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Equity Sessions Leader: Dr. Ryan Ross, Associate Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, Equity, and Inclusion at the Colorado Community College System

An educator, speaker, and actualization coach, Dr. Ross is committed to access, equity, and the development of leaders. After fourteen years of educational work, Ross transitioned from executive leadership at the Community College of Denver to become Regional Manager for Mobilization for the American Petroleum Institute. There, he is focused on STEM awareness in students and building workforce opportunities in the energy industry for women, minorities, and veterans.

Introduction by Paulette Tate, Chair of the Board, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro Denver. Panel Leader: Elizabeth Suárez, Leadership & Negotiation Strategist, Avanza Business Group. Panelists: Diego Mariscal, CEO and Chief Disabled Person, 2Gether-International; Christina Trujillo, Privacy Officer, Legal Department, Sony Electronics; Dr. Jose Morey, CEO, Ad Astra Steam Media

Panel Leader: Dr. Ryan Ross, Assoc. Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs, Equity, & Inclusion, Colorado Community College System. Panelists: Dr. Colleen Simpson, President Front Range Community College; Dr. Rochelle Ford, President Dillard University; Dr. Cynthia Lindquist, President Cankdeska Cikana Community College; Sandra J. Doran, JD, President Bay Path University

Panel Leader: Dr. Ryan Ross, Assoc. Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs, Equity, & Inclusion, Colorado Community College System. Panelists: Eric McDonnell, Chair, African American Reparations Advisory Committee, City and County of San Francisco; Dr. Christopher Mathis, Visiting Assistant Professor, University of Iowa, College of Law; Sadé Cooper, Co-Founder & CEO, Collaborative Healing Initiative within Communities

Panel Leader: Dr. Ryan Ross, Assoc. Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs, Equity, & Inclusion, Colorado Community College System. Panelists: Lana Hailemariam, Chief Executive Officer, StandUP, LLC; Reiland Rabaka, Founder and Director, Center for African and African American Studies, University of Colorado Boulder; Emily Shamsid-Deen, Principal, ESD Consulting; Dr. Roberto Montoya, Chief Educational Equity Officer, CO Department of Higher Education; Keith Station, Deputy Chief of Staff—Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, City of Omaha Mayor’s Office

Panel Leader: Dr. Ryan Ross, Assoc. Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs, Equity, & Inclusion, Colorado Community College System. Panelists: Dr. Kristen Raney, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Eastern lowa Community Colleges; Dr. Helen Castellanos Brewer, Vice President for Student Services, College of the Mainland; Dr. Shawnda Navarro Floyd, Provost, Dallas College; Edgar Soto, Vice President, Pima Community College, Desert Vista Campus

Panel Leader: Dr. Ryan Ross, Assoc. Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs, Equity, & Inclusion, Colorado Community College System. Panelists: Crestina Martinez, Long Term Recovery & Major Initiatives Director, Adams County Government; Dr. Roberto Montoya, Chief Educational Equity Officer, Colorado Department of Higher Education; Mariana Del Hierro, Executive Director, Re: vision; Rachel Garcia, CEO, Colectiva

Panel Leader: Dr. Ryan Ross, Assoc. Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs, Equity, & Inclusion, Colorado Community College System. Panelists: Janet Salazar, President, Foundation for the Support of the UN; Dr. Angie Paccione, Executive Director, Colorado Department of Higher Education; Simone D. Ross, CEO, Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce; Dr. Jessica Rothenberg-Aalami, CEO, Founder, Cell-Ed; Karen Ashworth-Macfarlane, Co-Founder and CEO, Digame Spirits PBC

Panel Leader: Dr. Ryan Ross, Assoc. Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs, Equity, & Inclusion, Colorado Community College System. Panelists: Dr. Kimberly Grayson, Principal, Denver Public Schools; Omar Montgomery, Director of Equity, Culture, and Community Engagement, Cherry Creek School District; Dr. Vern L. Howard, Chairman, Dr. MLK Jr Colorado Holiday Commission

Panel Leaders: Dr. Ryan Ross, Assoc. Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs, Equity, & Inclusion, Colorado Community College System, and Paula Garcia Todd, Global Strategic Marketing Manager, Pharma Solutions, IFF & AAAS IF/THEN STEM Ambassador. Panelists: Dr. Siobahn Day Grady, North Carolina A&T; Toi Massey, Founder & CEO ANM Innovative Solutions; Eric Knapp, DeKalb County Schools; Jason Pugh, Gensler and President of the National Organization of Minority Architects

Panel Leader: Dr. Ryan Ross, Assoc. Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs, Equity, & Inclusion, Colorado Community College System. Panelists: Dr. Cheryl Crazy Bull, President and CEO, American Indian College Fund; Jameson D. Lopez, Asst. Professor, Educational Policy Studies and Practice, University of Arizona; Jasmine Neosh, Undergraduate Researcher, College of the Menominee Nation, Sustainable Development Institute

