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True South Durham, NC | October 27-28

Presents

Reclaiming Southern History and Narrative

Speakers

Adriane Lentz-Smith

Adriane Lentz-Smith is Associate Professor of History and African & African-American Studies at Duke University. She is the author of Freedom Struggles: African Americans and World War I (Harvard, 2009), and her book-in-progress, “The Slow Death of Sagon Penn: State Violence and the Twilight of Civil Rights,” traces the devastating aftermath of one young man’s encounter with the police in 1980s San Diego. Her work also has appeared in such journals as Southern Cultures, Modern American History, and American Quarterly. Lentz-Smith has contributed to various radio programs and podcasts as well as several documentary films, including the American Experience documentaries, The Great War, Voice of Freedom, and American Diplomat. As part of Duke’s Kenan Institute for Ethics, she hosts the series, “The Ethics of Now,” which brings authors, journalists, policy makers, and scholars to Durham to discuss matters of pressing importance to the North Carolina community and beyond.

Instagram: @lentzsmitty

Alexandra Joye Warren (Thursday)

Alexandra Joye Warren was named the Inaugural Artist-in-Residence for the Greensboro Downtown Parks and premiered her original choreoplay A Wicked Silence in 2021. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Performing Arts at Elon University, Director/Choreographer for the Music Theatre program. Her most recent projects include 42nd Street (Director), A Wicked Silence (Playwright, Director, Choreographer), and Movin On’ (Choreographer). She performed, choreographed and taught in New York, with Christal Brown’s INSPIRIT, performed with Bill T. Jones in development of FELA! the Musical, Paloma and Patricia McGregor’s Angela’s Pulse to name a few. Alexandra is the Founding Artistic Director of JOYEMOVEMENT. The dance company has performed regionally and toured nationally at many colleges, universities, festivals and conferences, including Opening Night of American Dance Festival and at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello in collaboration with activist Bree Newsome.

Instagram, Facebook, Twitter: @joyemovement 

Alexandra-Emmanuelle Zagbayou

Alexandra serves as Associate Professor of the Practice at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy. As a leadership ethics, policy and community engagement practitioner, Alexandra is animated by the following questions: What life experiences and opportunities propel individuals to live into their values and utilize their gifts in service of the world? What narratives and stories do leaders need to adopt or let go of to lead authentically and effectively? What are the core tenants of equity centered leadership and how do we prepare leaders to be effective equity practitioners? In addition to these questions, Alexandra studies how people, practices and policies in the non-profit and philanthropic sectors shape communities and public policy. Prior to joining the faculty Duke, Alexandra was part of the founding team of Student U, in Durham, NC where she served the organization as Director of Operations, Founding High School Program Director, Inaugural Chief Program Officer, and Executive Director. Outside of work, Alexandra continues to exercise her leadership muscles by serving on the following boards: MDC (Finance Committee Chair), The Beautiful Project, DataWorksNC (Board Chair), The Triangle Community Foundation (Outreach Committee). She is also the founder and principle of AnchorED Coaching and Consulting. Alexandra is also a trained Duke Health and Wellness Coach.

Alexis Raeana (Thursday)

Alexis Raeana possesses a voice to start and stop a revolution. Alexis Raeana (She, Her, Hers) is an enrolled member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. She is the CEO of Alexis Raeana, LLC which offers elite entertainment, makeup artistry, modeling, environmental and indigenous advocacy /education services. She is a former Miss Lumbee, received a Golden Ticket on ABC's American Idol, opened for Patti Labele, released an award-winning music video highlighting #MMIW, a current ambassador for the United States, a published model and makeup artist, as well as an environmental/ indigenous organizer/educator for the great state of North Carolina. The Wilmington local continues to break through glass ceilings while exuding confidence as an indigenous woman, and continues to be a voice for all indigenous people. She is, the southern Scorpio.

