Juju Wong, IRT’15 discusses her experience at the conference
During my very first NCORE® experience this past May, I organized a panel discussion titled, “The Impact of the UCLA & UH Mānoa Hawaiʻi Program on the Next Generation of Social Justice Educators,” with my mentor, Dr. Rod Labrador (UH Mānoa), and scholar-friends, Miya Sommers (UC Berkeley) and Kirin Rajagopalan (UC Davis).
In 2014, we participated in the UCLA Asian American Studies x UH Mānoa Department of Ethnic Studies Travel Study Program as undergraduate students.
10 years later, we reunited to discuss the impact of ethnic studies pedagogy and curriculum – in practice – to our roles as educators within higher education institutions, public and independent schools, and community organizations.
In partnership with educational thought leaders across the country, the IRT engages in conversations on the current landscape, implementing change, and sharing knowledge.
October 2023
In October Catherine Wong, IRT Associate Director and Manager of Programs, co-presented with Gerry Ebalaroza-Tunnell, PhD at the 13th International Conference on Education and Justice led by Kevin Kumashiro, PhD, currently the Interim Dean of the School of Education at Hofstra University, and hosted by the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, College of Education, University Laboratory School (HI) and Hawai‘i Scholars for Education and Social Justice (HSESJ). The theme of the conference was “Collective Scholarship for Public Pedagogy and Against Empire,” and the title of their workshop was “Whose Talk Story? Our Talk Story; Battling the Empire Through Pōkā Laenui’s Process of Decolonization.”
(L-R) Kevin Kumashiro & Catherine Wong
(L-R) Jennifer Dazo Bishop, Ke Kula Kaiapuni ‘O Pū‘ōhala, Gerry Ebalaroza-Tunnell, Co3 Consulting, Jose Paolo Magcalas, California State University at Los Angeles
The 2023 UNCF/Mellon Programs Conference
IRT Education Programs Specialist Leislie Godo-Solo, IRT ’91 collaborated with colleagues and presented in this one-day workshop. This year’s annual conference, which was held in Atlanta, focused on the imperative to transform the academy.
35th Annual National Conference on Race & Ethnicity (NCORE) on Higher Education
IRT Associate Director and Manager of Programs Catherine Wong, IRT Arts and Sciences Specialist Brittany Zorn, IRT ’13, and IRT Education Specialist Leislie Godo-Solo, IRT ’91 presented at NCORE in New Orleans earlier this month.
What is NCORE? According to it’s website – “the conference series constitutes the leading and most comprehensive national forum on issues of race and ethnicity in higher education. The conference focuses on the complex task of creating and sustaining comprehensive institutional change. This change work is designed to improve racial and ethnic relations and their intersections with other issues and groups on campus. The conference speakers and sessions offer strategies for expanding educational access and success for diverse, traditionally underrepresented populations.”
Interacting with students and colleagues has always been a strong area of focus for the IRT. These past few months have kept our team busy on the road as many regional events begin to expand their formats to include in-person sessions. The IRT has taken these opportunities to connect and further the discussion of shared experiences and mutual goals with educational and community partners across the country.
IRT Alumni on the Move at the UNCF/Mellon Programs Conference
Answering the Call to Transform the Academy UNCF/Mellon Programs Conference: October 6-8, 2022 Atlanta, GA
IRT Education Programs Specialist Leislie Godo-Solo, IRT ’91 attended the UNCF/Mellon Programs Conference in October, where she also gave a presentation about IRT programs to new Mellon Coordinators and caught up with IRT alumni who were guest panelists during the two-day event.
Renee Johnson-Thornton, IRT ’05 Senior Program Associate and Associate Director of MMUF at the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation was one of the guest speakers during the Conference Opening titled “Answering the Call to Transform the Academy.”
George Pratt, IRT ’22 A current senior at Morehouse College, Pratt participated on the Mentee/Mentor Relationship panel during the UNCF/Mellon Programs Conference in Atlanta. George accepted the Marshall Scholarship while working with the IRT this fall and will pursue his MPhil at the University of Oxford.
The 34th National Conference on Race and Ethnicity (NCORE) in Higher Education was held on May 31 – June 4, 2022 in Portland, Oregon. This annual educational event is committed to fostering inclusion and the exchanging of ideas and expertise in higher education. IRT Executive Director LaShawnda Brooks and IRT Associate Director and Manager of Programs Catherine Wong were part of an NCORE-invited interactive panel discussion benefitting educators with anti-racist (AR)/diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) responsibilities.
Sustainable Transformation; Making Progress While Battling Changemaker Fatigue
Advisor, speaker and author Joe-Joe McManus and Vice President, Diversity and Inclusion & Associate Professor of Multicultural Education at Metropolitan State University of Denver Michael Benitez joined Brooks and Wong in this session on what changemaking looks like in higher education, real barriers to progress, and proven strategies for institutional transformation.
The panel engaged in critical dialogue with conference participants on the understanding and successful engagement in transformative work. The discussion revolved around the following questions:
Are you the changemaker you had hoped to be when you became an educator?
Do you feel a disconnect between the change agency called for in your position description and the work you are expected to do in the role?
Are you questioning how to persist in your role given the lack of resources, unrealistic expectations and resistance to change that you encounter on a daily basis?
“I feel fortunate to be both a participant and presenter at NCORE for decades. Through NCORE I have met inspiring and diverse scholars, practitioners and community leaders. The work of diversity, equity and inclusion is not meant to be done in isolation. NCORE provides the vital and brave space to have difficult conversations, to battle back at divisiveness and to center cross racial solidarity. The NCORE community does not settle for the status quo, the way things have always been, instead it is an interdisciplinary community that values reimagining what has not yet been imagined.”
Catherine Wong
LaShawnda Brooks (via computer) and Catherine Wong Photo credit: Melissa Toledo
“I was honored to participate in this session with three phenomenal leaders and advocates. Throughout our ongoing pandemic, change-making and community building are essential to establishing a just future. Through this incredible conversation with student leaders and education leaders, I am hopeful we can all own our relative power in the fight for systemic transformation.”
Institute for Recruitment of Teachers 
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