Founding Faculty

Vernon A. Wall, M.A.

Vernon A. Wall has accumulated 20+ years of professional Student Affairs experience at Iowa State University, the University of Georgia, UNC-Charlotte and UNC-Chapel Hill. He has experience in Greek life, new student orientation, student activities, leadership development, global education and university housing. In the spring of 1998, Vernon served as a member of the Student Life Staff with the Semester at Sea program accompanying 600 students on a voyage around the world. Vernon has received several awards for his contributions to the quality of student life, is a nationally known speaker in the areas of social justice and leadership styles and is one of the founders and facilitators of the Social Justice Training Institute. Vernon has written several articles and has co-edited two books on issues of inclusion on today's college campus and currently resides in Washington, DC where he serves as the Director of Educational Programs & Publications for the American College Personnel Association.

Visit Vernon at: http://www.vernonwall.org

Kathy Obear, Ed.D.

Kathy is the President of her organizational development consulting firm, Alliance for Change, specializing in diversity and change management. Earlier in her career she worked in residential life at several colleges including Colorado State University where she coordinated leadership development and educational programming. Since starting her business in 1987, Kathy has given speeches and facilitated trainings at hundreds of universities across the nation. She has published a number of works addressing issues of homophobia and heterosexism on college campuses and universities. She works with human service organizations and corporations to create work environments that respect the diversity of all employees. Some of her clients have included Mass Mutual, Fleet Financial Group, St. Paul Insurance, Big Y Foods, Holyoke Hospital, First Union National Bank, The Department of Mental Health, and The Home for Little Wanderers. Her recent research focuses on helping diversity trainers to more effectively manager emotional "hot buttons" and "triggering" events.

Visit Kathy at www.allianceforchange.com.

Jamie Washington, Ph.D.

Rev. Dr. Jamie Washington serves as the President and Founder of the Washington Consulting Group, a Multicultural Organizational Development Firm out of Baltimore, MD. He is also a senior consultant with The Equity Consulting Group of California, and Elsie Y. Cross and Associates out of Philadelphia. Dr. Washington has served as an educator and administrator in higher education for over 20 years. He most recently served as the Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC). He has been an instructor in Sociology, American Studies and Education, and an Assistant Professor of Women’s Studies at UMBC. As a native Philadelphian, Dr. Washington earned his B.S. degree in Therapeutic Recreation and Music from Slippery Rock State College, and a double Masters' of Science degree from Indiana University/Bloomington in Higher Education Administration and Counseling, with a concentration in Human Sexuality. He holds a Ph.D. is in College Student Development, with a concentration in Multicultural Education from the University of Maryland College Park. Dr. Washington completed his Master of Divinity program @ Howard University School of Divinity in May of 2004.

Dr. Washington has held leadership positions in ACPA, NASPA, ACHUO-I, MACUHO, MCPA, APA, NGLTF, The Campaign to End Homophobia and the Nation Black Lesbian and Gay Leadership Forum. Dr. Washington is a Lead faculty member with the LeaderShape Institute and the National Certified Student Leader Program, a member of Omicron Delta Kappa, Golden Key, Alpha Phi Omega, Phi Delta Kappa, education Honorary, and a Life member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated. He has over 30 years of experience in music ministry, is an ordained minister and currently serves as an Associate Minister at Unity Fellowship Church of Baltimore. Rev. Dr. Washington sees himself as an instrument of change. He works everyday to help people find the best in themselves and others.

Visit Jamie at: www.washingtonconsultinggroup.net

Maura J. Cullen, Ed.D.

As a full time educational consultant and motivational speaker since 1987, Maura provides training programs and keynote addresses on multiculturalism and leadership throughout the United States, Canada, and Australia. She received her doctorate in education at the University of Massachusetts/Amherst, in Social Justice and Diversity Education and her Master’s from Springfield College in Counseling and Psychological Services.

As a certified Firewalking Instructor, Maura knows first hand the power of intention and the ability to focus on your ultimate goal. We change our destiny when we help others reach their destiny.

Visit Maura at: www.MauraCullen.com

Faculty

becky martinez

I trust this experience will be exactly what you need in your life’s journey – stretch, feel, connect, do, and “be”.

I am honored to be part of SJTI – what I define as my “light-switch” in my role as a change agent. I continue to learn about the intersections of my identities and the ways those frame my work and my life. Through power and humility, I strive to be my definition of leader – a woman of color living with compassion, integrity, and boundless possibilities in contributing to community and humanity.

becky is an independent consultant and trainer with a focus on social justice, equity, and leadership. She works with organizations seeking to meet shifting demands, resources, and leadership to develop goals, vision, and purpose. Her energy is focused on understanding the current organizational culture, structural barriers, organizational potential, and training needs to meet the needs of the both the organization and its’ members. She believes that while organizations may have a depth of diverse members, there is a great deal of work to create an inclusive environment for members, and it is our responsibility as leaders, regardless of title, to create such space.