Social Media: @alexisraeana

Anita R. Brown-Graham

Anita R. Brown-Graham is the Gladys Hall Coates Distinguished Professor of Public Law & Government and Founder and Director of ncIMPACT at the UNC School of Government. ncIMPACT is a special initiative that seeks to expand the School’s capacity to work with public officials on complex policy issues including economic mobility, the expansion of prekindergarten, and extending the labor pool. She previously taught at the School from 1994 to 2006, specializing in governmental liability and economic development aimed at revitalizing communities. In 2007, Anita served as director of the Institute for Emerging Issues (IEI) at NC State University, where she led efforts to build North Carolina’s capacity for economic development and prosperity, working with business, government and higher education leaders from across the state. Anita is a William C. Friday Fellow, an American Marshall Fellow, and an Eisenhower Fellow. The White House named her a 2013 Champion of Change for her work at IEI, and the Triangle Business Journal named her both a 2014 Woman in Business for her policy leadership in the state and a 2017 CEO of the year. Anita earned an undergraduate degree from Louisiana State University and a law degree from UNC-Chapel Hill.

Twitter: @Anita4NC

Anita Scott Neville

Anita Scott Neville is a Durham native and servant leader in community affairs whose career has been rooted in public service and community development. Anita serves as Restorative Practices Coordinator and Equity Champion in Durham Public Schools and on the Professional Development Team of Peaceful Schools of North Carolina. Her passion and belief in the “science” of restorative practices led her to become a certified trainer. Anita is also the founder and principle of CommYUnity Matters, LLC, a non-profit collective whose goal is to facilitate learning and model strategies that promote the practices needed to build effective relationships and strengthen community. Active membership on the Board of Directors for Healing Transitions of Wake County and the Advisory Board for Peaceful Schools of North Carolina further demonstrates Anita’s passion for service in support of families and communities. Currently, Anita’s position as Director of Hayti Reborn Community Action Council and the current mission-focused work to retain and revitalize the remaining historic land known as Hayti is outstanding in her community engagement. Having served in local and federal government as well as private and non-profit agencies, Anita brings to her work an appreciation for the broad scope of community needs and the wide variety of equity focused responses. Anita has an abiding passion for “all things Hayti” and is called to not only preserve its rich history, but also to promote its vital ongoing. Anita’s self-reflections honor the spirit of “Ubuntu - I am because we are” and her awareness that community matters.

Instagram and Twitter: @haytireborn

Antonio Alanís (Thursday)

Antonio Alanís is an artist and educator living in Durham, North Carolina. His immigrant background, personal history, and education inspired him to explore themes such as social justice, identity, and immigration in North Carolina. He believes that the visual arts are an integral part of promoting cultural awareness about Hispanic/Latinx people in the United States.

Social Media: @antonioalanisart

Brandon J. Williams

Brandon J. Williams is a community builder who believes in the power of everyday people to transform society. For the last nine years and counting, he has been a resident of a historically Black working-class neighborhood in Durham, NC, called Walltown. Brandon used to lead a youth organization in the community and is now organizing with neighbors to resist gentrification and displacement. Professionally, he works as a consultant for Frontline Solutions, helping clients in the philanthropic and non-profit sectors achieve their wildest dreams by building tools, models, and ventures that create far-reaching impact.

LinkedIn: Brandon J. Williams

Calvin Allen

Calvin Allen is the Senior Program Director for MDC's Rural Forward program. He joined Rural Forward as its first director in October 2014. Calvin supervises staff, sets program vision and direction. He also manages key state and national relationships, providing technical assistance and support in Healthy Places NC counties. Prior to joining Rural Forward, Calvin worked in the nonprofit sector as an administrator, trainer, facilitator, advocate, and consultant, primarily around rural economic development. Most recently, he worked for the Golden LEAF Foundation’s community grantmaking programs for three years as a program officer, and three prior years as a consultant. He was also the associate director at the Southern Rural Development Initiative, helping small towns become economically sustainable without having to become urban. Calvin graduated with his bachelor’s degree from Duke University in 1992, and is also a 1994 graduate of Leadership Durham. He received a certificate in nonprofit management in September 2004 and is a 2003-2005 graduate of the William C. Friday Fellow for Human Relations through the Wildacres Leadership Initiative. He continues to serve on the advisory board of the Friday Fellows Program.

