White Savior Complex & The Peace Corps: a community discussion (hybrid)

Join us for a community discussion about White Savior Complex, how it intersects with Peace Corps past and present, and how volunteers can work effectively and respectfully in communities around the world. 

Register to attend via zoom: https://arizona.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Ym6fOXetRAGnFM5JbXyKhA

Moderator

Earl E. Lee

Earl E. Lee (they/them or he/him) is the Senior Director, Inclusive Learning, Engagement & Leadership in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion here at the University of Arizona. Earl works to advance inclusive excellence by coordinating campus-wide workshops and learning opportunities. To do this, they work with academic and administrative units to design inclusive learning plans for faculty, staff, and students to promote inclusive excellence. They have worked in higher education for over a decade collaborating with colleagues to create transformative change and advocating for equity and justice. 

Earl aims to promote a climate of respect and shared responsibility that cultivates practices that empower those historically marginalized in higher education. They are a doctoral student studying Justice Studies, where their research interests include critical pedagogy, postcolonial theories, STEM education, Caribbean radical thought, and popular culture. Earl earned a bachelor's degree in sociology from Drake University and a master's degree in adult education and training from Regis University. 

Panelists

Sheilah E. Nicholas

Sheilah E. Nicholas is a member of the Hopi Tribe located in Arizona.  She is a Professor in the Department of Teaching, Learning and Sociocultural Studies (TLSS) at the University of Arizona (UA). She teaches courses in Indigenous Culture-Based Education, Language and Culture, Oral Traditions, Language Minority Education, and Teacher Research.  She is also a Faculty Instructor for the American Indian Language Development Institute (AILDI) and Immersion Instructor-Consultant for the Indigenous Language Institute, Sante Fe, NM. Her scholarship and research focus includes: Indigenous/Hopi language maintenance and reclamation, Indigenous language ideologies and epistemologies, the intersection of language, culture and identity, and Indigenous language teacher education.  Her publications draw on her dissertation, “Becoming ‘Fully’ Hopi:  The Role of the Hopi Language in the Contemporary Lives of Hopi Youth—A Hopi Case Study of Language Shift and Vitality” and her work with the Hopi Tribe’s Hopilavayi Summer Institute for Hopi language teachers (2004-2010).  Along with colleagues Dr. Teresa McCarty and Dr. Michael Seltzer at UCLA and Dr. Tiffany Lee at UNM, she is the UA Co-PI of a national study, “Indigenous-Language Immersion and Native American Student Achievement” funded by the Spencer Foundation.

Nura Dualeh

Nura Dualeh has worked in higher education for 20+ years in international education and exchange, financial aid and scholarships, student affairs and diversity, equity, and access programs. Her work helps to diversify UArizona undergraduate research programs, while also expanding access to graduate school. Nura earned a B.A. degree in Political Science from Williams College and an M.A. in Language, Reading and Culture from the University of Arizona. She collaborates with a wide network of faculty, staff, and administrators to create future-facing, inclusive programs that support the recruitment, retention, and success of diverse students. Nura’s work sparks the imagination and aspiration of students by affirming their talents and centering their wellbeing. Compassion and radical hope inform her praxis for she believes this generation's future is much brighter than their past.

Stefany Calderon

Stefany Calderon served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Botswana from 2018-2020 in the health sector, designing programs and projects for youth development. After being evacuated due to the pandemic, she moved to Dallas, Texas where she worked as a contact tracer and an Environmental Health Specialist for the Garland Health Department. In the Health Department she assisted with the first COVID-19 mass vaccination events, as well as, performed compliance inspections. Stefany is a current a Coverdell Fellow in the Master of Public Health program with a concentration in Public Health Policy and Management.

Bill Oberdick

Bill Oberdick is the Director of Undergraduate Studies and Assistant Professor of Practice for the Philosophy Department at the University of Arizona.  He regularly teaches courses in applied ethics (medical ethics, business ethics, and environmental ethics).  He is trained as a political philosopher and studies questions of domestic, international, and global justice.