HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Registration is now open for the Future and Beyond: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Symposium. The Symposium will be held virtually on Wednesday, April 8, 2021 from 8:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. The Symposium is free to attend and will feature national and local experts as speakers, panelists, and performers. The Symposium began in 2017 as a collaborative initiative of NASA Marshall Space Flight Center’s Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity and the Office of Human Capital in partnership with multiple community organizations including the City of Huntsville Office of Multicultural Affairs to create a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) focused dialogue with public and private organizations in the Huntsville - Madison County community. A subsequent Symposium was held in 2019 led by Kenny Anderson (City of Huntsville) and David Person (Phoenix) with the support of a broad community coalition of stakeholders. The all-volunteer planning committee is currently chaired by Isaac Beavers, Regional Center Director, Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind. The Symposium was planned as an in person event at the Huntsville Botanical Gardens for April of 2020 which had to be postponed due to the pandemic. The virtual 2021 program will feature keynote speaker Arno Arr Michael is IV, a former white supremacist that now co-leads the ‘Serve 2 Unite’ organization. Multiple interactive virtual sessions will feature national speakers including: Natalie Gillard, Founder of FACTUALITY; B.T. Harman, Creator of Blue Babies Pink; and Matthew Smith, Co-founding Executive Director of Ala Quest Collaborative for Education. Several state and community experts will be featured panelists including: Kyle Buchanan, President, Helen Keller Hospital; Tiffany Jordan-Whitlow, Co-Founder and Chief Development Officer, Acclinate Genetics; Dr. Neil Lamb, Vice President for Education Outreach and Faculty Investigator, Institute for Biotechnology; Anthony Daniels, Alabama State Representative; David Person, Owner, David Person Media, LLC, Josayl on Henry, Chief Clinical Officer, Well Stone Behavioral Health, and Letricia Ogutu, Mental Health Services Coordinator, Huntsville City Schools. Special entertainment provided by Jordan “ChillCity” Moore, Victoria Jones, and Josh Alex Baker.
Register Now: https://diversityhsv.org/