SYMPOSIUM PRESENTERS
AUTHOR - SPEAKER - INFLUENCER
Karen Carrington
Karen Carrington is a Talk Show Host, Author, Mental Health Advocate, recipient of the CIBWE 2017 Top 100 Black Women to Watch in Canada Award and the 2019 Susan B. Anthony iLead Woman in Leadership Award.
As an active member of Women in Film and Television, she has been featured on EverTalk T.V. in Hollywood and CTV National News for her online Talk show. The Karen Carrington Show Men's series empowering men worldwide.
Inspiring others by sharing her journey of adversity with her candid humour, relatability and authenticity, Karen Carrington's life mission is to leave the planet a better place than she found it.
GLOBAL INTERSECTIONAL EDUCATOR
Tonya Lovelace
As the President & CEO of Lovelace Consulting Services, Inc. (LCSI), I provide high-level consulting, needs assessment, facilitation, coaching, technical assistance, and training to individuals, organizations, and systems seeking social, political, and professional transformation. Put simply, I help create inclusive policies and environments, providing vital support to those frequently overlooked.
As a survivor of child sexual assault, bullying, teen dating violence, domestic violence, and anti-Blackness and the targeting of Black women in leadership, the work to end structural racism, discrimination, violence, and anti-Blackness is core to who I am.
I have spent 35 years creating supportive communities and building movements that advocate for social and civil change. Over 25 of those years have been in the nonprofit sector. As the founding CEO of the Women of Color Network, Inc., I spent 18 years supporting community-based and local nonprofits, associations, national organizations, and global corporations in improving their outreach to those on the margins of the margins.
HISTORIAN - EDUCATOR
Unoma Azuah
Unoma Azuah is a professor of English at Wiregrass Georgia Technical College, Valdosta, GA, USA. Her research and activism focus on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) rights in Nigeria. Recently, she concluded a book project on the lives of gay Nigerians entitled, Blessed Body: Secret Lives of LGBT Nigerians. and her just released memoir, Embracing My Shadow: growing up lesbian in Nigeria’ is described as quite powerful by the prestigious Ms. Magazine. In 2011 she was listed as one of the top professors at small private colleges in the United States in the online publication, Affordable/Private Colleges and Universities in the United States. Additionally, she is recognized by The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education under the topic, “Honors for Four Black Educators.” A prolific author, some of her critical essays include: “Poetry, Religion, and Empowerment in Nigerian Lesbian Self Writing,” The African Journal of Gender and Religion, vol. 25, no. 1, 2019. “Nigeria.” The Global Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender History: the history of LGBTQ, edited by Howard Chiang, Anjali Arondekar, Marc Epprecht, et al. Charles Scribner’s Sons: Gale, A Cengage Company, 2019. “Visual Activism for the African LGBT: a look at the documentary ‘Born This Way,’” A Journal of African Literature Today: 36, Queer Theory in African Fiction and Film, 2018. “Celebrating Area Scatter, the drag Queen that Transgressed Gender Roles in South-East Nigeria,” in Reclaiming Afrikan: Queer Perspectives on Sexual and Gender Identities, edited by Zethu Matebeni, Modjaji Books, 2014. “The Video Closet: Nollywood’s Gay-Themed Movies,” Transition, vol. 106, no. 1, 2012. “Extortion and Blackmail of Nigerian Lesbians and Bisexual Women,” in Nowhere to Turn: Blackmail and Extortion of LGBT People in Sub-Saharan Africa, edited by Ryan Thoreson & Sam Cook, International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, 2011.
CONSULTANT - AUTHOR - ACTIVIST
Rus Ervin Funk
There are a lot of people who can speak eloquently about the need to engage men and boys, promote equity and inclusion in the workplace, prevent violence in your community… I offer you specialized training and technical assistance that help you do what it is you want to do. I can offer a view of what it is, but more effectively, I can help you create a plan on how to get there!
In my efforts, I help you develop a strategic plan, increase your confidence and skills, examine your organizational structure and culture, and develop the resource streams to help sustain your efforts.
I offer services in three areas: engaging men and boys (supporting social services, community-based agencies, and others to effectively reach out to and connect with men and boys), violence prevention, and equity and diversity.
I offer these services, by providing training, ongoing technical assistance and policy review.