She is currently finishing her doctoral coursework in Organizational Leadership at the University of La Verne. Her dissertation is focused on the impact of the Social Justice Training Institute on its participants with an emphasis on adult learning, particularly transformative learning, and race, racism, and social justice.

Her career portfolio includes working as an administrator within the California State University, the University of California, and the Colorado State University systems as well as private liberal arts colleges. She is a Social Justice Training Institute alumna, a Lead facilitator for the LeaderShape Institute, a consultant with Elsie Y. Cross and Associates, and a certified counselor-advocate through Peace over Violence (previously Los Angeles Commission on Assaults Against Women). She holds a Master of Science degree in Student Affairs in Higher Education from Colorado State University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology from the University of La Verne.

Contact becky at www.infinitymartinez.com

Mamta Motwani Accapadi, Ph.D.

Mamta Motwani Accapadi is a professional work-in-progress. Just having completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Women’s Studies at the University of Houston, Mamta has also served as an “academinistreducator,” with multiple responsibilities at The University of Texas at Austin. She is now transitioning into her full time employment as mother, and she also does social justice/diversity consulting.

Mamta’s academic research interests are grounded in Asian American identity development, privilege exploration, intersections of identity, and leadership development/mentorship for under-represented communities. She earned her Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration (although she firmly believes that the degree belongs to her mother). Her dissertation research explored how participation in Asian American interest sororities impacted the identity development of Asian American women.

Mamta has served as a national co-chair of APINCORE, the pan-Asian American caucus of the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education, and recently served as a member of the National Advisory Committee of NCORE. She has worked to support pan-Asian initiatives in higher education, while working collaboratively with the Asian American organization leadership of ACPA and NASPA.

Mamta attended ber first SJTI in December 2001, where she first learned how to use her voice, and that her voice was a necessary part of the anti-racism dialogue. She served as an intern in June 2003, where she learned that sometimes, breaking the rules was okay. When she had the opportunity to attend SJTI 2 in January 2007, she learned that healing was possible. As a guest faculty member in June 2007, she experienced every emotion, every fear, every struggle, and every triumph that she experienced in all of her SJTI experiences combined- this experience taught her that the cycle of learning, growth, and healing never ends. SJTI truly changed her life.

To contact Mamta, please email mamta@alumni.utexas.net.

Irene Kao, M.A.

Irene Kao is currently the Assistant Dean of Students at Macalester College. She finds joy in working with students with disabilities, working with families with Family Fest, and serving as a student advocate. She has also work at University of New Hampshire as the Multicultural Coordinator for three years. She helped start the Intergroup Dialogue Program for first-year students and the Social Justice Educator Training for faculty and staff. She received her Master’s Degree from University of Maryland-College Park in College Student Personnel during which time she worked with social justice education, Greek life, and career services.

Irene has worked in other capacities in higher education. She has served as the Asian Pacific American Network co-chair (in the American College Personnel Association). She has also been a planning committee member for the National Conference on Dialogue and Deliberation. She was also received the 2005 American College Personnel Association Outstanding new Professional Award.

Irene thoroughly enjoyed her experience as guest faculty. It was a great next step after serving as an intern and attending SJTI II – Renewal. She experienced a powerful deepening with Jamie, Vernon, and Kathy and relationship with the Tucson 2007 class. She would strongly recommend being guest faculty to anyone who is interested.

Contact Irene at irenewkao@hotmail.com.

 

Administrative Assistant

Jessica Pettitt, M.Ed.

Jessica Pettitt draws from her rich and varied experiences to conduct specialized professional trainings. Her professional experiences include working in higher educational settings through Multicultural and LGBT Student Services. She has spoken professionally in academic and professional settings, has been a conference keynote speaker, and has even done stand-up comedy! Her expertise encompasses the topics of teamwork in the workplace, change implementation, staff development, group facilitation, cross-cultural communication, white privilege, social justice, intersections of marginalized identities, and specific communities like lesbian, gay, bisexual/fluidity, trans/gender variant, intersex condition, polyamorous relationships, and power dynamics. She specializes in audiences with a low level of knowledge around privilege and LGBT related issues. Jessica attended SJTI 2003 in Northampton, the first SJTI 2, and has moderated the listservs for the past few years for all of the class specific lists and the SJTI-ALL list. Jess has come aboard as the Administrative Coordinator to ask these questions and work through the administrative tasks efficiently as SJTI continues to offer SJTIs, SJTI2s, and the new SJTI student Component.

Additional information on Jessica can be found at: www.jessicapettitt.com

 

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