The topic of this month’s episode of THE Conversation is “Racism and Trauma”.

This month’s panelists are Dr. Donna Jackson and Dr. Alex Pieterse. 
Sandra Faimain-Silva also appears on the program.

Ms. Scott Price is the COO of Mizar Imaging in Woods Hole and Vice Chair of the Falmouth Select Board. 

The Rev. Mebane is the rector of Falmouth’s St. Barnabas’s Episcopal Church.

The discussion focuses on the questions: “What is Internalized Racism and what causes it? and “How do you overcome it or live with it?

Dr. Donna Jackson is a Clinical Psychologist with a private practice in Falmouth and Mashpee. Her child/adolescent internship training at the Institute of Living in Hartford, and subsequent postdoc at the Manchester CT Child Guidance Center, has helped her to take a developmental look at how childhood trauma and resilience affects later adult mental health. She has had a life-long interest in issues of race and gender as well as the impact this has for people realizing interconnectivity, belonging, and accountability.

Dr. Alex Pieterse an Associate Professor of Counseling Psychology in the Department of Counseling, Educational and Developmental Psychology at Boston College. He received his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University. Dr.Pieterse’s scholarship focuses on psychosocial aspects of race and racism, racial trauma, and anti-racism training and self-awareness. He is a prior recipient of a NIH – Health Disparities Grant. Dr Pieterse is currently an Associate Editor for The Counseling Psychologist. Dr. Pieterse is a Licensed Psychologist and has experience as a Racial Diversity Consultant.

The discussion focuses on the questions:

“How does racism impact decisions about the status of those seeking asylum in the United States?” and “What is required to ensure decisions on asylees are race-neutral?”

Ms. Scott Price is the COO of Mizar Imaging in Woods Hole and Vice Chair of the Falmouth Select Board. 
The Rev. Mebane is the rector of Falmouth’s St. Barnabas’s Episcopal Church.

This month’s panelists are Robert Thieler and David Welch. Bette Hecox-Lea and Kirstin Meyer-Kaiser also appear on the program.

The discussion focuses on the questions: “What role does racism play in efforts to address the climate crisis?” and “What steps are necessary to ensure environmental justice?”

Dr. David Mark Welch, Senior Scientist and Director of the Josephine Bay Paul Center at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), is an evolutionary biologist with a background in biochemistry and molecular biology.  His research spans processes of metazoan genome evolution to how rare and unknown microbes shape ecosystems and is united by an overarching interest in the molecular mechanisms by which natural selection and evolutionary history create biological diversity. He led the development of the bioinformatics tools necessary to analyze the first massively-parallel tag sequence datasets that demonstrated the existence of a “rare biosphere” of microbial taxa and leads the teams developing the Visualization and Analysis of Microbial Population Structures project. He co-chairs (with Cathy Pfister at UChicago) The Microbiome Center, an intellectual home for researchers across the University of Chicago, the Marine Biological Laboratory, and Argonne National Laboratory to advance understanding of the identity and function of microbes. As Director of the Bay Paul Center, he also oversees the development of bioinformatic resources for the Encyclopedia of Life. Dr. Welch earned his B.A. in Biology from Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Harvard University.

Dr. Rob Thieler is the Center Director of the U.S. Geological Survey's Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center in Woods Hole. Rob received his B.A. in political science from Dickinson College and his M.S. degree in environmental science and Ph.D. in geology from Duke University. Rob conducts marine geologic research on the geologic framework and evolution of the coastal zone. This includes understanding the relationships between geology, sediment transport, climate and sea-level change, and coastal erosion. Rob has conducted assessments of sea-level rise vulnerability for the U.S. and locations worldwide. He served as a Lead Author of a U.S. Global Change Research Program report on the potential impacts of sea-level rise and works with many federal and state agencies to develop science and policy plans for addressing coastal change hazards. Rob also studies habitat use and availability for beach-nesting and migratory shorebirds. Rob developed the widely-used DSAS software package for measuring coastal erosion and accretion and has recently developed smartphone applications for coastal science.

Episode 22 of THE Conversation can be viewed Friday at 6:00 PM, Sunday at 8:00 PM, Monday at 8:00 AM, and Wednesday at 11:00 AM on FCTV Public Channel 13. Channel 13 is also streamed live via FCTV’s website at www.fctv.org, and the program will also be available for viewing on-demand on the website, FCTV’s Facebook page, YouTube channel, and the Falmouth Community Television Apple TV and Roku channels.