EDUCATOR - INDIGENOUS SINGER
Greg Grey Cloud
Greg Grey Cloud, is a cofounder of Wica Agli “To Return A Man”, a native men against domestic and sexual abuse non profit located on the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. Grey Cloud and his team focus on educating young men and boys on traditional roles to helping develop healthy leadership and equal relationships. For the past 5 years, his organization has partnered directly with the local domestic violence shelter to help provide and promote healthy dynamics between men and women.
Grey Cloud also helped develop culturally specific healthy masculinity (CSHM) teachings for boys from grades 6-12 ages 10-18. Also a more in depth (CSHM)in a 26 week course for men above 18 who have been convicted of domestic violence. Grey Cloud actively promotes the prevention of violence against women and works diligently to end violent crime in his community.
YOUTH THEATER
First Generation - Youth Peformance Theater
First Generation brings together young adults ages 15-22 who identify as "first generation,” for intensive artistic training, leadership development, and inter-generational mentoring. Forming an artistic ensemble, members create original multi-lingual physical theater performances based on their conversations and discoveries with a focus on social justice.
First Generation members may be the first in their family to grow up in the United States, the first to speak English, to graduate high school, go to college, to be openly LGBT+, be an activist, a feminist, or many other firsts. Participants include youth recently arrived in this country and youth who are court-involved. First Generation Ensemble trains with professional artists, college, and graduate students. Community elders participate in our creative process by sharing their experiences and perspectives. We support each other, build on our strengths, cultivate ambition, and become leaders who build enduring, intercultural networks.
In First Generation, we talk about the complexity of embracing individuality while honoring one’s family and community cultures. The Ensemble creates compelling, high-quality performances that engage the public in dialog about social, cultural, and generational issues. Our performances also invite audiences to celebrate our humanity and our connection through the arts.
The work of First Generation is rooted in our belief that our cultural legacies and family histories are sources of strength as well as struggle, as we shape our own lives, our communities, and our futures.
NAMEN Board Member
Alan Heisterkamp
Alan Heisterkamp, Ed.D., Director, Center for Violence Prevention and Governor’s Office on Bullying Prevention at the University of Northern Iowa.
The Center for Violence Prevention was launched in January 2011 through a public/private partnership between the University of Northern Iowa, the Iowa Department of Public Health, Verizon, and the Waitt Institute for Violence Prevention.
From 2007-2011, Dr. Heisterkamp served as a consultant with the Waitt Institute for Violence Prevention to lead a four year study on a multi-level, multi-systemic approach to prevention (The Sioux City Project). Alan was the education consultant on the award-winning film documentary, BULLY, and facilitated the pilot research on Coaching Boys Into Men™.
Today, Dr. Heisterkamp and the Center for Violence Prevention train and educate schools and community organizations in gender violence and bullying prevention strategies implementing a leadership and active bystander approach designed by the Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) Strategies model.
He holds a BA degree in mathematics secondary education, a master’s degree in educational psychology and counseling and a doctorate degree in secondary school administration.
PANELISTS
State of the Field - Panelists
Moderator:
Aapta Garg
Aapta Garg is a Senior Program Officer with Promundo supporting programmatic initiatives across the organization’s thematic areas. She focuses primarily on Promundo’s programs in Latin America and the Caribbean managing multiple programs and initiatives to integrate gender-transformative approaches to advance gender equality and prevent violence. In her role as Program Officer, she designs programming and curricula, facilitates capacity-building trainings, monitors and evaluates programmatic impacts, and coordinates multi-stakeholder projects. Aapta also manages several programs around fatherhood, caregiving, violence prevention, and building capacity of local grassroots organizations and activists. She also serves as the technical co-coordinator of the MenCare Campaign.
Women’s Roundtable: on December 2nd
Amanda Capitummino
Amanda Capitummino, MPH, CHES, is the Communications and Evaluation Specialist in the prevention department at Sitkans Against Family Violence in Sitka, Alaska. A large part of her work is engaging men and boys in violence prevention through programming and strategic communications planning at both the local and statewide level. She started this work in 2016 and since then, it has become a passion to uplift counter stories of masculinity so that all men and boys can be free and safe to be their true selves.
Cynthia Roberts. RICADV
Cynthis Roberts, PhD is the evaluator with the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence where, among other things, she has developed the evaluation method for the 10 Men Project.
