Colorado Humanities will virtually host the seventh episode of their “Changing the Legacy of Race & Ethnicity” series on Feb. 1 at 7 p.m. This series is a facilitated conversation with state and nationally recognized experts who have devoted their lives to addressing inequities in their communities.
This episode will focus on housing, healthcare and education inequities and will be streamed live on Facebook and YouTube. In addition, viewers will be given opportunities to ask each panelist questions regarding these issues.
This event aims to build comfort in the idea of struggling with these conversations about race, ethnicity and equity in a loving and normalized way. Colorado Humanities believe these conversations will give way to reflection and realization and will let the viewers see they have the power to make a difference.
Chinook Fund’s program director Ginnie Logan will moderate the conversation. She is a veteran educator with over 14 years of experience ranging from middle school assistant principal to university professor and researcher. She is involved in and has founded multiple non-profits and has worked as an academic theorist and program director.
Dr. Lilia Cervantes is a Colorado native and associate professor of medicine at CU Anschutz. She recently received the Virgilio Licona Award, which recognizes impactful efforts advancing social justice for and health improvement of Coloradans who have historically had less power and privilege. Her work has directly led to Colorado policy change, including allowing undocumented immigrants access to regular dialysis treatment, following an interview on CNN.
Michael Benitez, who holds a doctorate in educational leadership and policy, was born in Puerto Rico and moved to New York during his childhood. After experiencing homelessness, he found his purpose in education and devoted his life to addressing the inequities he experienced and witnessed growing up. Benitez is a nationally acclaimed educator in diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education and a popular speaker and workshop leader at colleges and conferences nationwide.
Over the last two decades, Benitez has served higher education in different capacities and now works as the vice president of diversity and inclusion at Metropolitan State in Denver. He received his Ph.D. emphasizing social justice in higher education from Iowa State University.
Cole Chandler has devoted his life to addressing homelessness, opening his first collective house in Waco, Texas before moving to Denver in 2014. Cole received his master of divinity from Baylor University and has committed his life to serving marginalized communities. He and his wife Kaylanne moved to Denver as full-time volunteers, with his wife working as a volunteer nurse at Colorado Coalition for the Homeless.
Cole co-founded the Colorado Village Collaborative in March 2017 and opened his first tiny home site a few months later in July. His non-profit’s budget has grown to $2.5 million since opening, with five sites serving around 200 people per night.
Erin Yoshimura has spent the last 20 years as the Chief Empowerment Officer at Empowerful Changes. Her consulting firm focuses on leadership, diversity training and executive coaching. The organization has coached executives at multiple Fortune 500 companies on cultural intelligence and leadership. She brings decades of experience in corporate and non-profit sectors to address inequality.
To register, visit the link here.