BD Wong is a celebrated actor and activist with over three decades of excellence on stage, on television, and in film, appearing in such hits as Bird Box, Law & Order: SVU, American Horror Story, Gotham, Jurassic Park, and Jurassic World. His Broadway debut inM. Butterfly earned him a Tony Award, Outer Critic’s Circle Award, Theatre World Award. Clarence Derwent Award, and Drama Desk Award – making him the only actor to ever win all five major New York theatre awards for a single role. BD has also received an Emmy nomination for his role as Whiterose and Minister Zhang in USA Network’s Mr. Robot. His experiences as an openly gay Asian-American actor in Hollywood have shaped his career and inform his ongoing advocacy work. Having faced rejection, typecasting, racism, and homophobia in his journeys through the entertainment industry, he has a sharp perspective on the importance and necessity of diversity and representation in the media and beyond.
A transgender native Hawaiian teacher and cultural icon who brings to life Hawaii’s traditional embrace of mahu — those who embody both male and female spirit. Her documentary, Kumu Hina, traces Hina’s evolution from a timid high school boy to her position as a married woman and cultural director of a school in one of Honolulu’s grittier neighborhoods. As she contemplates who should lead the school's all-male hula troupe in their final performance, a surprising candidate presents herself: Ho’onani, a sixth grader who is proud to be seen as a mixture of boy and girl. As Kumu Hina helps Ho’onani to negotiate the mixed reactions of her classmates and her family, the power of culture to instill a sense of pride and acceptance becomes clear
Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu (Kumu Hina) is a kanaka maoli (Native Hawaiian) teacher, cultural practitioner, and community leader. Born in the Nu’uanu District of Oʻahu Island, Kumu Hina was educated at Kamehameha Schools and the University of Hawaii. She was previously a founding member of Kulia Na Mamo, a community organization established to improve the quality of life for māhū wahine (transgender women), and Cultural Director at a public charter school dedicated to using native Hawaiian culture, history, and education as tools for developing and empowering the next generation of warrior scholars. Kumu Hina is currently a cultural advisor and leader in many community affairs and civic activities, including Chair of the Oahu Island Burial Council, which oversees the management of Native Hawaiian burial sites and ancestral remains. In 2014, Hina announced her bid for a position on the board of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, the first transgender candidate to run for statewide political office in the United States.
Neil Foote is an associate dean, research, external affairs, and community engagement. He formerly was a principal lecturer at UNT’s Mayborn School of Journalism. His primary role is to help market and promote UNT’s New College and establish strategic partnerships with businesses and organizations to support our students and faculty.
Foote, a member of the National Association of Black Journalists Hall of Fame as recently inducted into UNT’s Mayborn School of Journalism C.E. Shuford Hall of Honor, is author of Principles of News (Kendall Hunt, 2020) and a contributor to the textbook, Race, Gender, Class, and Media: Studying Mass Communication and Multiculturalism (Kendall Hunt Publisher, 2011, 2017). Foote has worked at The Miami Herald, The Washington Post, The Dallas Morning News, the Belo Corporation, the Tom Joyner Morning Show and ASNE (now, News Leaders Association).
Foote has taught classes in media entrepreneurship, business journalism, media management and multimedia storytelling. He also was director of the Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference, one the nation’s premier conferences for writers.
Foote is secretary for the Commission on Public Relations Education and is a member of the Council of Presidents for the National Black Public Relations Society, Inc. He is board chair for Forefront Living, a life trustee at The Lamplighter School, past chairman of the National Kidney Foundation Serving North Texas, and a past board member of the National Association of Black Journalists.
He grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y. and received his B.A. in government from Wesleyan University, a M.S.J. from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, and an M.B.A. from SMU’s Cox School of Business.
Name (Click for more) | Pronouns | Title | Institution/Company | Workshop Session | |
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Alexandria Gurley |
she/her/hers | Student Affairs Professional/DEI Strategist/Spoken Word Artist | Alex Tha Great Inc. | Home as Space and Place |
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Amanda Bennett, Ph.D. |
she/her | Director of Global Partnerships and Engagement | University of North Texas | Community of Respect |
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Amy Harth, Ph.D. |
she/they | Assistant National Dean, Accreditation & Academic Quality | DeVry University | |
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Ananya Malik |
she/her/hers | M.Ed. student in Higher Education | University of North Texas | Sense of Belonging for APIDA College Students |
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Ashton Gregory |
Digital Accessibility Specialist | UNT Office of Disability Access | Creating a Diverse Workforce of People with Disabilities | |
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Aubree Evans, Ph.D. |
she/her/hers | Senior Faculty Development Specialist | DSI CLEAR | Inclusive Teaching Through Multimodal and Culturally Relevant Course Content |
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Audon Archibald Ph.D. |
he/him/his | Data Analyst | UNT Division of Digital Strategy and Innovation | |
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Bettye Lopez |
she/her/hers | Assistant Faculty Development Specialist | DSI CLEAR | |
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Brandon Byles |
he/him/his | Panelist | ||
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Brenda E. Avilés |
ACCESS Advisor | Collin College | Challenging Ableist Practices in Higher Education | |
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Brian Lain |
he/him/his | University Distinguished Teaching Professor in Communication Studies and UNT’s Director of Debate | University of North Texas | |
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Carol Wilson |
she/her/hers | Professor of Voice and Chair of the College of Music DEI Council | University of North Texas | |
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Cathy Kennemer |
she/her/hers | Associate Director of Advising and Success Coaching | University of Tulsa | |
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Courtney Glazer |
she/her/hers | Director of the Core | University of North Texas | An Anti-Racism “Doing the Work” Continuum for Reflecting & Teaching |
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Cynthia Ekhator |
she/her/hers | Special Education Resource Specialist | Cultural Stereotypes and the Use of Personal Pronouns in Nigeria | |
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Daniella Smith |