Ms. Scott Price is the COO of Mizar Imaging in Woods Hole and Vice Chair of the Falmouth Select Board. 
The Rev. Mebane is the rector of Falmouth’s St. Barnabas’s Episcopal Church.

This month’s panelists are Ambrose Jearld Jr. and Catalina Martinez. Gabriel Duran and Monét Murphy also appear on the program.

The discussion focuses on the questions: “Why isn't there more racial diversity in the STEM fields?” 
and “How do we increase diversity in the STEM fields?”

Ambrose Jearld Jr. spent over 39 years as a fisheries scientist and a decade as the Director of Academic Education at NOAA Fisheries in Woods Hole. Ambrose was the first chair of the Woods Hole Diversity Advisory Committee, a collaboration started in 2004 to promote diversity and inclusion throughout the scientific community in Woods Hole. He was also the Co-founder of the Partnership Education Program and served as its Director from its inception in 2009 until his retirement in 2016. In 2017, the Woods Hole scientific community launched an annual lectureship named in his honor. He frequently speaks on diversity in the earth sciences, including more academic perspectives, and how his upbringing has influenced his understanding of the world.

Catalina Martinez is the Regional Program Manager for NOAA Ocean Exploration in Rhode Island. A certified diversity professional with three graduate degrees from the University of Rhode Island, Ms. Martinez began her ocean science career 20 years ago, helping to formalize and manage important regional NOAA partnerships, and spent many years working on telepresence-enabled expeditions to explore little-known and unknown ocean areas. Ms. Martinez also engages in various local, regional, and national efforts to mitigate the barriers to entry, persistence, advancement, and success for underrepresented and minoritized scholars into STEM fields. She has been honored with several awards for this work, including the URI Diversity Award for Staff/Administrator Excellence in Leadership and Service in 2010, and was recognized by the YWCA as one of their 2015 Women of Achievement in Rhode Island for promoting peace, justice, freedom, and dignity. In 2019, Ms. Martinez was awarded the Women of Color in STEM Diversity Leadership in Government Award for sustained leadership in creating a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive Federal workforce. Most recently, Ms. Martinez received the 2022 URI Graduate School of Oceanography Distinguished Achievement Award for excellence in professional achievement, leadership contributions, community service, and philanthropy.

For More Information check out the articles below

Hostile Obstacle Course article.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-021-00868-0

NSF study.
https://osf.io/xb57u/

Ms. Scott Price is the COO of Mizar Imaging in Woods Hole and Vice Chair of the Falmouth Select Board. The Rev. Mebane is the rector of Falmouth’s St. Barnabas’s Episcopal Church.

This month’s panelists are Barbara Burgo, L’Merchie Frazier, and Ambrose Jearld Jr. 
Mark Long, Robin Joyce Miller, Krissie Williams, and Sonia Tellier also appear on the program. 

The discussion focuses on the questions: “What is Juneteenth?” and “Why don’t we learn about Juneteenth?”

Barbara Burgo is the Co-founder, Clerk and Curator of the Cape Cod Cape Verdean Museum and Cultural Center in East Falmouth. Barbara was also Chair of the Barnstable County Human Rights Commission, Vice Chair of South Coastal Counties Legal Services, and former State President of American Association of University Women – MA. Barbara is a member of the NAACP Cape Cod and Massachusetts Women of Color Coalition. She also served for seven years as a Commissioner on the Brewster Housing Authority Commission.

Visual activist, public historian and artist, innovator, poet and holographer, L’Merchie Frazier is Director of Education and Interpretation for the Museum of African American History, Boston/Nantucket and Executive Director of Creative Strategic Partnerships for SPOKE. She also serves as Director of Creative Engagement of the Transformative Action Project/Violence Transformed in the Public Health Advocacy Institute at Northeastern University. She has served the artistic community for over twenty years as an award winning national and international visual and performance artist and poet, with residencies in Brazil, Taiwan, Costa Rica, Africa, France, and Cuba. Her artworks are collected by the Smithsonian Institution, the White House, Museum of Arts and Design, the Minneapolis Institute of Art, and the Dallas Museum of Art. She is a Boston Foundation Brother Thomas Fellow and Massachusetts Historical Society Fellow, a member of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts, and has recently been appointed to the Massachusetts Arts Commission. L’Merchie was recently awarded the first Museum Educator Award by the Massachusetts Council on Social Studies.