Chris Kromm

Chris Kromm is executive director of the Institute for Southern Studies, a nonprofit media and research center founded by civil rights veterans, and publisher of the Institute’s online magazine, Facing South (facingsouth.org). A frequently-sought commentator on Southern politics and current issues, Kromm has appeared on more than 300 TV and radio outlets including CNN, MSNBC, and National Public Radio. Kromm is the author or co-author of more than 60 Institute reports on topics ranging from the changing demographic and political landscape in the South to voting rights and disaster recovery in the region. Kromm’s reports have been covered by ABC News, BBC, Bloomberg News, CNN, The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, and other major media outlets. Under Kromm’s leadership, the Institute has been recognized for several prestigious honors and awards, including the George Polk Award for Magazine Reporting.

Twitter: @chriskromm

Fay Horwitt

Fay serves as the President & CEO of Forward Cities, where she oversees organizational strategy and serves as the executive lead of the ESHIP Communities initiative. In addition, Fay is a dedicated advocate for the emerging profession of ecosystem building, and as a founding member of Ecosystems Unite. Beyond her formal roles, she is a sought-after presenter, trainer, and thought leader on the topic of equitable entrepreneurial ecosystem building. Never one to be content with status quo, Fay has also recently begun addressing a new need in local communities: ecosystem healing–helping pivot ecosystems and institutions in this time of the dual COVID-19 and systemic racial injustice pandemics.

Social Media: @forward.cities (Instagram), @ForwardCities (Twitter and Facebook)

Ferrel Guillory

Ferrel Guillory recently retired as professor of the practice in the Hussman School of Journalism and Media at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In 1997, he founded the UNC Program on Public Life, which worked to bring university scholarship to bear on the public agenda and leadership in North Carolina and the South. In 2014, Guillory co-founded EducationNC, a nonprofit organization, devoted to providing North Carolina with news, research, data and policy analysis of trends and issues in preK-12 education and community colleges. Guillory is a Senior Fellow at MDC and has co-authored nine The State of the South reports since 1996. He also co-authored the book, The Carolinas: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow: An Exploration of Social and Economic Trends, 1924-1999 (Duke Press, 1999). Before academia, Guillory spent 25 years as a newspaper and magazine journalist. Guillory received a B.A. degree from Loyola University New Orleans and a M.S. degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Guillory was born in Lutcher, La., and he grew up in Baton Rouge. He lives in Raleigh with his wife, Kathleen. They have three children – and six grandchildren.

Twitter: @FerrelGuillory

Irene Godínez

Irene Godínez is a North Carolinian of Mexican heritage raised in Durham. Irene is the Founder and Executive Director of Poder NC Action, a 501(c)(4) organization that is building people power alongside young Latinxs across North Carolina. Poder leans into its cultural organizing to connect with its base and to mobilize towards independent political power that is grounded in principles, values, and love. Poder NC is pro-Black, pro-Latinx, pro-LGBTQ+, and pro-Reproductive Justice. Irene has worked for local, state, and national organizations on advancing immigrant and reproductive rights. Her work at issue-based nonprofits, coupled with her campaign experience, and leadership coaching of elected officials crystalized her mission – to build equitable political representation for underserved communities and create an intentional civic leadership pipeline for Black and Brown youth. Irene is a risk-taker for justice, office-supply junkie, recovering perfectionist, and committed to nurturing spaces that enable others to show up authentically. Irene lives and plays in Raleigh, NC with the most authentic person she has even known, her 6 year old/truth-telling daughter, Emerald.

