We are the Leaders of our Time

In June 2020, millions of Americans took to the streets to protest George Floyd’s murder and in support of racial justice. According to the New York Times, the mobilization of demonstrators in June and July 2020 was the largest protest movement in our country’s history. 

Four years later, we are grappling with the Supreme Court’s banning of affirmative action in college admissions, state legislatures attacking DEI initiatives, the chilling effect these efforts have on equity and inclusion efforts as well as the impact on academic freedom and the entire academic enterprise. 

Join the ACE Women’s Network Massachusetts for a panel discussion of how we can enact our values through shared equity leadership. Panelists will discuss the foundations of coalition building for DEI work, the importance of self-care, and the practices that embody shared equity leadership. After the panel, you will be invited to join small group discussions of how to transfer lessons learned to your own work. 

Panelists include Dina Zavala, Vice President of Inclusion, Equity, and Community at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, Maria Isabel Gariepy, Executive Director of Diversity, Equity & Belonging at Middlesex Community College, Sadie Burton-Goss, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer at Babson College, and Audrey Grace, Director of Learning at the Association of Research Libraries. 

This event will not be recorded.

Speaker Bios

Sadie Burton-Goss is the Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at Babson College where she provides institutional leadership reporting to the President and partnering with campus stakeholders to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion. This includes initiatives supporting students, staff, faculty, alumni, trustees, and external partners. Dr. Goss is a graduate of Wellesley College and Lesley University where she received her BA, MSM, and Ph.D., respectively.

Maria Isabel Gariepy is the Executive Director of Diversity, Equity & Belonging at Middlesex Community College where she is a catalyst and resource to infuse the values of diversity, equity and inclusion into all aspects of the college. She leads the Center for Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation which provides opportunities to build deeper collective capacity toward racial equity, justice, and transformative change through relationship building, truth-telling and healing. She previously served as the Chief Diversity & Equity Officer at Worcester State University. She is the current Chair of the ACE Women’s Network Massachusetts. Maria holds an MBA from Fitchburg State University and a BS in Finance and International Relations from the Universidad San Martin.

Audrey Grace is the Director of Learning at the Association of Research Libraries where she is responsible for actively contributing to the design, delivery, and assessment of all of ARL’s Learning programs; developing and implementing the ARL Institutes; providing tools and resources to advance the Association’s Learning and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) goals; and developing and managing a hybrid learning-delivery strategy. Previously, she served as the Chief Diversity Officer at Regis College. Audrey has spent more than 15 years working with strategically and systemically excluded populations, first at an international microcredit organization, then representing indigent persons involved with the criminal justice system, and now promoting justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in higher education. Audrey holds a JD from Northeastern University School of Law, an MEd in Higher Education Administration from Northeastern University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Spanish, with a minor in African and African American Studies, from the Fordham University at Lincoln Center Honors Program.

Dr. Dina Zavala is the vice president for inclusion, equity and community (VPIEC) at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. As VPIEC, Dina provides vision and strategic direction for policy and programming around all aspects of inclusion, equity and community. She plays a leadership role in the implementation of Carleton’s Community Plan for Inclusion, Diversity and Equity—a 10-year plan that seeks to improve the institutional experience of all community members and to fulfill the college’s aspirations to be an inclusive, diverse and equitable institution in ways that are concrete and measurable. Dina holds a Ph.D. in education from North Dakota State University, an M.A. in instruction from Saint Mary’s University, and an undergraduate degree in modern languages from the University of Wisconsin River Falls.