Ambrose Jearld Jr. spent over 39 years as a fisheries scientist and a decade as the Director of Academic Education at NOAA Fisheries in Woods Hole. Ambrose was the first chair of the Woods Hole Diversity Advisory Committee, a collaboration started in 2004 to promote diversity and inclusion throughout the scientific community in Woods Hole. He was also the Co-founder of the Partnership Education Program and served as its Director from its inception in 2009 until his retirement in 2016. In 2017, the Woods Hole scientific community launched an annual lectureship named in his honor. He speaks frequently on diversity in the earth sciences, including more perspectives in academia, and how his own upbringing has influenced his understanding of the world.

Visit FCTV.org to learn more about the program.

Ms. Scott Price is the COO of Mizar Imaging in Woods Hole and a member of the Falmouth Select Board. The Rev. Mebane is the rector of Falmouth’s St. Barnabas’s Episcopal Church.

Joining the co-hosts for this episode of THE Conversation are Samuel Gebru and Shea Brown-Kirlew. Stephen Tom and Megan English Braga also appear on the program. The discussion in this episode of THE Conversation focuses on the questions: “Where do you see racism in politics?” and “How do we keep racism out of politics?”

Samuel M. Gebru is a social entrepreneur, community organizer, and professional troublemaker. He is the Managing Director of Black Lion Strategies, a boutique social impact and public affairs consulting firm, building on his 17 years of political and nonprofit experience in the United States and East Africa. Samuel is also a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Center for State Policy Analysis at Tufts University’s Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life, where he contributes to policy research, programming, and partnerships.

Shea Brown-Kirlew, a Falmouth resident for nine years, is the owner of Falmouth Beauty Supply and More in Teaticket. Originally from Jamaica, she recently ran for the Falmouth School Committee in the Falmouth Town Elections on May 17th. Shea is the mother of nine children, from ages nine to 25.

Ms. Scott Price is the COO of Mizar Imaging in Woods Hole and a member of the Falmouth Select Board. The Rev. Mebane is the rector of Falmouth’s St. Barnabas’s Episcopal Church. 

Joining the co-hosts for this episode of THE Conversation are Dr. Seyana Mawusi and Dr. Robert Antonucci. Matt Green and Liz Liles also appear on the program. The discussion in this episode of THE Conversation focuses on the questions: “How does racism influence what is taught in the classroom?” and “How/Why should the history of racism be taught in schools?”

Dr. Seyana Mawusi is an educator with an extensive background in leadership development, curriculum design, mindfulness, trauma, neuroscience education, racial equity, restorative and social justice. Dr. Mawusi received her doctorate and second master's degrees at Mills College, Oakland, CA. In Oakland and Philadelphia, She served as a college professor, principal coach, elementary and middle school principal, and director and founder of Luxor Academy, an Afrocentric school for students ages four to fifteen. Dr. Mawusi founded and is CEO of Intuitive Integrative Consultants, where she coaches, consults, and intuitively guides leaders locally and internationally to reinvent, rethink and reframe their next steps to enhance their lives personally and professionally. Her clients include school districts, human resource departments, and city agencies.

Dr. Robert Antonucci, a Falmouth resident,  served as President of Fitchburg State University from 2003 to 2015, where he built a reputation for leadership both on and off-campus. He was named President Emeritus upon his retirement. He has also been the Massachusetts Commissioner of Education where he fundamentally reformed the state’s education finance system, school governance, curriculum development, and charter schools. Prior to that, he was the superintendent of schools in Falmouth for twelve years. Dr. Antonucci is an education consultant, a Town Meeting member, and is a member of several organizations including the Falmouth Service Center where he also serves as Chair of the Governance Committee. He also serves as Vice President of the Falmouth Road Race. 

Ms. Scott Price is the COO of Mizar Imaging in Woods Hole and a member of the Falmouth Select Board. The Rev. Mebane is the rector of Falmouth’s St. Barnabas’s Episcopal Church. 

Joining the co-hosts for this episode of THE Conversation are Karen Rinaldo and Talia Landry. Chandler Alves, Sandra Faiman-Silva, and Sheri White also appear on the program. The discussion in this episode of THE Conversation focuses on the questions: “How do stereotypes perpetuate racism?” and “How do we address the issues of racial stereotypes?”

