WEDNESDAY , APRIL 26 6:00 - 6:50 p . m . ET Keynote Panel : Best Practices in Creating Learning Environments that Engage Diverse Voices : Expert Perspectives
This panel presentation will provide the opportunity to hear from experts in their field . After gaining insight into their path to emphasizing diversity , equity , and inclusion in their work , each panelist will share a best practice they found effective in creating learning environments that engage diverse voices . Further , they will discuss strategies they have used to foster collaboration between faculty and administrators to advance inclusion and belonging . The session will conclude with a question-andanswer period .
Hosted by Dr . Tiffany Cresswell-Yeager , Assistant Professor of Higher Education Leadership , Gwynedd Mercy University
Panelists
Otis Clarke , MA , M . Ed . is an educator and a passionate researcher who has applied his educational skills to focus on the challenges of and advocate for underserved groups and communities . Currently he teaches world geography to high school students in Navajo Nation , Arizona . He moved from Pennsylvania to live and work in this community in 2021 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic . He has since revised the school ’ s human geography curriculum to reflect , the challenges and the successes within Navajo Nation and Indigenous communities across the globe . He is very much concerned about the complexities of issues facing Indigenous communities , inclusive of but not limited to external pressures on Indigenous languages and cultures , that are the snuffing out of their traditional way of life and altering key markers of their identities .
His academic accomplishments include earning an M . Ed . at Gwynedd Mercy University in Pennsylvania . He is currently pursuing a doctorate in educational leadership at Gwynedd Mercy University . Prior to attending Gwynedd Mercy University , he successfully completed undergraduate and graduate studies in history at Providence College in Rhode Island . While studying there , he majored in US history and minored in European history at the graduate level . He spends his spare time reading , photography , and traveling . He has visited over 50 countries and territories .
Cherrissa Gibson , Ed . D ., SHRM-SCP , holds her doctorate in K-12 School Leadership from Gwynedd Mercy University , a Master ’ s degree in Educational Leadership from Edinboro University , and a Master ’ s degree in Teaching & Curriculum from The Pennsylvania State University . Dr . Gibson earned her Bachelor ’ s degree in Elementary Education from Elizabethtown College . In her current role as the Director of Human Resources , Professional Development , and Equity at Pennsbury School District in Fallsington , PA , Dr . Gibson is responsible for providing comprehensive personnel , employee , labor relations , and administrative services to staff . Dr . Gibson oversees professional development programs for both classified and professional staff and ongoing maintenance of human resource practices . Dr . Gibson also assesses current practices and supports changes related to the implementation of equitable educational programs and services that respond to the needs of a diverse school community .