Social Media: @PoderNCAction (Facebook and Twitter) , @poderncaction (Instagram)

Irving Joyner

Irving L. Joyner has worked as a Professor at North Carolina Central University (NCCU) School of Law since 1982. From 1984 to 1992, Joyner served as the Associate Dean of NCCU School of Law. Professor Joyner speaks regularly at legal education, civil rights, political empowerment and educational advancement programs. He provides legal counsel to several political, religious and community organizations and to individuals in civil rights and criminal appeals cases. Professor Joyner has served on several State study commissions and agencies and in leadership roles with a variety of community groups and organizations. This service includes a five-year term as the Vice-Chairperson of the 1898 Wilmington Race Riot Commission. He is also a regular legal commentator for local, state and national media primarily in the areas of law, politics, civil rights and racial justice. Along with Professor April Dawson, he co-hosts the highly acclaimed “Legal Eagle Review” which is dedicated to a discussion of current local and national legal issues and is heard each Sunday evening on WNCU 90.7 FM. Over the years, Professor Joyner has received a number of honors and awards for his work as a Professor, a Civil Rights and criminal law litigator and community and political activist.

Jessica Sperling Smokoski

Jessica Sperling, Ph.D., serves as the Lead of the Applied Research, Evaluation, & Engagement area in Duke University’s Social Science Research Institute. She is dedicated to informing and improving initiatives through responsive and collaborative research, evaluation, and research/practice partnership. At Duke, her work has focused on education, healthcare delivery, diversity/inequality, and innovation/pilot programming; this has included partnerships with entities based in Duke University, Duke Health, and community / non-profit organizations. In addition to serving as a practitioner of applied research and evaluation, she is active in teaching and capacity-building in these areas. She has taught research and evaluation methods courses and has developed and led numerous evaluation trainings serving non-profit, education, and healthcare sectors. Prior to joining SSRI, she worked in research and evaluation in higher education and non-profits in New York City. She holds a B.A. in Anthropology from Washington University in St. Louis and a Ph.D. in Sociology from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.

Johnny Lee Chapman III

Johnny Lee Chapman, III is a multi-disciplinary artist from Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina. Chapman started writing as a "Tumblr poet" during his first year at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In 2014, after graduating with a B.S. in Dental Hygiene, he leaped from page to the stage, beginning his career as a spoken word artist. Since then, he has performed regionally and nationally, and is an active voice within his Carolina community. Over the years, his professional range of activities have grown to include spoken word and movement performances, acting and directing, workshop facilitation, event hosting, and artist mentorship. Chapman also utilizes the mediums of film and photography to convey emotion without explanation under the moniker The Golden Moment.

Instagram: @thegoldenmoments 

John L.S. Simpkins

John is the President of MDC, a Durham-based non-profit focused on advancing equity and economic mobility across the South. Before coming to MDC in 2020, John held various leadership roles in efforts to promote equity, access, and inclusion at the state, national, and international level. Most recently he was Vice President of the Aspen Global Leadership Network at the Aspen Institute, where he mobilized the more than 3,000 Fellows around the world to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and its attendant economic effects. A constitutional scholar and practicing attorney, John served in the Obama Administration as deputy general counsel for the White House Office of Management and Budget and general counsel for the U.S. Agency for International Development. After leaving government service, he joined Prisma Health as an executive and led collaborative, evidence-based efforts to promote health innovation, access, and equity in South Carolina’s largest private-sector employer. While serving in this role, Simpkins facilitated community conversations throughout the Upstate on racial equity in healthcare, housing, and education. John received his AB in government from Harvard College and a JD and LLM in international and comparative law from Duke University School of Law. He is a Senior Lecturer at Duke Law School and is a member of the Liberty Fellowship, a program in the Aspen Global Leadership Network dedicated to moving South Carolina forward.