Artist Karen Rinaldo started her first gallery and studio on Scranton Avenue in Falmouth in 1972 and is currently co-owner of The Gallery on Main in Falmouth, now in its fifth year promoting the work of 25 local artists. Over the years, and with a dedication to historical-themed subjects, Karen became known as a "visual historian." Soon after arriving in Falmouth, Karen dedicated herself to active participation in the community, serving on many committees and boards and creating distinctive art for many of the town and region’s organizations and institutions. She celebrated the nation’s 1976 bicentennial by painting the history of Falmouth in a mural currently in the central hallway of Falmouth’s Town Hall. In 1995, she was commissioned by the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches to paint the first historically-accurate painting of the first Thanksgiving of 1621. In 2015, Karen was a recipient of the Falmouth Historical Society’s Heritage Award and currently sits on their Board of Directors. In 2019, Karen co-authored (with Kevin Doyle) and illustrated the book, In The Wake of the Mayflower.

Talia Landry, a Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Citizen, grew up in Mashpee and graduated from Mashpee High School in 2010. At 16 years old, she represented the tribe as the Mashpee Wampanoag Pow Wow Princess. She continued her education at Quinnipiac University where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Communications with a focus on Broadcast Journalism and a minor in General Business in 2014. After graduation, Talia took on different roles for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, from Historic Preservation to the executive office of the vice-chair. Currently, Talia is within the tribe’s education department as Communications Coordinator, focusing on promoting educational/cultural programs for the tribal community and working on facilitating partnerships with state educational institutions to advocate and benefit Native American students. She also serves as the President of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Community Development Corporation responsible for pursuing economic sustainability for the tribal nation. Talia is also the owner of the video production business, T Moon Productions, and is currently pursuing her MBA at UMass Dartmouth. 

Ms. Scott Price is the COO of Mizar Imaging in Woods Hole and a member of the Falmouth Select Board. The Rev. Mebane is the rector of Falmouth’s St. Barnabas’s Episcopal Church. 

Joining the co-hosts for this episode of THE Conversation are nationally recognized guest panelists Richard Lapchick, Ph.D. and Jen Fry. Olympic Gold Medalist Colleen Coyne also appears on the program.

Human rights activist, pioneer for racial equality, internationally recognized expert on sports issues, scholar, and author Richard E. Lapchick, Ph.D. is often described as “the racial conscience of sport.”  Dr. Lapchick became the only person named “One of the 100 Most Powerful People in Sport” to head up a sport management program. He is CEO of the Institute for Sport & Social Justice (ISSJ), formerly the National Consortium for Academics and Sports, and director of The DeVos Sport Business Management Program at the University of Central Florida. This landmark program focuses on the business skills necessary for graduates to conduct a successful career in the rapidly changing and dynamic sports industry. Recipient of numerous prestigious national and international awards and honorary degrees, Dr. Lapchick is considered among the nation’s experts on sport and social issues and has made multiple appearances on Good Morning America, Face The Nation, The Today Show, ABC World News, NBC Nightly News, the CBS Evening News, CNN, and ESPN. Author of 17 books, Dr. Lapchick is a regular columnist for ESPN.com and The Sports Business Journal. He has written more than 550 articles and has given more than 2,800 public speeches. He has spoken in the U.S. Congress, at the United Nations, in the European Parliament, and the Vatican. He was inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame of the Commonwealth Nations in the category of Humanitarian along with Arthur Ashe and Nelson Mandela. In the Fall of 2021, he was named the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian of the Year.

Jen Fry is owner/CEO of JenFryTalks, a social justice education firm that uses conversation to educate and empower those within athletics through an anti-racist lens on issues of race, inclusion, intersectionality, diversity, and equity. Her clients include the NCAA, the Southeastern Conference (SEC), Harvard, Yale, Florida State University, Michigan State University, and UCLA. Jen Fry is a native of Arizona, a Division II athlete, and a veteran volleyball coach with over 15 years of experience at the collegiate level with coaching stints at Elon University, the University of Illinois (2011 National Runner-Up), Washington State University, and Norfolk State University. She became a social justice educator when she realized there was a need to educate our student-athletes of all ages and the administration, staff, and coaches who train them through an antiracist lens on issues of race, inclusion, intersectionality, diversity, and equity. She is currently working on her Ph.D. in Geography at Michigan State University. 