Erin Leigh
Erin Leigh is the Executive Director of the Ottawa Coalition to End Violence Against Women (OCTEVAW). She has a long history of working on intersectional feminist issues locally, nationally and internationally. She is also the founder of Ladyfest Ottawa’s Rock Camp for Girls and creator and co-founding member of the Bourses Tontine Awards of Ottawa-Gatineau, a micro-grant for women and gender diverse people engaged in creative community projects.
Prax Li
Prax (Tian-Hui) Li immigrated to Canada with their family in 2005. Since then, they have been no stranger to otherness. They graduated with a degree in biomedical sciences minoring in anthropology, but decided to center people in their professional life rather than cell cultures. They applied their knowledge and skills in the child welfare system working with high- and multi-risk youths. They interacted with a diversity of masculine expressions trying to orient themselves within patriarchy as both perpetrator and victim, and often saw first-hand the aftermath of gendered violence in an intersection of class, race and disability. In 2019, they became employed with the Centre for Sexuality, a non-profit organisation dedicated to providing evidence-informed non-judgemental sexual and reproductive health programs and services, as a facilitator for WiseGuyz.
Shelley Serdahely
Shelley served as ED of Men Stopping Violence from 2002 to 2012 and came out of retirement in 2018 to step into the role of Interim Executive Director. As the ED, she founded the Because We Have Daughters and Because We Are Family programs. Over the years, Shelley led the organization in the expansion of its prevention work, including the recruitment and engagement of many community allies. She was faculty on a two-week training tour for government agencies in Taiwan considering creating domestic violence laws in that country. She received an invitation by the Home Office of Great Britain to explore best practices in working with men to end violence against women, as well as an invitation to the Obama White House, and another to VP Biden’s residence.
Men’s Roundtable on December 9th
(this is a follow up session to the Symposium, see NAMEN website for details)
Emiliano Diaz de Leon
After more than a decade of experience working for several domestic and sexual violence centers across Texas, Emiliano joined the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault in 2008, where he provides training and technical assistance on victim advocacy and prevention of sexual violence to SAPCS-PHHS Block Grant grantees around the state. In addition, Emiliano provides training and technical assistance on enhancing services to male survivors of sexual violence to individuals and organizations in Texas and around the count
Jeremiah Levin
Jeremiah Levine (he/him) is a sexual health educator, WiseGuyz facilitator, and a volunteer with Men Edmonton. Jeremiah has a Bachelor's Degree with Distinction in Philosophy and Women's and Gender Studies from the University of Alberta.
Pheng Thao
Pheng Thao, MLS, MA has been actively building the Southeast Asian community for the last 15 years as a visible pioneer developing new concepts of masculine expressions and male practices. He believes that creating healthy and healing connections and interconnections for men and masculine folks are necessary to transform their relationships with women, girls, LGBTQ/gender non-conforming folks and not limit boys and men’s full potential. He coordinates the statewide engagement of the Men and Masculine Folks Network, a collaborative network of many community organizations, community groups and individuals across Minnesota. Pheng is the founder and Executive Director of ManForward, a national Southeast Asian men and masculine grass-roots group that uses community organizing to activate men, boys and masculine folks to practice new forms and concepts of masculinity and manhood.. Lastly, he serves as a trustee on the MN Women’s Foundation; is a 2018 Bush Leadership Fellow; and 2019 Rockwood Leadership Institute - Leading from the Inside Out Fellow.
Shan Foster
Shan Foster is the Vice President of External Affairs & AMEND Together at YWCA Nashville & Middle Tennessee. AMEND Together is an initiative that engages men and boys to end violence against women and girls. He recruits, educates, and equips men and boys to serve as advocates for violence prevention and cultural change. Described as an enthusiastic leader, gifted public speaker, and skilled facilitator. He is a frequent speaker before national and international corporations, regional and national conferences, local and state government entities, and collegiate and national sports programs, including the National Football League and Major League Soccer.
Toby Frasier
Toby Frasier is the Manager for Community Education at Lutheran Settlement House (LSH). He comes to this work through non-violent direct action based activism, and has been a part of the movement to end Intimate Partner Violence for the past 10 years. His work has ranged from doing workshops with youth about the roots of violence and social change, to training professionals on concrete skills such as screening, safety planning and supporting survivors.