This 5-session virtual series, offered at no charge each fall and spring, is led by leading experts in diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-oppression. It is a space of learning, growth, and connection exclusively for trustees of New Jersey Arts organizations.

We strongly encourage participation from two trustees per organization. Ideally, at least one trustee from each organization will be an officer of the board.

Registration for the fall 2024 Cohort will be coming soon!

This program is made possible by support from the Grunin Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Fall Session, 2024

Each interactive session will take place online. Most sessions are 2 hours and 10 minutes long, allowing deep dives into content, discussion, and cohort reflection and connection. The one-hour kick off session lays the groundwork and offers the chance for the cohort to learn more about themselves and each other.

Participants are required to attend all five sessions. We also encourage participants to also attend the in-person Creating Change Summit on October 23, 2024 in Red Bank, NJ.

Wednesday, September 25, 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM

Kick-Off Session: Laying the Groundwork and Building Community

Led by Erica Nagel and Donna Walker-Kuhne

Wednesday, October 2, 8:50 AM – 11:00 AM

Moral Leadership and Your Role as a Board Member

Led by Dr. Tobie Stein and Toni Yuille Williams

Wednesday, October 18, 8:50 AM – 11:00 AM

Language, History, and Bias: How did we get here and what are we up against?

Led by Dr. Durell Cooper with special guest Rev. Ashley Lipscomb

Wednesday, November 20, 9:20 – 10:30 PM

It’s Not Just Programming: The Importance of HR and Internal Policies

Led by Diane Parker

Tuesday, December 3, 8:50 AM – 11:00 AM

Envisioning the Anti-Oppressive Future We Want

Led by Elizabeth Murphy

*Suggested attendance* October 23, 9:30 AM – 5:00 PM

Creating Change 2024: Disrupt, Engage, Imagine

Keynote Experiences by Sofiya Cheyanne and Cassandra Lam

In-person at the Count Basie Center for the Arts, Red Bank, NJ

Facilitators

Dr. Durell Cooper

Dr. Durell Cooper is one of the nation’s leading cultural strategists and is the Founder and CEO of Cultural Innovation Group, a boutique consulting agency specializing in systems change and collaborative thought leadership. He is also the creator and host of the web series Flow and the podcast Fluency w/ Dr. Durell Cooper; an adjunct instructor at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, New York University, and The City College of New York. Durell completed the Impact Program for Arts Leaders (IPAL) at Stanford University in 2018. He is a member of the Diversity Scholars Network at the National Center for Institutional Diversity, University of Michigan. Durell earned a B.F.A from Southern Methodist University, and both an M.A & Doctorate of Education from New York University. At NYU SPS, he teaches courses in the Certificate in Arts Management at the Center for Applied Liberal Arts.

Ashley Y. Lipscombe, MT, M.Div

Ashley Y. Lipscomb is the CEO of the Institute for Anti-Racist Education. After working as a teacher for five years and serving as a youth minister for eight years, Ashley has developed specialized interventions for her students, contributing to her success as an information literacy and language arts teacher at Frelinghuysen Middle School in Morristown, NJ. A graduate of Hampton University (BA English and Master in Teaching), Harvard Divinity School (MDiv) and Montclair State University (Certificate in Supervision), Ashley provides DEI consulting to students in the Diversity and Inclusion Management Course at the Harvard Extension School. Currently, her research uses a womanist methodology to center her story as a child of adjudicated parents and a Black woman from an urban community impacted by the racial implications of policies and laws, like mass incarceration, and analyze the effects they have on the emotional, spiritual, physical, social, political, and economic growth and development of the individual. Utilizing her research, she has created a unique framework to address the systemic racism that is deeply embedded in pedagogical practices and colonized curriculums which impedes the most vulnerable populations of students from flourishing.

Elizabeth Murphy

Elizabeth Murphy is the founder and CEO of Rathu Consulting. She partners with philanthropic and charitable organizations as a strategist providing short and long-term strategic advising and planning for Boards and executive staff as they meet the challenges of leading their organizations during times of growth, crises, or turnaround. Elizabeth has also served as the executive director for the American Liver Foundation Mid-Atlantic Chapter and as a Creative Producer for professional theatre companies. She has produced over 125 theatrical productions throughout New York City, New Jersey, Belfast, Dublin, London, Edinburgh, and Australia. Elizabeth holds dual citizenship – Irish and American, and from 2008 to 2012 she lived and worked in Ireland. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Mary’s College/University of Notre Dame, and holds executive education certificates from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business—Executive Education Program for Nonprofit Leaders, and Rutgers University’s Leadership Coaching for Organizational Performance.