Highlights

• How intersectionality shapes LGBTQ+ experiences
• Where bias shows up—and how communities are responding
• The role of faith, activism, and allyship in creating belonging
• Pride then and now: lessons from history and hopes for the future

Host: Onjalé Scott Price
Produced by: FCTV (Falmouth Community Television), Falmouth, MA

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Ms. Scott Price is the COO of Mizar Imaging in Woods Hole and a member of the Falmouth Select Board. Rev. Mebane is the rector of Falmouth’s St. Barnabas’s Episcopal Church. 

Joining the co-hosts for this episode of THE Conversation are guest panelists Tara Vargas Wallace and Wendy Cullinan. Bobbi Richards and Jordan Frye also appear on the program. The discussion in this episode of THE Conversation focuses on the questions: “How does racism exacerbate our affordable housing crisis?” and “What are the mechanisms or ideas to mitigate racism in affordable housing?”

Tara Vargas Wallace has over twenty years of experience in social services for agencies such as HAC, Independence House, and the Department Of Transitional Assistance. Her experience has been in working with marginalized populations with severe socioeconomic challenges; homelessness, family trauma, addiction and recovery, domestic and sexual violence, barriers to employment, and food insecurity. It is through this work that she has developed strong community partnerships which have been instrumental in strengthening community awareness for the hard to serve populations. She is a community advocate and social justice activist both on a local and state level. Tara is the founder and CEO of Amplify POC.  She also serves on the boards of Housing Assistance Corporation, NAACP- Cape Cod Branch, Massachusetts Women of Color Coalition, MLK Jr. Action Team, People Against Trafficking Humans.

Wendy Cullinan is the Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity of Cape Cod. Before taking over that position in 2020, Wendy served as the organization’s resource development director. Prior to her position at Habitat for Humanity, Wendy worked as a consultant for several Cape Cod non-profits including, the National Marine Life Center, Association to Preserve Cape Cod, Woods Hole Research Center, and Gosnold Treatment Center. She is an ongoing member of Philanthropy Partners of the Cape and Islands and has served for several years on the Philanthropy Day planning committee. Wendy raised her family in Sandwich, where she was a volunteer in many school programs, taught Art History, and was a member of the School Council.

Ms. Scott Price is the COO of Mizar Imaging in Woods Hole. Rev. Mebane is the rector of Falmouth’s 
St. Barnabas’s Episcopal Church. 

Joining the co-hosts for the twelfth episode of THE Conversation are guest panelists India Rose and Michael Kasparian. Erik Albert, Jerry Lassos, and Olivia Masih White also appear on the program. The discussion in this edition of THE Conversation focuses on the questions: “Where do you find racism in the tourist industry?” and “How can we address racism in the tourist industry?”

India Rose is a highly sought-after motivational speaker for athletes, athletic coaches, and parents of student-athletes. India is an entrepreneur, writer, philanthropist, parent, and social justice activist who was raised and resides on Martha’s Vineyard. Her company, Sideline Sports, LLC, sells branded apparel and accessories from its flagship store on Main Street in Vineyard Haven and online at sidelinebrand.com. She is also the founder and board president of the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization Thriving, Inc., whose mission is to “strengthen and support small business’s growth for the purpose of thriving main streets; and to assist in positioning student-athletes with access to opportunities to achieve their academic and athletic goals.” In 2019, India created Experience MVY, or EMVY, Martha’s Vineyard’s black-owned business directory. The directory has since grown beyond its digital platform at experiencemvy.com and now has a published booklet to match.

Michael Kasparian moved to Falmouth in 2005 from his native Providence, where he held leadership positions in the banking industry. In 2008, he joined the Cape Cod Healthcare Foundation as a Manager of Donor Relations at Falmouth Hospital.  Michael also contributed part-time at the Falmouth Chamber of Commerce until 2014, when he left Cape Cod Healthcare to assume his current position as president and CEO of the Chamber. Michael holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Bryant University and is a graduate of Rhode Island College and Rhode Island School of Design.  He earned a Certificate in Nonprofit Organization Management from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Organization Management in 2015 at Villanova University, where he served as co-president of his class.  In 2016 he was awarded the Certified Association Executive (CAE) designation by the American Society of Association Executives. Michael is also a certified antique appraiser specializing in American furniture.

