experience and expertise in Human Resources and DEI, Ovell is an accomplished and sought-after speaker who chaired the National HR Healthcare Conference in 2022 and 2023. He’s presented at the Healthcare HR Management Institute’s National Forum, the Becker’s Healthcare Annual Meeting, the National Diversity Council’s National Black Men in Leadership Summit and many other local, state and national meetings. He’s been featured in webinars, podcasts, and news articles on Human Resources and DEI topics. He offers guidance and advice on HR and DEI topics through his website, AskOvell.com, where he uses his trademark slogan, “You better ask somebody!”

Background

Growing up in Grand Rapids, Michigan in a single-parent family that instilled the importance of hard work and education, Ovell began working as a newspaper carrier at age 12. He earned a bachelor’s degree in communications, and a master’s in social work from the University of Michigan, then attended Michigan State University for a second master’s degree in HR and labor relations.

He shared his life story, and lessons learned as an African American C-suite executive, in a book titled, “The Big House: A Human-Centered & Progressive Approach to DEI and Positive Workplace Engagement,” which was released in the summer of 2023 earning Amazon’s best seller designation as a new release.

Awards and Affiliations

Ovell has been honored as a Top 100 Chief Diversity Officer by the National Diversity Council; as a Top 50 Under 50 Executive by the National Black MBA Association; and as a Top 100 Human Resources Professionals by OnCon. He was the 2020 recipient of the City of Grand Rapids, Walter Coe Public Service GIANT award.

He has served on the board of the National Diversity Council’s National Coalition for Racial Justice
and Equity and is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the
National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA), the National Association of Corporate Directors, and a decades-long member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.

Mandice McAllister, DEI Manager

Claiming Your Place: How to Belong on Your Terms

Human beings are hardwired for connection and belonging. However, being the only —or one of the few—in predominantly majority spaces can be an isolating experience. Through powerful storytelling, this session will take attendees on a journey from the early days of school to the corridors of higher education and into the professional world, exploring the challenges of feeling out of place and the invaluable lessons learned along the way. Together, we will explore practical strategies to build resilience, create community, and achieve authentic belonging. This session is about empowering you to embrace your unique identity and leverage your experiences to thrive, no matter where you are.

About Mandice

Mandice McAllister is the Diversity, Equity + Inclusion Manager for Warner Norcross + Judd LLP, a leading law firm with over 230 attorneys and nine offices throughout Michigan. Within her role, she provides strategic leadership for the firm’s internal and external DEI-related programs and processes, helping to create and sustain a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace. She earned her Bachelors of Arts in political science from The Ohio State University. Mandice was 2023 Crain’s Grand Rapids 40 Under 40 honoree, a 2021 finalist for DEI Champion of the Year at the EPIC Awards for the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce and was honored as a 2022 Diversity Business Leader by Corp! Magazine. She serves as a board member for the Comprehensive Therapy Center, Arbor Circle and the Greater Michigan Chapter of the National Black MBA Association.

Robin Wall Kimmerer, Plant Ecologist, Educator & Writer, MacArthur Fellow | Partnership with GRCC Library

• When: March 20, 2025, 5:30-7 p.m.
• Where: Applied Technology Center 168, 151 Fountain St NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503

Robin Wall Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. She is the author of Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants, which has earned Kimmerer wide acclaim. Her first book, Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses, was awarded the John Burroughs Medal for outstanding nature writing, and her other work has appeared in Orion, Whole Terrain, and numerous scientific journals. In 2022, Braiding Sweetgrass was adapted for young adults by Monique Gray Smith. This new edition reinforces how wider ecological understanding stems from listening to the earth’s oldest teachers: the plants around us. Robin’s newest book, The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World (November 2024), is a bold and inspiring vision for how to orient our lives around gratitude, reciprocity, and community, based on the lessons of the natural world.

Robin tours widely and has been featured on NPR’s On Being with Krista Tippett and in 2015 addressed the general assembly of the United Nations on the topic of “Healing Our Relationship with Nature.” Kimmerer is a SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor of Environmental Biology, and the founder and director of the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment, whose mission is to create programs which draw on the wisdom of both indigenous and scientific knowledge for our shared goals of sustainability. In 2022 she was named a MacArthur Fellow.

As a writer and a scientist, her interests in restoration include not only restoration of ecological communities, but restoration of our relationships to land. She holds a BS in Botany from SUNY ESF, an MS and PhD in Botany from the University of Wisconsin and is the author of numerous scientific papers on plant ecology, bryophyte ecology, traditional knowledge and restoration ecology. As a writer and a scientist, her interests in restoration include not only restoration of ecological communities, but restoration of our relationships to land. She lives on an old farm in upstate New York, tending gardens both cultivated and wild.