Developing Equity-minded Practitioners
The Racial Equity and Justice Institute (REJI) is a higher education consortium committed to identifying and implementing data-informed strategies that eliminate racial equity gaps in higher education. The work of REJI aligns powerfully with Queensborough’s Strategic Plan goals to close equity gaps in student outcomes.
Queensborough joined the REJI consortium during summer 2022 and convened a working group of diverse stakeholders from offices across the college. Participants attend a minimum of two meetings per month. One meeting is specifically for the Queensborough team and focuses on building community and the competencies of the campus team. The second meeting is with the entire REJI consortium. Each month, the REJI facilitates virtual convenings to offer information and experiences that will be useful in member campuses’ work to become equity-minded institutions. In addition to providing critical professional development, the REJI consortium meetings offer an opportunity to dialogue with other higher education professionals who are also engaged in closing equity gaps. The meetings facilitate fellowship and also information and strategy-sharing about challenges and successes.
Click here for a handbook detailing some of the successes REJI institutions have had.
Participants
Queensborough is actively recruiting its second cohort of the Racial Equity and Justice Institute. The fall semester will be dedicated to intensive professional development via campus-based and consortium-wide meetings. During winter break, REJI team members will apply what they learned during the fall and develop office-specific projects to assess and/or address equity gaps. The spring semester will be dedicated to implementation.
Cohort Two AY 2023 – 2024
Team Lead(s)
Amaris Matos, Assistant Vice President for Equity, Inclusion and Belonging
Team Member(s)
Natalie Roopchand, Associate Director, Academy Advisement
Robert Cortes, Director of College Discovery
Elizabeth Nercessian, Director of Student Success
Ivan Mak, Student Athletics Trainer
Karen Alleyne, Enrollment Coordinator
Gail Patterson, Associate Director, Academy Advisement
Belinda Delgado, Confidential Executive Officer/Title IX
Yessenia Garcia, Diversity Program Manager
Lourdes December, Administrative Coordinator
Robin Ford, Associate Professor, English
Raymond Volel, Student Life Specialist
Saji Sheerazi, Development Officer
Stephanie Guilbaud, ASAP Program Coordinator
Brian Mitra, Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management
Jennifer Klein, Student Life Manager for Student Conduct
Chanpreet Singh, Director of Counseling Center
Jeremy Manishor, Financial Aid Specialist
Pati Ramos, Director of Admissions
Francis Del Gaiso, Senior Admissions Counselor
Cohort One AY 2022 – 2023
Team Member(s)
Martha Aspromatis, Acting Human Resources Director
Lorena Castro, Math Start Program Specialist and Advisor
Stephen Di Dio, Vice President of the Division of Strategic Initiatives and Advancement
Bonnie Flaherty, Director of CUNY Start and Math Start
Robin Ford, Associate Professor, English
Yessenia Garcia, Affirmative Action Specialist, OEIB
Stephanie Guilbaud, Program Coordinator, ASAP
Jennifer Klein, Program Manager, Office of Community Standards
Elisabeth Lackner, Director of Institutional Research
Veronica Lukas, Dean of Enrollment Management
Amaris Matos, Assistant Vice President of Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
Brian Mitra, Vice President of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management
Maz Nikoui, Director of the CUNY Language Immersion Program (CLIP)
Patricia Ramos, Director of Admissions
Gisela Rivera, Director of Student Activities
Saji Sheerazi, Development Officer
Michael Verdino, Director of Academic Advisement
REJI Virtual Convenings
The REJI will host five consortium-wide virtual convenings during the 2023-2024 academic year. These meetings are open to the entire Queensborough community.
September 21, 2023, 1:00 - 2:30 PM EST
Title: Leading for Racial Equity During the Counteroffensive
This session will be facilitated by Dr. Tia McNair Brown, Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Student Success and Executive Director for the Truth and Racial Healing and Transformation Campus Centers, American Association of Colleges and Universities.
October 10, 2023, 1:00 - 2:30 PM EST
Title: Validating Students’ Presence & Abilities: Practices of Belonging & Mattering
Dr. Isis Artze-Vega, College Provost and Vice President, Academic Affairs, Valencia College & Primary Author of Norton's Guide to Equity-Minded Teaching.
Resources
Structures for Belonging: A Synthesis of Research on Belonging-Supportive Learning Environments, Student Research Network, 2021.
November 9, 2023, 1:00 - 2:30 PM EST
Title: Equity-minded Human Resources Practices
This session will be facilitated by Dr. Roman Liera, Assistant Professor, Educational Leadership, Montclair State University.
February 1, 2024, 1:00 - 2:30 PM EST
Title: Emotional Labor in Shared Equity Leadership Environments: Creating Emotionally Supportive Spaces
This session will be facilitated by Darsella Vigil, Senior Research Analyst, American Council on Education
March 21, 1:00 - 2:30 PM EST
Title: Racial Equity Policy Frameworks
This session will be facilitated by Elena Quiroz-Livanis, Chief of Staff and Assistant Commissioner for Academic Policy and Student Success and Christine Williams, Assistant Commissioner for Regulatory Affairs and Strategic Initiatives at the MA Department of Higher Education
Jinann Bitar, Director, Higher Education Research and Data Analytics; Wil Del Pilar, Senior Vice President; Victoria Jacson, Assistant Director of Higher Education Policy; Philip Martin, Director, Higher Education Policy Implementation at The Education Trust