Morgan James Peters, also known as Mwalim, is a multi-award-winning interdisciplinary artist whose works span the mediums of music, theater, literature, and film. Playing Carnegie Hall as a violist before turning 14, he became one of the youngest session players in EMI Records history at age 16. A graduate of Music and Art High School in New York, he earned his BA in Music and MS in Film from Boston University and his MFA in writing from Goddard College. His plays and performance pieces have been presented throughout the USA, Canada, the UK, and the Caribbean. In 1994, he co-founded Oversoul Theatre Collective, Cape Cod's first professional Black and Native Arts organization. His first novel,
Land of the Black Squirrels, was published in 2020. He is a founding member and keyboardist for the multi-Grammy-nominated soul-funk ensemble, The GroovaLottos, and a multi-award-winning solo recording artist of soul, jazz, and dance music. He is the owner of Polyphonic Studios, a recording studio in Bourne, and a tenured English and Black Studies professor at UMass Dartmouth. 

Robin Joyce Miller is a retired educator, artist, poet, and public speaker, who taught for 30 years in the
New York City school system. She spent the first half of her career teaching learning-disabled students and the next half as an art teacher. Miller was also a Blueprint for the Arts Facilitator, leading workshops at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Whitney Museum. After retirement, she and her husband have maintained two residences in New York and Cape Cod. Robin co-authored The Faithful Journey – From Slavery to Presidency with her husband, James W. Miller.
She also wrote and illustrated Who Do You Say That I Am – A Man Called Jesus with paintings inspired by Ethiopian Christian art. Miller specializes in African American Heritage art and poetry. Paintings from her book, A Humble Village, have been exhibited in the Brooklyn Children’s Museum and the African American Museum of Hempstead, NY. After George Floyd’s murder, Robin and her husband began presenting a Black Lives Matter series with the Cotuit Center for the Arts.  These programs are available to the public on YouTube.

Miranda Alves is a co-founder of Cape Cod Voices, a community organization created by women of color who have grown up on Cape Cod. Cape Cod Voices focuses on bringing black and brown voices into the center of the conversation on race, combating and educating about systemic and institutional racism issues on Cape Cod, and advocating for students of color in local schools. Miranda grew up in Bourne and currently lives in Falmouth. 

Robert Cutts was raised in Harwich by his grandmother and his aunt, Cape Cod civil rights activist  Eugenia Fortes. He is a 1977 graduate of Harwich High School. Robert spent six years in the U.S. Army stationed in Germany as an officer in the Military Police. In 1985, Robert began a 30-year career working for the Fairfax County Sheriff's Office in Fairfax, Virginia. In 2014, he retired and returned to Cape Cod, where he resides in Bourne. He is currently writing a book about his experiences entitled The Darkness Of Being Black In Law Enforcement. Robert is also a six-time world champion powerlifter. He enjoys working to educate youth and help them understand how members of law enforcement think.

Kevin Murray became Executive Director of the Massachusetts Advocates for Children (MAC) in September 2019. He has had a long career in the leadership of nonprofit organizations in the human rights and international development sectors. Most recently, he led the Program on Human Rights and the Global Economy at Northeastern University School of Law. In addition to his staff leadership roles, 

Murray founded Kevin Murray Strategic Consulting (KMSC), an international consulting collaborative with a 25-year commitment to supporting the organizational development of mission-driven nonprofits and philanthropic organizations.

Dr. Seyana Mawusi is an educator with an extensive background in leadership development, curriculum design, mindfulness, trauma, neuroscience education, racial equity, restorative and social justice. 

Dr. Mawusi received her doctorate at Mills College, Oakland, CA. She served as a college professor, principal coach, elementary and middle school principal in Oakland and Philadelphia. Dr. Mawusi is a director and founder of Luxor Academy, an Afrocentric school for students ages four to fifteen. Dr. Mawusi also founded and is CEO of Intuitive Integrative Consultants, where she coaches, consults, and intuitively guides leaders locally and internationally to reinvent, rethink and reframe their next steps to enhance their lives personally and professionally. Her clients include school districts, human resource departments, and city agencies.

