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Be an Unlikely Ally-Community Conversations on Race

Join the conversation! Our panel will be discussing equity consultant Nita Mosby Tyler’s TED talk: ‘Want a more just world? Be an unlikely ally.’

Panelists knowledgeable about conflict resolution, law, and community mentoring will offer their perspectives on how we can better talk about racial issues by sharing our stories and speaking up for anyone we encounter who is suffering from injustice. This program is part of the series: Community Conversations on Race. The TED talk will be shown as part of this program and participants will be able to participate through chat.

Panelists:
Nikki Phillips, Adjunct Communication Professor
Nikki has taught communication and culture classes at the college level for more than 16 years. In 2016 she started her own business called Professional Communication Training where she works with a variety of organizations to help them work together to work better.

José R. Ballesteros Ph.D., Director of Equity Programing, St. Mary’s College of MD
José has been a faculty member at the National Honors Public College within the College’s Department of International Languages and Cultures since 2002.  At St. Mary’s, José co-created and until recently was associate director of the DeSousa-Brent Program. The program’s retention and graduation rates for students from underrepresented populations earned it a permanent funding grant from the State of Maryland in 2019.  He is a contributing poetry editor for the Library of Congress’s Handbook of Latin American Studies and the co-author of the Spanish literature textbook Voces de España. He is a published translator and the owner and editor of the literary press Zozobra Publishing, the premier publisher of regional Latinx poets. His own poetry has been anthologized and appears in various journals in the US. He is the author of the book of poems Lovedust (Izote Press).

Marsha Johnson, Attorney at Law
Marsha L. Williams, Esq. is a partner with the law firm Williams, McClernan, & Stack, LLC. She attended Rutgers University - New Brunswick where, in 1997, she earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science. In 2000, she earned her Juris Doctor degree from Howard University School of Law. Marsha began her legal career with the House of Ruth of Maryland representing victims of domestic violence. In 2002, Marsha joined Maryland Legal Aid - Southern Maryland where she represented clients in child welfare proceedings in Maryland’s trial and appellate courts.
In 2019, Marsha was recognized by The Daily Record as one of Maryland’s Top 100 Women for outstanding achievement in her legal career and for community leadership. In 2020, The Daily Record named Marsha as a Leadership in Law Honoree for her dedication to the legal field and to her community.

Moderator: Christine Bergmark, owner Evenstar Farms and community mediator
Christine has facilitated such events as the Big Conversations in Calvert and St. Mary’s Counties, the Shut Up and Listen discussions, and also holds the license for TEDxGreatMills.

TED Talks are influential videos from expert speakers on education, business, science, tech and creativity. The talks are posted online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading"​​ by TED Conferences LLC, an American media organization. 

Join us this fall for Community Conversations on Race, a series of virtual events to engage in conversation and learn from fellow community members. Community partners for this series include NAACP Unit 7025, Community Mediation of St. Mary’s, Unified Committee for Afro-American Contributions (UCAC), Historic Sotterley, and St. Mary’s County Recreation and Parks – Museum Division.

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