Diane L. Parker

Diane L. Parker is Head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at PGIM FIxed Income. A media industry veteran with over two decades of experience, she is a proven leader in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Strategy and Human Resource Management. Diane has expertise in creating strategies and managing talent acquisition, retention, employee experience, and partnering with content creators with a primary focus on integrating DE&I goals to align with corporate mission and values. Previously, Diane was the Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Dotdash Meredith, the number one magazine publisher in the U.S., and the Director of Staffing and Global DE&I at the Associated Press (AP), the largest nonprofit global news organization, for 20 years where she developed strategies and solutions for talent acquisition, learning and development, retention, succession planning, and the employee experience. Diane is the co-founder and executive director of the New Jersey Creative Arts Collaborative and a board member of the American Theatre Group and New Jersey Theatre Alliance.

Dr. Tobie Stein

Professor Stein holds a PhD in Sociology from the City University of New York and an MFA in Performing Arts Management from Brooklyn College. Her program in performing arts management has been profiled in Drama Biz Magazine and American Theatre Magazine. Before joining the faculty at Brooklyn College, Professor Stein created and directed a certificate program in nonprofit management and communications at the Center for Advanced Study in Education of the Graduate School of the City University of New York. Her articles on workforce development have appeared in the Journal of Arts Management, Law and Society, and the Wall Street Journal’s National Business Employment Weekly.

Tobie S. Stein is the author of four books: Boston’s Colonial Theatre: Celebrating a Century of Theatrical Vision (2000) and Workforce Transitions from the Profit to the Nonprofit Sector (2002). Her textbook, Performing Arts Management: A Handbook of Professional Practices (2008), can be ordered at Amazon.com HERE, and her most recent book, Leadership in the Performing Arts (2016), with a foreword by Robert L. Lynch, President, Americans for the Arts, can be ordered at Amazon.com HERE.

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Toni Yuille Williams

Ms.Williams is the former director of Public Affairs, Government Relations for the Con Edison Company of New York, Inc. where she developed the strategic direction for the Brooklyn Public Affairs Department. The ultimate multi-tasker and the recipient of hundreds of awards, Toni serves on the boards of the Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation, Brooklyn Alliance, Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, The Brooklyn Arts Council, Brooklyn Information and Culture, Children’s Defense Fund, New York City Technical College Foundation Board and The Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College. She was also appointed to the Mayor’s Panel on the Role of Brooklyn in the 19th Century Abolitionist Movement. She is a member of the Brooklyn Chapter of the Links where she serves as First Vice President and she is the former First Vice President of Jack & Jill of America-Brooklyn Chapter. Toni graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst and completed a graduate degree in Health Services Administration from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. She is an Adjunct Professor at St. Francis College. Toni is a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Art.

REGISTRATION COMING SOON

Registration Deadline: September 20, 2024

Testimonials

“Each session was incredibly valuable in its own way. Personally, I also felt myself evolve quite a bit as they went on, and plan to share some ideas with fellow board members.”

“Presenters were EXCELLENT. The format worked with frequent opportunities to share and listen.”

“This is probably the best diversity awareness training program I’ve attended!!”

“Thank you for offering this forum to hold this incredible conversation and connecting with others in the same field.”

“I’ve been studying race, racism, bigotry and hate since high school. It’s a large part of what motivated me to a (so far) 42-year career in journalism. Still, with all I have read, reported on, learned through interviews with those impacted, and witnessed, this series of seminars was enlightening in a whole new way. Although I was aware of much of what was presented, the series gave me the opportunity to dive much deeper into DEI from the vantage point of effecting change from within an organization. Thank you for the opportunity to take part.”

About the Creating Change Network

The Creating Change Network is a program of New Jersey Theatre Alliance in partnership with ArtPride New Jersey, with a mission to build a more equitable, just, accessible, and anti-racist arts community in New Jersey.

Guided by a steering committee of arts professionals and social justice leaders, the Creating Change Network offers ongoing opportunities for learning and collaboration to move the arts sector forward. The Creating Change Network is committed to the long-term endeavor of shifting culture, empowering leaders, sharing strategies, ensuring accountability, and sustaining hope so that individuals and organizations can progress in this work.

The activities of the Creating Change network are supported by the Grunin Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.