Twitter: @mdcinc Instagram: @stateofthesouth LinkedIn: mdc_3

José Alvarez

José D. Alvarez is the Vice President of Prospera North Carolina, a nonprofit focused on providing bilingual support and assistance to Hispanic entrepreneurs looking to start or expand their businesses. Prospera North Carolina is providing the state’s Latino community culturally focused and in-language business support to help increase economic opportunities through entrepreneurship. Alvarez’s current responsibilities include statewide operations, fundraising, designing programming, and managing community and government relations. A graduate of the University of Central Florida, Alvarez’s professional experience and passion during the last two decades have been focused on multicultural marketing and small business support.

Social media: 'Twitter: @ProsperaUSA, @JoseDAlvarez . Instagram: @ProsperaUSA, @JoseDAlvarez1976

Kate Pearce

Kate Pearce is the Supervisor for Dorothea Dix Park for the City of Raleigh. As the project director she is responsible for the stewardship, use and future planning of the park. Prior to joining the City she worked as both an urban planning and business management consultant. She has a bachelor's degree in Economics and an MBA from Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi and a master's degree in City and Regional Planning from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Kate is Texsippian-- Part Texan, part Mississippian but now calls Raleigh home!

Leonardo Williams

Leonardo Williams, a recently elected Councilman for the City of Durham, NC is the Chief Strategy Officer and Founder of the PHASE 3 Group, Inc., a strategic focus group that provides helpful accountability strategies effectively on Education, Small Business and Community Development matters (inactive while serving in public office). Mr. Williams possesses a broad portfolio for Education Policy, Mental Health and Business Development across North Carolina, the Southeastern Region of the United States and the Southern region of Africa. Mr. Williams and his wife Zweli Williams are the owners of the award-winning restaurant Zweli’s, the first Zimbabwean restaurant in the United States.

Twitter: @LeoforDurham

Marcus Kiser (Thursday)

Marcus Kiser’s work draws inspiration from a broad range of sources ranging from classical art to comic books and graffiti. A Charlotte native, he’s an artist and graphic designer who’s comfortable in an equally broad range of media, from studio art to books, product design and 3D printing — all distinguished by his ability to distill ideas to a striking, almost iconic image that is often dense and multilayered, yet always accessible. His work pulls from mass media and a collective urban based conscience, heavily influenced by current social and political issues. Kiser has recently done work with Jordan Brand, Adidas and is currently the Creative Director of orthopedic designs for mign inc, a company that specializes in 3D printed prosthetics and medical wearables.

Instagram: @Marcus_Kiser

Michael Williams (Thursday)

North Carolina native Michael S. Williams is a consultant and founder of the Black On Black Project, an organization that produces art exhibitions and short films that address issues affecting communities across the state. A graduate of North Carolina Central University, Williams spent 15 years working in media as a designer, writer, and community builder. He has curated more than 25 art exhibitions, produced several short films, and given scores of lectures throughout North Carolina.

Social Media: @imikewillaims (Twitter) @theblackonblackproject (Instagram)

Molly Hemstreet

Molly is Co-Executive Director for The Industrial Commons. She co-founded the organization in 2015 to support industrial workers across her region. She is a native of Morganton, NC where she continues to work and raise her family. After attending Duke University she returned home to teach in the public school system. She then worked for the Center for Participatory Change organizing economic development initiatives across rural Western NC in a response to the need for fair livelihoods. In 2008 she founded Opportunity Threads, currently the largest, US based worker-owned, cut and sew facility. She also co-founded the Carolina Textile District in 2013, a strategic value chain supporting the resurgence of textiles across the Carolinas. Molly served on the national board of the Democracy at Work Institute (DAWI) and was a founding board member of NC Employee Ownership Center (NCEOC). She loves being with her family and, when she has time, she likes to play the fiddle.

