Keynote Speakers
DEI Conference past keynote speakers
Dr. Suzanne Johnson
The Imperative of Turning Words into Actions: Equity is More than a Policy
Dr. Suzanne Johnson began her career in higher education as a full time psychology faculty member at Dowling College, New York. In 2012, after many years as a faculty member, Dr. Johnson moved into administrative roles and became Dean of the College at Dowling College. She intentionally made the move to community colleges in 2014 when she had the opportunity to serve as interim campus president at Sylvania Campus of Portland Community College in Oregon. Her move to community colleges was driven by her commitment to the community college mission and the essential role community colleges play in providing educational pathways to opportunity. Prior to becoming president at Green River College, Dr. Johnson served as Vice President for Academic Affairs at Suffolk County Community College in New York. She has been serving as president of Green River College since July 2017. Her time at Green River College, thus far, has focused on facilitating and supporting the collaborative efforts of the college’s outstanding faculty and staff as they work to ensure equitable student outcomes and deepen a culture of caring and belonging for all students. Of equal importance is her work to position the college as an invaluable partner with businesses and industries to contribute to the economic growth, vitality and stability of the cities it serves. Dr. Johnson holds a B.A. in Psychology from Ithaca College, New York; and a master’s degree in psychology and Ph.D. in developmental psychology from Stony Brook University, New York.
Dr. Darrick Smith
Equity and Excellence: Dealing with the Discomfort, Confusion, and the Shortcomings of the Academy
Dr. Darrick Smith is an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of San Francisco and is a co-director and co-author of the School of Education’s Transformative School Leadership (TSL) program. His research interests are culturally responsive discipline practices; critical pedagogy; transformative school leadership, and social justice schooling. Dr. Smith is also the founder and former Director of the TryUMF (pronounced "triumph") program in Oakland, CA and formerly served as the Co-Director/Principal of the June Jordan School for Equity in San Francisco.
He has served as a trainer and administrative coach in local school districts as well a Center Director under the Foundation for California Community Colleges- the system for which he still consults as a trainer for the statewide Professional Learning Network. Nationally, Dr. Smith also currently serves as a national consultant for the Now is the Time Technical Assistance (NITT-TA) Center funded through the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Internationally, Dr. Smith has served as a professor for the East Asian Regional Council of Overseas Schools and as a lecturer and scientific reviewer for the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organizations (UNESCO) International Summer School in Warsaw, Poland.
Dr. Smith’s pathway has led him to speak at a number of national and statewide conferences on issues of educational reform as well as work in California’s correctional facilities while maintain his lifelong dedication to resistance efforts in the Greater Bay Area of Northern California. Such experience has shaped both his research agenda and his pedagogy for the last 20 years.
Dr. Genevieve Negrón-Gonzales
A Steep, Uphill Climb: 5 Stories that Illuminate the Challenges Undocumented Students Face in Pursuit of Higher Education
Genevieve Negrón-Gonzales, Ph.D., is Associate Professor in the School of Education and affiliate faculty in the Migration Studies Program at the University of San Francisco. She is an interdisciplinary scholar of education and immigration and speaks across the nation on issues related to diversity, equity, higher education and immigrant rights. Raised on the U.S.-Mexico border, Negrón-Gonzales has been working with, supporting, and researching the lives of undocumented youth for the past fifteen years in multiple capacities: as a student affairs professional, a researcher, and as an activist.
Dr. Negrón-Gonzales’ work has been published in numerous scholarly journals including Harvard Educational Review, Latino Studies, Aztlán: A Journal of Chicano Studies, The Journal of Latinos and Education, and Jesuit Higher Education. She is a co-author of Encountering Poverty: Thinking and Acting in an Unequal World (2016, UC Press), co-editor of We Are Not Dreamers: Undocumented Scholars Theorize Undocumented Life in the United States (Duke University Press, 2020), and co-author of The Latina/o/x Guide to Graduate School (Duke University Press, 2023).
Dr. Katie Spencer
The Gender Affirmative Lifespan Approach: A Clinical Model for Gender Care for All Genders
Katie Spencer, PhD, LP, CST, WPATH Gender Specialist, member WPATH SOC Revision Committee, Co-Medical Director, M Health Comprehensive Gender Care Services.
Dr. Spencer is a licensed psychologist, certified sex therapist, assistant professor at the Institute for Sexual and Gender Health (ISGH) at the University of Minnesota Medical School; and the Co-Medical Director of M Health Fairview Comprehensive Gender Care Services. Her primary clinical practice is working with gender and sexual health concerns including gender diverse adolescents and adults, women’s sexuality and sexual health, and LGBTQ sexuality and well-being. She has a special interest in working on sexuality in gender and life transitions, and working with LGBTQ elders. Dr. Spencer is passionate about social justice and working to decrease stigma and barriers to healthcare for LGBTQ+ communities. She works from a feminist abolitionist framework to advocate for her patients and work for change within systems and in community. She provides individual, couples, and group psychotherapy for adolescents and adults and frequently provides education and training in LGBTQ+ sexual and gender healthcare.