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Dr. Carlos E. Cortés,
Professor Emeritus of History at the University of California, Riverside

Dr. Carlos E. Cortés is Professor Emeritus of History at the University of California, Riverside. Since 1990 he has served on the summer faculty of the Harvard Institutes for Higher Education, since 1995 has served on the faculty of the Summer Institute for Intercultural Communication, and since 1999 has been an adjunct faculty member of the Federal Executive Institute. His recent books include The Children Are Watching: How the Media Teach about Diversity and The Making — and Remaking — of a Multiculturalist, published by Teachers College Press. He is co-author of the Houghton Mifflin Social Studies series, senior consultant for the McDougal Littell World History series, and Creative/Cultural Advisor for Nickelodeon’s Peabody-award-winning children’s television series, “Dora the Explorer,” and its sequel, “Go, Diego, Go!,” for which he received the 2009 NAACP Image Award. He also performs his one-person autobiographical play, A Conversation with Alana: One Boy’s Multicultural Rite of Passage. A consultant to many government agencies, school systems, universities, mass media, private businesses, and other organizations, Cortés has lectured widely throughout the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and Australia on the implications of diversity for education, government, private business, and the mass media.

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CeCe Ridder, Director of Student Life for the McCombs School of Business

CeCe has worked for The University of Texas at Austin for twelve years. She is currently the Director of Student Life at the McCombs School of Business, Undergraduate Program. Her position encompasses admissions, student organizations, scholarships, leadership and special events. CeCe’s home state is Nebraska, and she earned a bachelor’s degree from Nebraska Wesleyan in Interpersonal Communications, with a Public Relations focus. She has a Master’s Degree in College Student Personnel from Kansas State University and is pursuing a PhD in Educational Administration from UT. She is passionate about student development, leadership, multiracial college students and retention. CeCe is also a lead facilitator with LeaderShape.

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Jessica Pettitt, CAMPUSPEAK

Referred to as the “Margaret Cho” of Diversity Trainers, Jessica Pettitt blends politics, humor, identity, and local flair with big city passion and energy through direct, individualized, and interactive conversations. Her workshops, seminars, and keynotes don’t just leave participants invigorated but inspired and motivated to follow through with action to create change. Having traveled and lived in a variety of communities and environments all over the world, while also engaging with education as student, teacher, administrator, and active community member, Jessica uses her take on life to lead participants through a safe but confrontational process of examination, self reflection, and open dialog that is as challenging as it is rewarding.

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Cindy Royal, Assistant Professor Texas State University

Cindy Royal is an assistant professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Texas State University in San Marcos. She completed Ph.D. studies in Journalism and Mass Communication at The University of Texas at Austin in May 2005. At UT, she focused on the effects of the Internet on communication and culture. Her dissertation, entitled Gendered Spaces and Digital Discourse: Framing Women’s Relationship with the Internet, dealt with the ways women’s media and Web sites represent women’s usage of the Internet. Prior to doctoral studies, Dr. Royal had a career in Marketing at Compaq Computer (now part of Hewlett Packard) in Houston, TX and NCR Corporation in Dayton, OH. She has a Master of Business Administration from the University of Richmond and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Additional detail regarding her research, education and experience can be found throughout this site. She hosts a music blog at onthatnote.com and a tech blog at cindytech.wordpress.com.

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Kate Klingensmith, Director of Research for Inigral

Kate Klingensmith is Director of Research for Inigral, a San Francisco-based education startup company. With a degree in Cognitive Science and four years experience with teaching high school biology and physics, Kate has a strong interest in college matriculation, technology integration in the classroom, and student engagement. Her blog, Once a Teacher, is a record of her quest to research and collaborate with others to find ways of incorporating web 2.0 tools into both education and administration.

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Whitney McGinnis, Campus Liaison for Emporia State University

Whitney attends Emporia State University and is pursuing her master’s degree in school counseling. She recently graduated from Emporia State University with a bachelor’s degree in integrated studies and minors in leadership and coaching.

As an undergraduate, Whitney was very involved on campus, both in and out of the classroom. She served as Treasurer of Chi Omega for 2 years, and served as the Associated Student Government’s Fiscal Affairs chair for 3 years. She worked as a student assistant in the Business Administration and Education Department. She interned with LEAD (Leadership Education and Development) and Greek Life her senior year, which expanded her interest in working in student affairs.

Whitney will be serving as the Graduate Assistant for Student Leadership Development at Emporia State. She will be an advisor for the Associated Student Government and will work with all the recognized student organizations on campus to teach them how to use OrgSync and show them how OrgSync can be used to their fullest advantage!

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Ashley Noel, Campus Liaison for the University of Wisconsin at Stout

Ashley is originally from Green Bay, Wisconsin. She is a junior at the University of Wisconsin @ Stout and is majoring in retail merchandising and management, with concentrations in fashion marketing and buying and a business minor. Outside of academics, Ashley spends much of her time with her sorority, Alpha Phi. In addition, she holds an on-campus position as Student Coordinator for OrgSync. Ashley also currently volunteers at the Humane Society.

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Cody Olsen, Campus Liaison for Dixie State College

Cody is originally from Salt Lake City, Utah, but now lives in the beautiful southern area of Utah. He is a junior at Dixie State College pursuing a degree in psychology. Cody has a great interest in technology and the ways it has changed all aspects of society. His goal is to learn more about coupling the psychological aspects of technology with education to create better learning and teaching tools. Currently, Cody is the Multimedia Manager for Student Government at Dixie State. This position offers him the opportunity to work with many different organizations on campus. Cody is also the webmaster of the Student Association website and social media pages.

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Angelica Quicksey, Campus Liaison for Claremont McKenna College

Angelica is a student at Claremont McKenna College (CMC) pursuing a degree in history. She is a marketing director for STAND, the Student-led Branch of Genocide Intervention Network; on the student advisory committee for the Center for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights; and a member of the 5C Peace & Justice. Last year, she helped design the Kravis Prize Website for the Kravis Leadership Institute and attended the Prize Ceremony at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York for her contribution to the website. Angelica’s experience from her first design project intrigued her about the power and prevalence of web-based media. Previously, her interest focused primarily on print media; however, now she works on various web-related projects including the Seattle-based Puget Sound-Off, a site created to foster the civic involvement and voice of local youth.

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LaRoun Tolbert, Campus Liaison for Bowling Green State University

LaRoun is a sophomore from Detroit, Michigan at Bowling Green State University. He is majoring in marketing and minoring in management. He was recently the vice president of his resident hall where he was able to gain experience planning programs and public speaking. In November of 2008, LaRoun was became a founder of the Zeta Lambda chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon and now serves on the executive board as the New Member Educator. He is also a part of the public relations committee of Project Excellence, a peer mentoring organization. He was also selected to participate in the Bowling Green State University Leaders in Residence program and received the Excellence in Leadership award. In June 2009, LaRoun participated and graduated from the Charles R. Walgreen Leadership Academy. He is a very dedicated person and is always up for a challenge. LaRoun lives for passion and embraces courage whenever possible. His goals in life are to obtain a career that he loves, change the world, and help everyone he possibly can.

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