Panel Leader: Dr. Ryan Ross, Assoc. Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs, Equity, & Inclusion, Colorado Community College System. Panelists: Omar Montgomery, Director of Equity, Culture, and Community Engagement, Cherry Creek School District; Regan Byrd, Founder and Principal Consultant, Regan Byrd Consulting LLC; Dr. Dedrick Sims, CEO, Sims-Fayola Foundation

Panel Leader: Dr. Ryan Ross, Assoc. Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs, Equity, & Inclusion, Colorado Community College System. Panelists: Lesley Owens Pelton, MSEd, CAS, JD, Director of the Office of Disability Services at Susquehanna University;  Catherine Carlson, Director of the Office of Accessibility Services, Adjunct Instructor and EIT Accessibility Officer at Columbia-Greene Community College; Emily Perry, Access, Access and Equity Services Professional, Colorado Community College System

Panel Leader: Dr. Ryan Ross, Assoc. Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs, Equity, & Inclusion, Colorado Community College System. Panelists: Christina Cecil, Chief Human Resources Officer, Colorado Community College System; Cheng Yu Hou, Chief Human Resources Officer, San Mateo County Community College District; Bill Dial, Chief Human Resources Officer, College of Southern Nevada; Kyra Welch, First Gen Student, Bethune-Cookman University

Panel Leader: Dr. Ryan Ross, Assoc. Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs, Equity, & Inclusion, Colorado Community College System. Panelists: Kimberly Grayson, Principal, Denver Public Schools; Dr. Cynthia K. Gooch-Grayson, Assoc. VP for Equity and Diversity, Metropolitan Community College; Troy Abfalter, Director of TRIO McNair Scholars, The College of St. Scholastica; Dr. Lisa Matye-Edwards, VP of Student Affairs, Arapahoe Community College

Panel Leader: Dr. Ryan Ross, Assoc. Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs, Equity, & Inclusion, Colorado Community College System. Panelists: Dr. Irma Becerra, President, Marymount University; Dr. Mirta M. Martin, President, Fairmont State University; Dr. Betsy Oudenhoven, President, Community College of Aurora; Dr. Shirley M. Collado, President, Ithaca College

Panel Leader: Dr. Ryan Ross, Assoc. Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs, Equity, & Inclusion, Colorado Community College System. Panelists: Jenelle Nangah, Dahni Austin, Alana Mitchell, Kaliah Yizar (student activists from Martin Luther Junior Early College in Denver)

Panel Leader: Dr. Ryan Ross, Assoc. Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs, Equity, & Inclusion, Colorado Community College System. Panelists: Dr. Eric Lee, Manager of Business Operations, TEKsystems; Dr. Jamillah Moore, President, Cañada College, Mia Keeys, Director, Health Equity, American Medical Association; Jeffrey Kass; Equity Trainer, Author and Lawyer, Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP

Panel Leader: Dr. Ryan Ross, Assoc. Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs, Equity, & Inclusion, Colorado Community College System. Panelists: Dr. Clinton Purtell, Professor, Department of Management, University of North Texas at Frisco; Dr. Michael Clement, Department Chair, Accounting University of Texas, Austin; Dr. Aaron Cortes, Minor Director of STEM Initiatives, Northeastern Illinois University; Leanne D. Wheeler, Principal, Wheeler Advisory Group; Dr. Joseph Gladstone, Business Management Professor, University of New Haven

Panel Leader: Dr. Ryan Ross, Assoc. Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs, Equity, & Inclusion Colorado Community College System. Panelists: Dr. Javaune Adams-Gaston, President, Norfolk State University; Dr. E. LaBrent Chrite, President, Bethune-Cookman University; Dr. Annette Parker, President, South Central College, Minnesota State; Dr. Miles Davis, President, Linfield University; Dr. Michael Torrence, President, Motlow State College

Panel Leader: Dr. Ryan Ross, Assoc. Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs, Equity, & Inclusion Colorado Community College System. Panelists: Dr. Javaune Adams-Gaston, President, Norfolk State University; Dr. E. LaBrent Chrite, President, Bethune-Cookman University; Dr. Annette Parker, President, South Central College, Minnesota State; Dr. Miles Davis, President, Linfield University; Dr. Michael Torrence, President, Motlow State College

Panel Leader: Dr. Ryan Ross, Assoc. Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs, Equity, & Inclusion Colorado Community College System. Panelists: Clifton Taulbert, President & CEO, Freemount Corporation and Roots Java Coffee; Javon Brame, Dean of Students, Arapahoe Community College; Chelsea Williams, Founder & CEO, College Code LLC; Representative Leslie Herod, Legislator, Colorado General Assembly