Event will feature Dr. Andrew Jolivette, author and educational transformation expert

University of Phoenix is holding a new webinar in its Educational Equity Webinar Series, titled “Beyond Equity Narratives: Thrivance Kinship Practice for Educational Transformation,” on November 21, 2024, at 11 a.m. MDT. The event will feature Dr. Andrew Jolivette, whose extensive professional experience includes practices for building transformational diversity, education, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) programs centered on the kinship, thrivance and building lasting cultural change.

“Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging efforts are continually evolving, and we are excited to share forward leaning and innovative approaches with our community,” states Tondra Richardson, MBA, Director of Student Diversity & Inclusion. “At University of Phoenix, we are committed to exploring new strategies that go beyond traditional equity narratives. We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Jolivette, who will highlight the potential of kinship and thrivance to foster lasting cultural change.”

The upcoming discussion will explore how kinship and thrivance can help transform DEIB initiatives. By addressing socio-cultural barriers, these concepts aim to enhance programs and support lasting institutional and cultural change. Participants will learn to define and center thrivance and kinship as essential tools for driving meaningful progress within their institutions, organizations, and communities.

Dr. Jolivette is a Professor of Sociology at the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) and former Professor and Department Chair of Ethnic Studies, as well as the founding Director of Native American and Indigenous Studies at University of California San Diego (UCSD). Prior to his work at UCSB and UCSD he served as Professor and Department Chair of American Indian Studies at San Francisco State University. He is the author of 10 books (including the Lammy Award nominated, Indian Blood: HIV and Colonial Trauma in San Francisco’s Two-Spirit Community), dozens of articles, and other publications. He is the Board President of the American Indian Cultural Center of San Francisco and the Institute for Democratic Education and Culture.

Jolivette is a former Indigenous Peoples’ Representative to the United States and a consultant to the World Health Organization on COVID-19 in American Indian communities. An enrolled member of the Atakapa-Ishak Nation of Louisiana, he is his tribe's former tribal historian and is born of the Hiyekiti Ishak (Sunrise People). He is a Louisiana Creole of Atakapa-Ishak, Opelousa, Kaskaskia (Illiniwek/Illinois Confederation of Tribes), Chitimacha, Mi’Kmaq, Metis, Algonquin, Coahuiltecan, West African (Nigerian, Senegambian, Ghanaian, Cameroonian, Guinean), French, Spanish, Italian, Cajun, Mexican, Congolese, Angolan, Southern East African, Canadian, Isleño, Irish, Haitian, Portuguese, English, Scottish, and German descent.

The discussion will be hosted by Tondra Richardson, MBA, director of Student Diversity & Inclusion and Saray Lopez, MBA, director, Student Diversity & Inclusion, both with the Office of Educational Equity (OEE) at University of Phoenix. The event is part of a public series intended for educators, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) practitioners, higher education leaders and administrators, employers, nonprofit organizations, government affiliates, and University of Phoenix faculty, staff, students, and alumni across the globe.

Register for the webinar here.

Previous webinars can be accessed here.

About University of Phoenix

University of Phoenix innovates to help working adults enhance their careers and develop skills in a rapidly changing world. Flexible schedules, relevant courses, interactive learning, skills-mapped curriculum for our bachelor’s and master’s degree programs and a Career Services for Life® commitment help students more effectively pursue career and personal aspirations while balancing their busy lives. For more information, visit phoenix.edu/blog.html.

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