Learning Matters: a Bridge to Practice – Details, episodes & analysis

What do you get when a Communication Scholar, Historian, Geographer, and a Biologist walk into a room during Black History Month?

Today we have with us Divine Agodzo, Robynne Healey, Maxwell Ofosuhene and Laura Onyango to discuss and celebrate intersections of black contributors to history and issues of diversity, inclusion and reconciliation across the full spectrum of our educational offerings and scholarship.  Answering questions such as, What do you believe are some of the unique challenges facing Black students in Christian universities today, and how do you work to support and empower them? In your opinion, what can be done to address systemic racism and discrimination within Christian universities and communities? What are some books or movies  that you consider helpful in exploring or learning about black history?

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Today we have with us Sydney Dvorak, Angela Konrad and Kate Muchmore Woo to talk a student practicum project where over 100 theater posters spanning 50 years were digitized and archived in TWU’s Special Collections.

For more information about the project and to access the archive please see:

https://create.twu.ca/library/2022/03/09/search-twu-theatre-production-posters-online/

 https://archivessearch.twu.ca/posters-3

 https://www.twu.ca/news-events/news/history-student-digitizes-over-100-theatre-production-posters-twu’s-archives-and

Learning Matters: a Bridge to Practice

Discussing matters of learning and building bridges to practice.

https://tinyurl.com/learningmatters-twu

Podcasting from Studio Yarah at Trinity Western University – hosted by Scott Macklin.

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Learning Matters series on convening methodologies for holding space for hope, healing and restoration.

Today we have with us Randy Engstrom discussing culture, racial equity, community development, and hopeful acts of inclusive creativity and the arts.

Randy Engstrom has been a passionate advocate and organizer of cultural and community development for over 15 years.  He is currently an Adjunct Faculty at the Seattle University Arts Leadership Program and an independent consultant focused on cultural policy, organizational development and racial equity.

Most recently he served as Director of the Office of Arts and Culture for the City of Seattle, where he  expanded their investments in granting programs and Public Art, while establishing new programs and policies in arts education, cultural space affordability, and racial equity. He served as Chair of the Seattle Arts Commission in 2011 after serving 2 years as Vice-Chair, and was Chair of the Facilities and Economic Development Committee from 2006 to 2010.

Previously he served as the Founding Director of the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, a multimedia/multidisciplinary community space that offers youth and community member’s access to arts, technology, and cultural resources (www.youngstownarts.org). Prior to Youngstown, Randy spent 3 years as the Founding CEO of Static Factory Media, an artist development organization that owned and operated a record label, bar/performance venue, graphic design house, recording studio, and web development business. 

In 2009 Randy received the Emerging Leader Award from Americans for the Arts and was one of Puget Sound Business Journal’s 40 Under 40. He is a graduate of the Evergreen State College in Olympia, and he received his Executive Masters in Public Administration at the University of Washington’s Evans School of Public Affairs.

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Learning Matters series on convening methodologies for holding space for hope, healing and restoration.

Today we have with us Tony Benton discussing the celebration of Black History   and transforming the media landscape by amplifying diverse narratives.

Tony Benton is a founder and Station Manager of Rainier Avenue Radio, super-serving and amplifying the diverse narratives and voices of Southeast Seattle’s communities. 

Be sure to check Black History Month programing on Rainier Avenue Radio: https://www.rainieravenueradio.world

 Tony B. has been heard over the airwaves on several different radio stations in the Seattle-Tacoma region. Whether he was hosting community affairs shows, like KUBE 93’s “StreetBeat,” or covering sports topics on SportsRadio KJR AM’s “Get in the Game,” Tony’s shows are known for being open, honest and thought-provoking.

 After graduating from Seattle’s Franklin High School, Tony attended the University of Washington, with a major in communications. He has received several awards for his contributions to music, youth and community organizations, in addition to serving on boards of organizations such as Thrive by Five Washington, Seattle Public High Schools Radio/TV Advisory Committee, the Northwest chapter of NARAS, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, Crosscut.com, and SouthEast Effective Development (SEED).

As the Founder and CEO of MUSICA Entertainment, LLC, Tony produces the King County Executive's Awards for Excellence in Hip Hop, an annual Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday festival showcasing the Northwest’s emerging hip hop scene. He is also creator of the Call to Conscience Black History Month Essay Writing Challenge, the Call to Conscience Black History Month Celebrations and the Dr. King Digital Media Challenge. Tony B was honored and presented with the "2009 Spirit Award" by the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle. The Urban League referred to Tony as the "Voice and Consciousness of the Community." 

Be sure to check Black History Month Programing on Rainier Avenue Radio: https://www.rainieravenueradio.world

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Learning Matters series on convening methodologies for holding space for hope, healing and restoration.

Today we have with us Almetta Pitts discussing “interrupting the ouch” and somatic abolitionism – embodied anti-racist practice and cultural building one brave space at a time.

Almetta supports individuals, communities, organizations and companies who seek to interrupt the “status quo” of workplace wellness. She facilitates brave spaces that cultivate tough conversations around diversity, equity and belonging founded within coined methodology of somatic wellness and anti-racist practices (SWAP). 

 She has significant experience of co-curating  somatic impact  experiential learning experiences via the collaboration of leading organizations, companies and institutions. She is the Founder and Principal Consultant  of Attemla Consulting, LLC.  

 Attemla Consulting's areas of activism focus upon workplace & leadership wellness via trauma informed care, organizational change, restorative justice, radical self-care, strategic development,  racial equity and social justice. Our interactive anti-racist training series, inter-group dialogues and strategic planning retreats empower our clients and their teams to explore the public health epidemic(s) of  Systemic Racism and the School to Prison Pipeline.  We also explore “somatic based anti-racist philosophies of navigating tough conversations within the workplace.” 