she/her/hers | Hazel Harvey Peace Endowed Professor and Director of the Information Science Ph.D. Program | University of North Texas | Reflections on Life in the Academic Small World |
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Danielle Champagne |
she/her/hers | Assistant Director, Financial Wellness Program | University of North Texas | The Path to Financial Security and Economic Mobility for All |
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Danielle Dumaine |
she/her/hers | UNT New College | ||
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Devin Axtman |
he/him/his | Student Services Coordinator | UNT Office of Disability Access | Ableism: What It Is and Why It Matters to Everyone |
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Devon West |
he/him/his | Accessibility Engineer | Nelnet | |
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Diane Gill |
Assistant Professor of Professional Practice in School Librarianship | Louisiana State University | ||
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Dillon Smith |
he/him/his | Admissions Recruiter | University of North Texas | |
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Elena Joy Thurston |
she/her/hers | CEO | The Elena Joy Experience | Inclusive Leadership: Beyond Buzzwords & Into Action |
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Elizabeth Ranieri |
she/her/hers | Clinical Assistant Professor | UNT New College | |
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Emily VanKirk |
they/them/theirs/elle | Student Development Specialist | Tarleton State University | Learning While Uncomfortable |
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Erica Bridges |
she/her/hers | Panelist | ||
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Ethan Ligon |
he/him/his | Digital Accessibility Assistant | University of North Texas | |
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Haley Zettler |
she/her/hers | Assistant Professor in Criminal Justice | University of North Texas | Teaching in Prison: Lessons from the Inside-Out Program |
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Ijay Kaz-Onyeakazi |
Information Science Doctoral Student | University of North Texas | ||
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Jamey Kelley |
he/him/his | Assistant Professor of Choral Music Education | University of North Texas | Developing Effective Social Interactions in the Learning Environment |
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Jasmine Willis-Wallace, Ed.D. |
she/her/hers | Vice Chair of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion | Duke University’s Department of Pediatrics | Building the Foundation: Strategies for Building the DEI Foundation for Your Organization |
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Javier Santillan |
he/him/his | Admissions Recruiter | University of North Texas | |
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Jessica Stone |
she/her/hers | Director of the Office of Disability Access | University of North Texas | Challenging Ableist Practices in Higher Education |
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K. Vest |
Panelist | |||
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Kelly Holloway |
Vocational Rehabilitation Manager | Texas Workforce Solutions | Creating a Diverse Workforce of People with Disabilities | |
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Landon Ellison |
he/him/his | Sr. Director, Undergraduate Recruitment & Outreach | University of North Texas | Young Forever: Evolution of Men of Color Student Leaders-to-Mentors |
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Lauren Matthews |
she/her/hers | Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology | University of North Texas | Student Panel: The Neurodivergent Student Perspective |
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Lauren Taylor |
she/her/hers | Senior Program Project Coordinator | UNT ENGAGE | Universal Design and Disability Etiquette |
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Lee Ann Derdeyn, Ph.D. |
she/her/hers | Clinical Assoc. Professor | UNT New College | Interdisciplinary Core-Compliant Project-Based Learning Education: Building a Culture of DEI |
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Lindsey White |
Graduate Student | University of North Texas | ||
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Lydia Ogbadu-Oladapo |
Information Science Doctoral Candidate | University of North Texas | ||
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Madasen Briggs |
she/her/hers | Behavioral Science Doctoral Student | University of North Texas | |
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Nuchakor “Pia” Nunbhakdi |
she/her/hers | International Studies Graduate Student | University of North Texas | Human Security Perspective on Climate-Induced Women Migration in South Asia |
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R. Curtis Sparling |
he/him/his | Assistant Professor, O.D. Mayor endowed chair and Department Head of Technology & Justice Studies | Rogers State University | Bridging the Gap: A Collaborative Approach to Advising Neurodiverse Learners |
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Rachita Sharma, Ph.D., LPC-S, CRC |
she/her/hers | Chair of the department of Rehabilitation and Health Services | University of North Texas | |
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Rebecca Werts |
Licensed Professional Counselor-Associate | At the Intersection: Exploring Identity & Wellness Among Black Women | ||
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Regina Kaplan-Rakowski, Ph.D. |
she/her/hers | Assistant Professor of Learning Technologies | University of North Texas | A Virtual Reality Workshop in Understanding Blindness |
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Ricardo Gonzalez |
he/him/his | Associate Professor in Bilingual and ESL Education | University of North Texas | |
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Rosanna Boyd |
she/her/hers | Principal Lecturer in the Department of Teacher Education and Administration | University of North Texas | UNT Bilingual Education Student Engagement with Latino Families in Dallas |
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Rosylin Johnson |
she/her/hers | President | CEO | theCorporateAdvisors | Are We There Yet? DEI in 2023 |
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Sheryl Burgstahler, Ph.D. |
she/her/hers | Director, Accessible Technology Services and Adjunct Professor in College of Education | University of Washington | |
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Sritha Darbha |
Computer Science Engineer | |||
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Sul Boyun |
M.Ed. student in Higher Education | University of North Texas | ||
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Tania Heap |
she/they | Director, Learning Research and Accessibility | University of North Texas | The Societal Benefit of Hiring People with Disabilities |
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Terrance Harris |
He/him/his | Director of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion | College of Engineering at Drexel University | |
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Tzefira Jones |
she/her/hers | Ph.D. candidate and teaching fellow | University of North Texas |