Social Media: @industrialcommons (Instagram), @theindustrialcommons (Facebook)

Nate Baker

Nate Baker has over a decade of urban and regional planning experience, including project management, comprehensive and land use planning, growth management, small area planning, zoning and subdivision regulations, inclusive community engagement, scenario planning, data analytics, and housing policy. He began his career as a planner with the City of El Paso where he managed subdivision applications and negotiated more walkable neighborhood designs. Since then, he worked as a senior planning consultant, assisting cities and counties with their comprehensive plans, small area plans, and zoning ordinance rewrite projects, and as a neighborhood and community development planner with the City of Alexandria, Virginia. As a Fulbright Research Fellow, Nate also previously worked internationally on planning initiatives, particularly in Latin America. He is active with the American Planning Association and serves on the Durham Planning Commission. Through his work, Nate seeks to help communities achieve vibrant, equitable, and sustainable growth.

Schnequa Nicole Diggs

Dr. S. Nicole Diggs is an Assistant Professor of Public Administration at North Carolina Central University where she teaches courses in the MPA core curriculum and select electives in the Urban & Regional Planning and Law & Society specialization areas. She completed her Ph.D. in Public Administration in2015 from Florida Atlantic University and holds an MPA with a specialization in Urban Research and Planning from Old Dominion University and is a proud alumna of NCCU, having earned a BBA in Finance and Marketing. Dr. Diggs’ research is informed by salient issues of inequities in interrelated policy areas: housing, planning, health, and environment. She is an advocate for social equity by examining the impact administrative actions have on perpetuating inequities, discrimination, and oppression of marginalized individuals, groups, and communities. She has a strong commitment to educate and encourage future public administrators who are furthering their education in graduate studies.

Twitter: @NicoleDiggs20

Reverend Dr. Jay Augustine

Reverend Dr. Jay Augustine serves as senior pastor of St. Joseph AME Church (Durham, NC), as a consulting faculty member at Duke Divinity School, and as a visiting professor at North Carolina Central University Law School. A national thought leader in the areas of reconciliation and social justice, he is a member of the Board of Directors of Partners Global, the Payne Center for Social Justice, and is general chaplain of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Augustine’s scholarly articles have been published in law reviews around the United States and his most recent book is Called to Reconciliation: How the Church Can Model Justice, Diversity and Inclusion (Baker Academic,2022). Augustine earned an economics degree from Howard University and served as an infantry officer in the United States Army, before earning his law degree at Tulane University. He later graduated from United Theological Seminary and earned his doctorate at Duke University.

Social Media: @jayaugustine9

Trey Roberts

Before moving to Raleigh, Trey Roberts lived in the small town of Hollister, NC, the home of the Haliwa-Saponi Tribe. All his life he grew up surrounded by his rich living culture through culture classes and his annual Spring pow wow. In his role as Community Engagement Manager at the Dix Park Conservancy, he led the creation and the organization of the 1st Annual Dix Park Inter-Tribal Pow Wow in partnership with the City of Raleigh. Outside his work in Native communities, Trey Roberts is co-founder of Raleigh Pride and serves as Entertainment Chair for the LGBT Center of Raleigh's Out! Raleigh Pride festival.

Social Media: @imtreyroberts (Twitter and Instagram)

Vice Chief Dr. Marvin Richardson

Vice Chief Dr. Marvin “Marty” Richardson is a citizen of the Haliwa-Saponi Indian Tribe of Hollister, North Carolina and has been involved in Native issues in various capacities his entire life. He is a Communication and Technical Assistant Specialist for Wopila Consulting, LLC. and brings deep experience with Native history, culture, language, education, contemporary issues, organizational planning, development, and fundraising to this role. Dr. Richardson holds a B.A. in American Indian Studies from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, a master’s in anthropology from Indiana University, and a master’s and PhD in history from UNC Chapel Hill. Dr. Richardson’s other work centers on Haliwa-Saponi cultural revitalization, including the Tutelo-Saponi Language, which began with a need to make powwow song phrases for the Stoney Creek Singers, an internationally known singing group of which he is a founding member. He is a Founding Father of Phi Sigma Nu Fraternity, Inc. He has shared his vast knowledge of tribal language, customs, history, and singing with Natives and non-Natives alike at workshops, presentations, and festivals throughout North America. He and his wife Melissa Silver Richardson both reside in Hollister, NC.

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