CEHHS DEI Summit

Facilitator | “You Can Teach That!”: A K-13 Toolkit for Navigating Divisive Concepts

Ashlee Anderson is a clinical associate professor within the Department of Theory and Practice in Teacher Education at the University of Tennessee. She teaches courses in the Cultural Studies in Education doctoral and master’s degree programs, and she coordinates the Social Justice Education graduate certificate. Her primary research interests are foundations of education/sociology of education, teacher education/teacher development, qualitative research methodologies, education policy and reform, international education, equity and social justice, and cultural studies in education.

Facilitator | “You Can Teach That!”: A K-13 Toolkit for Navigating Divisive Concepts

Francheska D. Starks, PhD is an Assistant Professor in the department of Theory and Practice in Teacher Education, College of Education, Health and Human sciences at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Her research focuses on centering marginalized perspectives in education and educational research. She examines teachers’ pedagogies that support culturally and linguistically diverse learners. She uses asset and strengths-based pedagogies to enhance and develop in-service and pre-service educator practices.

Facilitator | “You Can Teach That!”: A K-13 Toolkit for Navigating Divisive Concepts

Susan Groenke, PhD is Professor of English Education in the Department of Theory and Practice in Teacher Education. Groenke also directs the Center for Children’s and Young Adult Literature on the UT Knoxville campus, and the PhD program in Children’s and Young Adult Literature. Groenke teaches courses on secondary English teaching and children’s and adolescent literature and advises students in both the English Education and Children’s and Young Adult Literature programs. Groenke’s publications on secondary English teaching and adolescent reading motivation can be found in such journals as Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, Review of Research in Education, and English Education.

Facilitator | “You Can Teach That!”: A K-13 Toolkit for Navigating Divisive Concepts

Cammie Jo Lawton is a doctoral candidate and Graduate Teaching Associate in the Literacy Studies program with a specialization in Children’s and Young Adult Literature. Her research interests focus on the connections between young adult literature and readers’ identity formation. Prior to enrolling at UTK, Cammie taught amazing High School English students in Knox County.

Facilitator | “You Can Teach That!”: A K-13 Toolkit for Navigating Divisive Concepts

Kelly Wallace is an Assistant Clinical Professor in Theory and Practice in Teacher Education. She teaches undergraduate and master’s level courses in English and ELL Education. Her teaching and research focus is on Cultural Relevant Pedagogy, Critical Teacher Reflection, and teaching Multicultural texts in the 6-12 classroom. Wallace also coordinates her students’ clinical placements and oversees their internship experiences in local schools.

Presenter | The Power of Language: Telling Your Story with Equity & Inclusion

Doug Edlund serves as Director of Marketing and Communications. His areas of expertise include video production, marketing, media relations, emerging technology, social media strategy, and podcast production. He joined CEHHS in 2021, after 22 years with the UT Institute of Agriculture as Assistant Director. Doug also worked at WBIR-TV in Knoxville for twelve years where he covered a number of national stories as a photojournalist including the Oklahoma City bombing and John Glenn’s return to space. His work has been used in international news workshops in more than forty countries and in TV news classes at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Presenter | The Power of Language: Telling Your Story with Equity & Inclusion

Dorian McCoy serves as the UT Knoxville College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences’ (CEHHS) Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. He is also an associate professor in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. As part of his responsibilities, Dorian implements the college’s diversity action plan, fostering an inclusive college environment for students, staff, faculty, and administrators.

Presenter | Navigating DEI During Contemporary Times

Matthew Best is the Executive Director of the Change Center, a nonprofit in East Knoxville that provides first-job opportunities for high school students and serves as a safe space for youth and young adults to find fun and recreation. Matthew began his career with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at the University of Tennessee after graduating from UT with a degree in Journalism and Electronic Media. After seven years, he joined Emerald Youth Foundation, where he primarily served high schoolers in East Knoxville. Matthew then became the director of Johnson University’s Future of Hope Institute, a youth theology program that helps high school students explore the intersection of faith and justice. Matthew also served as Johnson’s first director of Multicultural Student Affairs and completed a master’s program there. Whether he’s coaching, mentoring young men, or raising support for local schools, Matthew is an active member of his community. He is a native of Memphis, Tennessee, an avid sports fan, a former UT track and field athlete, a lover of the arts, and he feels beyond blessed to share his life with his brilliant and dynamic wife, Yona Best.

Panelist | Navigating DEI During Contemporary Times

Liliana Burbano Bonilla is the inaugural Director for Community Health Equity at the University of Tennessee Medical Center. She is a Colombia native with over a decade of experience in public health with a strong focus on health disparities and equity. Before moving to the United States, Liliana worked as a communications and social marketing consultant for the United Nations System to prevent and eliminate child labor in Colombia. As a Sociologist, Liliana has developed an expansive vision of social issues, their root causes, and how to address them strategically.

Panelist | Navigating DEI During Contemporary Times

Patrick R. Grzanka (he | him) is Professor of Psychology and Chair of the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Interdisciplinary Program at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He is an applied social issues researcher who uses tools from psychology, sociology, and science and technology studies to explore complex forms of inequality at the nexus of race, gender, and sexuality. He is President-Elect of the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues and is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association. Terminally undisciplined, he holds a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland in American Studies.

Moderator | Navigating DEI During Contemporary Times

Jennifer Jabson Tree (she/hers) is an Associate Professor in the department of public health. Jennifer’s research interests are broadly in LGBT health and wellness. This includes documenting and addressing LGBT health disparities, and implementing evidence-based programs that can improve health and wellness for LGBT people. Jennifer is also committed to work in diversity, equity and inclusion. In this area she teaches courses in systems of oppression, has co-facilitated the Equity, Inclusion, and Justice Summer Institute, and is the current CEHHS DEI faculty fellow. In her free time she loves drinking coffee, traveling to any body of water or beach, walking her dogs (Wesley, Timone, and Rudy), riding her peloton, and cooking big for friends.

Panelist | Navigating DEI During Contemporary Times

Ling Zhao, PhD is a Professor in Biomedical Nutrition Science Concentration of Nutrition at the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences. She joined UT as an Assistant Professor in 2009. Zhao teaches Nutrition Science and mentors undergraduate and graduate students in Nutrition Science research and provides service to the university and her profession. Since 2020, Zhao has become a voice for Chinese heritage faculty and Asian American community. She is one of the founding members of the Commission For Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (CFAAPI), which launched in the fall of 2022 on the UT campus. Currently, she is a co-chair of CFAAPI.

Presenter | Engaging in Cultural Humility: Partnership with Nonprofits

Katie Armendarez- Willocks is the granddaughter of Mexican immigrants and a Knoxville native. She has been the Director of Development at Centro Hispano since 2021. She has over 10 years of experience in non-profits, largely working with refugees and immigrants. Katie graduated from the University of Tennessee on the Dean’s list with degrees in Anthropology, Hispanic Studies and Africana Studies. She is a committee member of the Association for Fundraising Professionals IDEA (DEI) initiative and a current student of Leadership Knoxville’s Intro Knoxville program, class of 2023.

Presenter | Engaging in Cultural Humility: Partnership with Nonprofits

Claudia Caballero is a Latina leader who believes that diverse, thriving communities can change the world. As President & CEO of Centro Hispano de East Tennessee, she has grown the organization’s annual budget and staff tenfold in six years, and she now leads a dynamic, multicultural team working to empower our area’s Latino communities. Claudia is passionate about mentoring young Latinos, gathering and lifting up young women, and cultivating personal style through the art of thrifting. She will receive her MBA at Vanderbilt University in May 2023.