A proud native Appalachian, The Rev. David Kohlmeier graduated from West Virginia State University in 2012 with a BA in English Literature and Minors in Philosophy and Writing. He moved to Massachusetts for seminary, graduating from Andover Newton Theological School with a Master of Divinity degree in 2016. 
His seminary also awarded him a Certificate in Interfaith Leadership for his focused study and interfaith work on the Qur’an and Islam and inducted him into the Jonathan Edwards Honor Society. He became the third settled minister of the UU Fellowship of Falmouth in July of 2017.

Robin Joyce Miller is a retired educator, artist, poet, and public speaker, who taught for 30 years in the New York City school system. She spent the first half of her career teaching learning disabled students and the next half as an art teacher. Miller was also a Blueprint for the Arts Facilitator, leading workshops at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Whitney Museum. She attended a Black Congregational Church from the age of five to adulthood. On the Cape, she and her husband, James, attend West Parish of Barnstable UCC. Miller has spoken in the pulpit at several Cape Cod churches. After 
George Floyd’s murder, Robin and her husband began presenting a Black Lives Matter series with the 
Cotuit Center for the Arts, available to the public on YouTube.

The Rev. Natalie E. Thomas began her professional career as a community organizing fellow with 
Life Together, a program for young adults in the Episcopal Church. This inspired Natalie to lead organizing movements in Boston; New Zealand; and Nairobi, Kenya. Natalie is currently the Director of Engagement and Communications at Episcopal City Mission in Boston. She is also a deacon in the Diocese of Massachusetts and an Episcopal Church Fellow serving at St. Barnabas's Memorial Church in Falmouth. She is a co-chair for the Diocese of Massachusetts Racial Justice Commission and the Task Force secretary for Church Planting and Redevelopment for the Sake of New Ministries for The Episcopal Church. Natalie has worked extensively as a teacher and consultant with organizations such as The Harvard Kennedy School, Planned Parenthood, and the California Teachers Association.

Along with his professional career focused on strategic technology sales and business development in multiple industries, Ewell Hopkins is a member of the Oak Bluffs Planning Board in Martha’s Vineyard. 
He is also involved in various community organizations, including Habitat for Humanity and the Democratic Council of Martha’s Vineyard. In 2016, he was a candidate for State Representative for the Barnstable, Dukes & Nantucket District.

Troy Clarkson is the Chief Financial Officer for the City of Brockton and the Principal of Clarkson Consulting, specializing in government relations, strategic planning, and more. A former member of the Town of Falmouth Select Board, a contributor to the Falmouth Enterprise newspaper through his weekly column, “Troy’s Take,” Mr. Clarkson is also the author of two books, Succanessett Snapshot and Out of the Woods: 365 Ways to not be a Dung Beetle.

Donna Jackson, Psy.D is a doctoral-level clinical psychologist for Conch Shell Counseling in Falmouth, 
a private practice focusing on families affected by Alzheimer's and Dementia. In 2015, Dr. Jackson, 
a support group facilitator for Alzheimer’s Family Support Services of Cape Cod, initiated the monthly Falmouth Together Memory Cafe at Falmouth Museums on the Green to provide a welcoming space for people living with memory changes.

Along with his professional career focused on strategic technology sales and business development in multiple industries, Ewell Hopkins is a member of the Oak Bluffs Planning Board in Martha’s Vineyard. He is also involved in various community organizations, including Habitat for Humanity and the Democratic Council of Martha’s Vineyard. In 2016, he was
a candidate for State Representative for the Barnstable, Dukes & Nantucket District.

Troy Clarkson is the Chief Financial Officer for the City of Brockton and the Principal of Clarkson Consulting, specializing in government relations, strategic planning, and more.
A former member of the Town of Falmouth Select Board, a contributor to the Falmouth Enterprise newspaper through his weekly column, “Troy’s Take,” Mr. Clarkson is also the author of two books, Succanessett Snapshot and Out of the Woods: 365 Ways to not be a Dung Beetle.

Donna Jackson, Psy.D is a doctoral-level clinical psychologist for Conch Shell Counseling in Falmouth, a private practice focusing on families affected by Alzheimer's and Dementia. 
In 2015, Dr. Jackson, a support group facilitator for Alzheimer’s Family Support Services of Cape Cod, initiated the monthly Falmouth Together Memory Cafe at Falmouth Museums on the Green to provide a welcoming space for people living with memory changes.

