ISSUED: 31 March 2021
MEDIA CONTACT: Valerie Owens
SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV — Shepherd University’s Office for Diversity and Equity and is co-sponsoring the WISE Stories and Empowerment series of free workshops and a leadership training event that are free and open to the public. The series, which is designed to empower communities to capture and share their experiences and histories, begins Wednesday, April 7, and will cover supporting gender justice, economic justice, racial justice, and equitable access to services and resources.
Participants will be invited to share their stories during the series of virtual events that will include personal nonfiction, poetry, theater, artwork, and photography as interdisciplinary strategies to evoke and amplify the voices that support individuals who have been historically silenced or ignored.
Other sponsors include Delta Sigma Theta, Inc.; Shepherdstown Area Independent Living, Inc.; Jefferson County Schools; University of West Indies; Lifting as We Climb, LLC; Shenandoah University; and Georgia College.
Workshop and leadership training schedule:
- April 7, 5:30-7 p.m.—Images Inspire Empowerment. Dr. Kate Hoof, instructional designer, Shepherd Center for Teaching and Learning, and Dr. Chiquita Howard-Bostic, Shepherd associate vice president of diversity, equity, and inclusivity, will discuss how pictures help tell the stories of our lives and experiences. The session will include tips for using Zoom and Canva, a free graphic design app.
- April 8, 5:30-7 p.m.—Healing through Connecting Bodies, Worth, and Empowerment. Wendy Baracka, director of Shepherd’s Counseling Services, will utilize mindful movement, yoga, breathing practices, and reflection to demonstrate how to enhance consciousness of self.
- April 12, 6-7:30 p.m.—Theatrical Empowerment and Social Transformation. Opal Palmer Adisa, director of The Institute for Gender and Development Studies at the University of the West Indies, will discuss how theater performance and storytelling have long been used as vehicles of therapeutic healing and social transformation.
- April 13, 5:30-7 p.m.—Wisdom and Revolution through Poetry. Sadie Shorr-Parks, director for Shepherd’s Society for Creative Writing, will explore the ways poetry can help identify a common purpose and to inspire social change.
- April 15, 5:30-8 p.m.—Authentic Empowerment and Fierce Leadership Training. Dr. Chiquita Howard-Bostic, associate vice president of Diversity, Equity and Inclusivity at Shepherd, will give the keynote address, titled “Fierce Leadership.” Other speakers will include Emily Cole, chief development officer of Lifting as We Climb, LLC; Jamil Muhammad, facilitator with Lifting as We Climb, LLC; Hakeem Leonard, higher education professional, IDI administrator, music therapy scholar, and consultant; and Nadirah Z. Mayweather, director, Cultural Center, Georgia College.
For more information, visit https://www.shepherd.edu/wise-event/.
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