To find out more about Almetta’s work, check out: www.attemlaconsulting.com

The Map Ministry: https://thenapministry.wordpress.com/

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Welcome to the Season 2 | Episode 1 of Learning Matters where we will digging into holding space for hope and healing.

Today we have with us Dr. Jabali Stewart discussing circle keeping, peace making and spiritual source coding.

 Jabali is an inclusion specialist utilizing Peacemaking Circle in schools (K-College), businesses, families, government, and community settings. He has trained in the lineage of Circle Keeping connected to Mark Wedge, Kay Pranis, and Barry Stuart for nearly a decade. Besides keeping Circle he also trained in, and practices other Art of Hosting social technologies, all with a focus on institutional cultural change. Jabali is also a public speaker who has also cultivated a practice of deep one-on-one cultural counsel. His work is deeply informed by his belief and practice of sensible, love based leadership.

 To find out more about Jabali’s work, check out: https://www.wearehuayruro.com/

And to listen to Special Vices: https://specialvices.bandcamp.com/

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Learning Matters series on Holding Space for Hope, Healing and Restoration.

Today we have with us Eddie Pate discussing lessons learned along the way of becoming an inclusive leader.

Dr. Eddie Pate is a transformational leader. He builds relationships grounded in love and grace. Eddie’s expertise lies in helping drive strategic focus on inclusion & diversity, cultural competence, and inclusive leadership to help individuals, teams & organizations thrive. His 20 year career journey took him through several northwest companies, Microsoft, Starbucks, and Amazon.

To find out more about Eddie’s work, check out: http://eddiepate-speaking.com/

To listen to his podcast Beyond the Blue Badge, check out: https://www.microsoftalumni.com/s/1769/19/interior.aspx?sid=1769&gid=2&pgid=2373

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Today we have with us Sonya Grypma, Vice Provost, Leadership & Graduate Studies and Dean of GLOBAL at Trinity Western University – discussing well-being, care and history in Higher Education and beyond.

Sonya joined TWU in 2007 as a faculty member in the School of Nursing, and was promoted to Full Professor in 2012. She served as Dean of Nursing from 2013-2019.

Both a nurse and historian, Sonya has been a research fellow at UBC, University of Pennsylvania, and University of Virginia. Her program of research for the past 20 years has focused on transnational nursing history, particularly the intersection of Canadian, American and Chinese nursing networks developed through philanthropic, missionary and nursing organizations prior to 1948. She has been an invited keynote speaker on four continents, and has published two scholarly books on missionary history:  Healing Henan:  Canadian Nurses at the North China Mission, 1888-1947 and China Interrupted:  Japanese Internment and the Reshaping of a Canadian Missionary Community, as well as a co-edited book entitled Transnational and Historical Perspectives on Global Health, Welfare and Humanitarianism. 

In addition to teaching responsibilities, Sonya has served on numerous committees, including TWU Senate, including as Chair and, most recently, as Senate Secretariat. She has also been involved in nursing education leadership provincially – as Chair of the Nursing Education Council of BC – and nationally. 

 She is currently President of the Canadian Association for Schools of Nursing--Association canadienne des écoles de sciences infirmières.

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Today we have with us Calvin Seerveld, who is 90 years young and serves as Professor Emeritus in Philosophical Aesthetics at the Institute for Christian Studies – discussing art, education, labor movements and cosmoscopic dimensions of life and society.

Calvin Seerveld (born 1930 in New York) received a BA from Calvin College in 1952, an MA in English literature and classics from the University of Michigan in 1953. He then went on to study under D. H. Th. Vollenhoven at the Free University (VU) in Amsterdam, where his doctoral dissertation dealt with Croce's aesthetics. It was supervised by Vollenhoven and Carlo Antoni. He then taught philosophy and German at Trinity Christian College, and went on to teach philosophical aesthetics at the Institute for Christian Studies in Toronto. 

Cal wrote, "Aesthetic life is not something sophisticated - that's a humanistic lie. Aesthetic life is as integral to being human as building sandcastles on the beach and giving your children names."

http://www.seerveld.com/tuppence.html

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Today we have with us Sheryl Reimer-Kirkham, Dean and Professor of the School of Nursing at TWU. Discussing wellbeing, teaching and learning from a place of deep care and Prayer as Transgression.

Sheryl Reimer-Kirkham was appointed Dean of Nursing in August 2019. She brings academic distinction, a wealth of experience, and highly informed perspectives on nursing to her role. Reimer-Kirkham is a committed educator, a respected academic leader, and an internationally regarded researcher. Among other awards, Reimer-Kirkham was a recipient of the 2019 UBC School of Nursing Centenary Medal of Distinction and was appointed in 2014 to the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Scientists and Artists.

Reimer-Kirkham’s research focuses on diversity, religion/spirituality, equity and human rights—all in relation to health and healthcare services. She has brought together international teams to study the negotiation of religious plurality, most recently with a project on the expression of prayer in Vancouver and London hospitals. She is currently leading an international program of research on human rights and albinism that includes a study on mothering and albinism in Tanzania, South Africa, and Ghana. Reimer-Kirkham also conducts nursing education and knowledge translation research, and with colleagues developed the Knowledge-AS-Action Framework. She is recognized for her contributions to postcolonial feminist research in nursing. She teaches in the areas of nursing philosophy, nursing research and knowledge translation, spirituality and nursing, and health policy. 

An Innovative Online Knowledge Translation Curriculum in Graduate Education in Worldviews on Evidence-based Nursing 

http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/wvn.12440 

http://prayerastransgression.com/

www.motheringandalbinism.com

 https://www.twu.ca/academics/school-nursing

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