A freelance journalist currently living in Brewster, Joseph Burns is the health insurance topic leader for the Association of Health Care Journalists (AHCJ) and contributes to AHCJ’s Covering Health blog. He also writes about health policy and the business of health care for a variety of publications. As a writer and editor, Mr. Burns has covered health care since 1991 for various organizations, including The Commonwealth Fund, the National Alliance for Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions, and others. From 1991 to 1994, he was editor-in-chief of Business & Health magazine. Mr. Burns was the founding editor of The Financial Manager, a magazine for accountants and other business strategists. Before 1991, he worked as an editor for The Hartford Courant, and he taught news writing at the University of Connecticut.

David Hufford, Ph.D., is a Professor Emeritus of the University of Pennsylvania where he received his Ph.D. His specialty is culture and health. While at the university, he was a professor of Behavioral Science and was the Chair of the Medical Humanities department with joint appointments in Family Medicine and Psychiatry from 1974 to 2007. After his retirement from the university, Dr. Hufford was named a Senior Fellow at Samueli Medical Institute from 2008 to 2015. He is now retired and living in Media, PA.

Gwyneth Packard moved to the area in 1991 for a twelve-week internship and stayed, making her home here and raising a family. Ms. Packard is one of the leaders of Engage Falmouth and a co-Chair of the Committee for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. As a biracial female in engineering, Ms. Packard works at advocating for women in STEM. She is an organizer for the Maria Mitchell Women of Science Symposium with the Maria Mitchell Association and participates in efforts such as Black in Marine Science Week.

Talia Landry grew up in Mashpee and is a 2010 graduate of Mashpee High School. After earning her Bachelor of Arts in Communications at Quinnipiac University, Talia took on different roles for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and is currently President of the Tribe's Community and Development Corporation Board of Directors. Talia is presently the Productions Manager for MashpeeTV and has created the tribal news segment, First Light News. She is one of the filmmakers of the documentary Mashpee Nine.

Julianne Vanderhoop is a member of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah). A mother of two and former pilot and flight instructor, Julianne serves on the Town of Aquinnah Select Board and the Wampanoag Tribal Education Committee. An accomplished baker, Julianne founded the Orange Peel Bakery in 2008 by constructing a traditional outdoor, wood-fired oven. 

Jerry Lassos is from Venice, California, and is a member of the Tongva indigenous people of Los Angeles. After graduating from California State Northridge as an education major, he served in the Air Force, then attended the University of Colorado and earned his Master’s Degree. After a career as an educator in Colorado’s Jefferson County Schools, he became a founding board member and chairman of the West Denver Prep Charter School. He co-created a service for students called Indigenous Students Leap Ahead.

Mark Long holds a Ph.D. in history from Loyola University Chicago and a B.A. in political science from Auburn University. His research areas and interests include the intersections between maritime, economic and environmental history and policy, especially focused on frontier and borderland areas.

Lynne Rhodes is a native of Falmouth who majored in Social Work and Human Development in college. She is a member of the Town of Falmouth Affirmative Action/Diversity Committee and was elected as a Town Meeting Member for Precinct 8. She was also elected to the Falmouth Democratic Town Committee’s Executive Board and is an Executive Board member for the Cape Cod branch of the NAACP.

A civil rights and voting rights activist who trained with Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; Jesse Jackson; Andrew Young; and others as a member of the SCOPE (Summer Community Organization and Political Education) program in the 1960’s, Joanna McWilliams has a Master’s Degree in African Studies from Boston University. After living and working as an activist and educator in Nigeria, South Boston, New York, India, and Kenya, she retired to Cape Cod in 2010.

Sandra Faiman-Silva has lived in Falmouth since 1984 and retired in 2014 as a Professor of Anthropology at Bridgewater State University where she taught for more than thirty years. Her areas of expertise include Native North America, Latin America, political economy, women’s and gender studies, race and ethnicity.

Meghan Hanawalt has lived in East Falmouth since 2004. She is a town meeting member for Precinct 8, Co-chair of the Affirmative Action & Diversity Committee, Treasurer for the Falmouth League of Women Voters and one of three organizers of Racial Justice Falmouth.

Born in Spain, a mother of six and grandmother of six, Carmina Mock exiled from Franco's fascist Spain to Holland in 1976 and moved to Falmouth twenty years ago. For several years she has been active in promoting women's rights and racial justice.