Event Photos and Notes

Facilitator: 

​

Dr. LaWana “Firyali” Richmond – www.firyali.com

Dr. Richmond earned degrees in Marketing at San Diego City Community College, Operations Management at SDSU, and Information Systems at National University. She earned her doctorate in Educational Leadership from CSU San Marcos and UC San Diego. Her research interests include leadership development, collaboration and strategic planning. Her love of science fiction, alternative music, and art were all instilled by her mother when she was still in grade school. Her current passion is Afrofuturism as a framework for critical thinking and to destigmatize intellectualism in the African Diaspora. 

​

Dr. Richmond is inviting her favorite three C's to come together for an immersive experience intended to fuse Afrofuturism with Strategic Planning and Action - AfroFuturism: Dream Tank 2018 her three C's are creatives, critical thinkers, and community builders. If this is you please consider submitting a proposal, portfolio, or poster in response to her call.

​

Join Dr. Richmond at an Afrofuturism Philosophy Talk on May 2, 2018 @ 6:30pm at the S.D. Public Library downtown.

​

 

Panelists:

 

Ellen Nash - ellendnash@gmail.com https://www.bapacsd.org/

Ellen Nash is a native San Diegan. She graduated from SDSU earning a degree in Public Administration and Graduate degree in Educational Leadership. She is a retired Human Resources Administrator from San Diego State University

and the UCSD - Medical Center. She serves as an Associate Minister and Pastor of Faith Tabernacle Family Worship Center.

Her current title is Chair of the San Diego Chapter of the Black American Political Association of California (BAPAC), and she also serve on several boards including:

• Helix High School Charter School

• Continuing the Conversation on Racism (CTC)

• Black Women In Leadership Development (BWILD)

She describes herself to be an evolving community advocate trying to make a difference in her community!  Thanks for the opportunity to serve!! 

 

Dr. Valita Jones – v3jones@ucsd.edu

Dr. Valita Jones serves as the Program Manager, for STEM Education Initiatives in the School of Medicine, for the Center for Investigations of Health and Education Disparities (CIHED). She holds a doctorate in Educational Leadership, 

M.A. in Postsecondary Educational Leadership and BA degrees in both Psychology and Africana Studies. Dr. Jones is an African Centered Social Scientist and Educator who studies human development and consciousness as it relates to 

engagement, cultural frameworks and conscious leadership practices. As the developer of the Conscious Leadership model, Dr. Jones is also a Research Associate at the Consciousness Quotient Institute.  Additional resources provided by Dr. Jones. 

 

Dr. Ajani Brown - aabrown@mail.sdsu.edu

Professor Ajani Brown is a double alum of SDSU earning his BA in English and MFA in Creative Writing.  He joined the Africana Studies department in 2013 where he created the Afrofuturism curriculum - the first course of 

its kind in the CSU system.   He has been on a nationwide lecture tour continuously since 2014. He has presented on the topics of comic book studies and science fiction and has been asked to speak at such events as

Comic Con International and the World Science Fiction Convention. Professor Brown is also a freelance historian and was recently featured on the Travel Channel television show, "Mysteries at the Museum." 

He would like everyone to know that his favorite superhero is Hardware from the Milestone Media/D.C. Comics universe, BUT he thinks Black Panther is cool too! 

​

Dr. Thekima Mayasa -  tmayasa@sdccd.edu

Professor Thekima Mayasa is the current Chair of the Black Studies department at Mesa College, Doctoral Candidate, SDSU Educational Leadership Department and Co-Director of San Diego Ambassadors Program.

 

Caroline Collins, MFA – cicollins@ucsd.edu

Caroline Collins is a fourth year Communication doctoral candidate at UC San Diego.  She earned her BA in American Literature from UCLA and an MFA in Creative Writing from UC Riverside.  Caroline’s research interrogates

the intersectionality of cultural memory, identity, and mediated activity.  She recently completed a collaborative student film made with Native American youth, and is currently working on several educational media activism

projects and a research based documentary.  Caroline’s dissertation project studies representations of the 19th century American west within popular culture, analyzing media, re-enactments, and edutourism sites to chart 

the production of particular understandings of ‘Americanness’ and the political stakes that this understanding entails.

 

Franklin Garrett M.A. Ed – fgarrett@ucsd.edu

Franklin serves is the Assistant Director in the Student Business Services department at UC San Diego. He has 10 years of experience in higher education in the areas of counseling, advising, student services coordination

and student account services. Franklin received his Master's in Education with an emphasis in Multicultural Counseling from San Diego State University. Franklin is an energetic, driven, and passionate individual who is

dedicated to serving the community. For the past 3 years he has served as the co-chair and chair of the Black Staff Association, and has volunteered for subcommittees on the Staff Association Board.