Amber M. Sessoms Is Keynote for Ruby Jones Conference
This Saturday, October 28, the University’s Lawrence A. Dowdy Multicultural Center hosts the Ruby Jones Conference on Race, Social Justice, and Civic Leadership. The
conference is designed to create an educational environment where students, faculty,
and staff can engage in learning that will raise awareness and promote action-oriented
dialogue about racial, cultural, and social issues that impact how they experience
life on campus, in communities, and in society.
The free conference runs from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in Sykes Student Union Ballrooms at 110 West Rosedale Avenue.
Keynote speaker Amber M. Sessoms is the founder and chief visionary officer (CVO) of Natural Inclination LLC, where she supports leaders in cultivating liberatory spaces for individuals to be their full, authentic selves. She centers the voices of historically devalued communities by inviting all learners to write a new story centered on belonging, truth, and healing.
A nationally certified school psychologist and a doctorate-level adult educator, Sessoms has more than 20 years of experience in the educational and mental health sectors. She is also the first person of color to be named School Psychologist of the Year by the Association of School Psychologists of Pennsylvania and is now the first person of color to lead this organization as its president.
Sessoms also serves on the Council of Trustees for Millersville University; is vice-chair of Diversity Inclusion Professionals of Central Pennsylvania; chair of the IDEA committee for the Girls on the Run of Lancaster Board of Directors; and co-director of Pennsylvania’s Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Taskforce, in partnership with the Department of Education.
Sessoms earned her doctorate in lifelong learning and adult education from Pennsylvania State University. She earned both her bachelor of arts in psychology with a minor in African American studies as well as her master of science in psychology from Millersville University.
This conference is named for the late Professor Ruby Jones ’40, a West Chester State Teachers College alumna and the first Black faculty member hired at the institution. She was a K-12 educator prior to joining the WCU faculty and was actively involved with the NAACP, the YWCA, and the American Association of University Women. She has been described as an educator, humanitarian, and civic leader. The former Demonstration School, opened on campus in 1899 as an elementary school where West Chester students practiced teaching under the direction of master teachers including Jones, was named in her honor in 1977.
The conference is co-hosted with WCU’s Office of Student Leadership and Involvement, the Center for Women and Gender Equity, and the Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
Register here: https://ramconnect.wcupa.edu/DMC/rsvp_boot?id=2128832.
For additional information, contact the Dowdy Multicultural Center at multicultural@wcupa.edu or 610-436-3273.