Building Bridges, Creating Futures: Community-Led Dialogue & Action

Why This Matters Now More Than Ever
We are living in a moment of deepening divides, systemic rollbacks, and policies that further marginalize communities most impacted by injustice.  This symposium is an invitation to come together, listen and act.

This gathering is a space for bold collaboration, transformative storytelling, and deep dialogue—where community leaders, educators, and advocates come together to co-create pathways toward lasting justice and collective liberation.

What to Expect:

• Conversations that matter – Centering the voices of the people who are directly impacted.
• Powerful storytelling – Honoring lived experiences as tools for connection & transformation
• Deep dialogue & action – Co-creating solutions that shift power and sustain our well-being
• Engaging exhibits – Interactive installations, including the States of Incarceration project

Join us. Bring your voice. Be part of the conversation.

Speakers:

       
Liz Ševčenko
Liz Ševčenko (she/her) is founder and co-director of the Humanities Action Lab.  She was founding director of the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience and is author of Public Memory for a Post-Truth Era:  Fighting Denial through Memory Movements.

Regina Campbell
Regina Campbell is co-director of Humanities Action Lab, focusing on HAL’s States of Incarceration project and the Rikers Public Memory Project. Regina is a leader in the Culture of Health Leadership Institute for Racial Healing, strengthening the ecosystem of practitioners who are advancing racial and health equity in their work.

Wilmarie Medina-Cortés
Wilmarie Medina-Cortés (she/ella) is the Associate Director for the Humanities Action Lab, supporting Climates of Inequality and States of Incarceration.  Wilmarie received her M.A. in Museum and Exhibition Studies from the University of Illinois Chicago and is a co-chair of the Climate Committee for the Puerto Rican Agenda Chicago.

Leora Fuller
Leora Fuller is the Learning and Coalition Facilitator for the Humanities Action Lab. She teaches “Newark Community Activism: Mutual Aid Storytelling & Sharing” at Rutgers-Newark and is developing a Newark community-run Free School with local organizers. Her classrooms utilize creative, consensus-based, and nonhierarchical approaches.

Lauren de Jesus
Lauren de Jesus is Senior Civic Engagement Educator at the University of Illinois Chicago’s Rafael Cintrón Ortiz Latino Cultural Center. She grew up volunteering in her community on the Northwest side and exploring Chicago’s museums.  She received her B.A. in Anthropology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her M.A. in Museum and Exhibition Studies from UIC.

Eboné M. Lockett
Eboné M. Lockett, award-winning educational leader and humanitarian, champions sustainable, community-driven change through a holistic approach to research, learning, and development. As Founder/CEO of Harvesting Humanity LLC and Board Chair of Rosa Parks Farmers Market, she fosters inclusive spaces that benefit both people and the planet, locally and globally.

Valerie Johnson
Dr. Valerie Ann Johnson is Co-Director of the North Carolina Environmental Justice Network experienced in connecting undergraduate and graduate students, especially at HBCUs, with community-engaged work on health equity and environmental justice. She promotes public participation in science research as a board member for the Association for Advancing Participatory Sciences.

Ted Lentz
Ted Lentz is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice & Criminology at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee. He collaborates with interdisciplinary teams, community organizations, and government agencies to translate research into actionable insights. Beyond research, Ted is an award-winning educator who integrates experiential learning, team-based collaboration, and real-world data analysis into his courses.

Shannon Ross
Shannon Ross is the CEO/Founder of The Community, which employs deep in-reach and outreach to help bring society and the system-impacted community exactly where they need each other to be. Since his release in 2020, after 17 years in prison, Shannon has become a Founding Partner of Paradigm Shyft, a Multidimensional Justice Solutions firm; consultant with Marquette University’s Higher Education in Prison program; and earned a Masters in Sustainable Peacebuilding from UW- Milwaukee.

Calvin John Smiley
Calvin John Smiley, Ph.D., is an associate professor of sociology at Hunter College-CUNY with research on incarceration, reentry, and youth justice as well as the founder of Till Everything Better LLC, a restorative justice program that work with system-impacted youth in New York City.

Dr. Mayra Lopez-Humphreys
Dr. Mayra Lopez-Humphreys is an Associate Professor at the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College and a fourth-generation East Harlemite. Her research focuses on restorative approaches with justice-involved populations, participatory community partnerships, and equity-centered social work education. She currently co-leads a research collaboration with Exodus Transitional Community and brings over 20 years of nonprofit experience in community development and evaluation.

Richard Rivera,
Richard Rivera, MSW is President of Renew & Redesign Consulting, bringing over 20 years of experience as a facilitator, coach, and strategist. He specializes in restorative, community-led planning and leadership development. Richard teaches at NYU Wagner and coaches for the NYCT Leadership Fellows Program.

Dunia M. Garcia
Dunia M. Garcia, DSW, LMSW, has 25 years of experience focused on educational equity, college access in urban communities, and community engagement.  She was the director of the Community Navigator Program, a peer-led community-based program serving the East Harlem community.  She is also an educator and co-facilitates the Alchemy Method Facilitator Training.

Robyn Brown-Manning
Robyn Brown-Manning is a doctoral lecturer and the MSW Program director at the Silberman School of Social Work, Hunter College. She earned her degrees from the City University of New York, including a PhD in social welfare.  Brown-Manning has extensive experience in anti-oppression, racial equity, and social-justice work, and has consulted for various institutions. She has a rich history with New York Foundling, where she developed programs for teen parents and served on the board. Her publications focus on African-American healing traditions and the effect of racism on police violence. ]Brown-Manning is also a certified Feng Shui practitioner.

Anna Ortega-Williams
Anna Ortega-Williams is a social-work scholar, practitioner, and researcher focused on healing historical trauma and promoting posttraumatic growth among Black youth, while exploring land-based healing and activism as trauma-recovery interventions.

Michael G. Clements
Michael G. Clements is a second-year PhD Student in Social Welfare at the CUNY Graduate Center, and a staunch advocate for the marginalized and forgotten. Throughout his 25-year career, Michael has focused on a range of youth issues, from justice involvement to gender-based violence. As a result of his work at Jacob Riis Neighborhood Settlement, Harlem Children’s Zone, Union Settlement Association, Children’s Aid, and Hunter College, he is recognized as a community leader, mentor, and fundraiser who is steadfast in his commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.”

Jorge Diaz
Jorge Diaz is Senior Director of Community Justice at Exodus, leading violence interruption efforts in East Harlem. With over 30 years in community advocacy, he has served justice-impacted populations across NYC. Jorge is also an adjunct professor and a doctoral candidate studying post-incarceration syndrome.

Ben “Cincere” Wilson
Ben “Cincere” Wilson is a PEN America Award-winning writer and nationally recognized expert in gang intervention and conflict resolution. A founding member of The Institute for Transformative Mentoring, he currently serves as a Peace Broker in East Harlem, guiding youth away from violence through radical empathy and transformative mentoring.