Western New England University is pleased to announce the upcoming Wellen Davison Seminar Series event, "Cultural Humility and Implicit Bias," to be held on Friday, April 14, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. EST.
This important seminar will feature expert speakers Cheryl Sharp, Jody Walker-Smith, and Spencer Hill, who are all attorneys with the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO). They will share their insights on issues of cultural humility and implicit bias, as well as offer strategies for addressing and combating discrimination in our communities. Advanced registration for this webinar can be found at https://bit.ly/WellenDavisonCulturalHumilityImplicitBias.
Cheryl Sharp was appointed as the Deputy Director of the State of Connecticut, Commission on Human Rights in 2014, and serves as the second in command in the oldest governmental civil rights agency in the nation. She is a certified mediator and represents CHRO in the Connecticut Safe Schools Coalition and the CT Racial Profiling Working Group. Ms. Sharp is also a trainer for the CHRO's Business Training Institute. As a member of the Commission on Racial & Ethnic Disparity in the Criminal Justice System, she is responsible for organizing the agency's education and outreach programs and reporting the outreach efforts to a nine-member Commission. Ms. Sharp was also named Woman of the Year by the Commission on Equity and Opportunity.
Jody Walker-Smith is a Human Rights Attorney with the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities. Ms. Walker-Smith is a certified mediator, member of the agency's legislative committee, and dedicated advocate on issues of race and sex-based discrimination. Ms. Walker-Smith has served as cochair of the agency's Diversity and Inclusion Committee since January 2021. In that role, she has spearheaded the agency's D&I social media content and facilitated several trainings and discussions on issues of bias, inclusion, and antiracism.
Spencer Hill works for the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities as a Human Rights Attorney specializing in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts; contract compliance and affirmative action; and the intersection of technology and discrimination. Mr. Hill received his BA from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, and hisJD from the University of Connecticut School of Law.
This event is cosponsored by the Western New England University Diversity & Inclusion Committee, the Office of the Provost, the Office of Cultural Education and Inclusion, and School of Law Diversity and Outreach Committee.
The Wellen Davison seminar series is named after former Mechanical Engineering Professor, Wellen Davison, who taught at the University's College of Engineering for 38 years. In celebration of his dedication, the University inaugurated the Wellen Davison Seminar in 1989. This seminar is now an annual professional development event designed to improve the teaching and learning environment for faculty, administration, and staff at the University.
