天美传媒

Inspired by IMSA鈥檚 mission statement and its congruence with his personal passion and commitment to end poverty, Dr. Torres believes that, 鈥渢his can only be accomplished if we have excellent, equitable education and learning systems for academically talented students and for all students, and I realized that I could accomplish my mission in life through partnership with those at IMSA who continue to be fully committed to igniting and nurturing creative, ethical, scientific minds that advance the human condition鈥� (2014).

Dr. Jos茅 M. Torres was named President of the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy in 2014. He is a recipient of the Dr. Effie H. Jones Humanitarian Award (2014) from the American Association of School Administrators (AASA), an award honoring leadership in educational equity and excellence to those demonstrating an extraordinary 鈥渃ommitment to the advancement and mentorship of women and minorities in positions of leadership and/or demonstrate a commitment to address social justice issues among children, youth and adults in schools.鈥�

At the invitation of the Governor of Illinois, Dr. Torres serves on the advisory committee for the Governor鈥檚 Technology Advisory Group; and the Governor鈥檚 Cabinet on Children and Youth. He also serves on the Cost of Segregation Education Advisory Group; and on the board of directors of the Illinois Association for Gifted Children, the Governor鈥檚 P-20 Council and Advocate Sherman Hospital in Elgin, Illinois. 

He is the former School Superintendent of Elgin School District U-46 where he implemented a five-year accountability plan that established new benchmarks supporting the District's 40,000 students' efforts to achieve academic success. He served on the U.S. Department of Education鈥檚 Federal Equity and Excellence Commission (2011-2013) and provided recommendations for closing the achievement gap of English language learners. He is a past regional superintendent for the Chicago Public Schools and has worked in school districts in San Jose, CA; Anne Arundel, Baltimore; Rockville, MD; Washington, D.C.; and the U.S. Department of Defense Schools. 

Dr. Torres holds the degrees from the University of Maryland (College Park, Maryland): Bachelor Degree in General Studies (1983), Master of Education (1985), and a Doctor of Philosophy in Education Policy, Planning and Administration (1999). His hometown is San Juan, Puerto Rico. 

Kellie A. McElhaney is a leading expert on equity fluent leadership, value-creating strategies of diversity and inclusion, and corporate social responsibility. She is on the Berkeley Haas faculty as a Distinguished Teaching Fellow and is the Founding Director of the Center for Equity, Gender and Leadership (EGAL). 

Launched in November 2017, EGAL鈥檚 mission is to educate equity fluent leaders to ignite and accelerate change. Equity fluent leaders understand the value of different lived experiences and courageously use their power to address barriers, increase access, and drive change for positive impact. McElhaney helped develop the equity fluent leadership concept and teaches it across the country and around the world.

In 2003, McElhaney founded the Center for Responsible Business, solidifying corporate responsibility as a core competency and competitive advantage for the Haas School. Haas was rated #1 in the world for corporate responsibility by The Financial Times. She received the Founder and Visionary Award at Haas in 2013 for this work.

McElhaney wrote a book entitled 鈥淛ust Good Business: The Strategic Guide to Aligning Corporate Responsibility and Brand.鈥� She writes case studies of companies who are investing in women and equity-fluent leadership (Wal-Mart, Gap, Inc., Boston Consulting Group, Zendesk), and conducts research in the area of equal, pay, conscious inclusion, equity fluent leadership, and value-creating strategies of diversity and inclusion.

McElhaney consults and keynotes for Global 1000 companies and organizations all over the world on her areas of expertise, and has a TED talk. 

Kamilah Drummond-Forrester, M.A., became the director of Open Circle in 2017. She initially joined Open Circle in 2013, where she led the organization鈥檚 teacher development programming for four years, preparing educators to implement and integrate the Open Circle Curriculum in their classrooms. In that role, she delivered training and coaching to teachers, administrators, and support staff while upholding the integrity, quality, and fidelity of all elements of Open Circle鈥檚 programming. Drummond-Forrester is also a facilitator with the National SEED Project, a program of the Wellesley Centers for Women (WCW), and has led WCW community members in discussions around various topics surrounding equity and diversity.

Prior to joining Open Circle, Drummond-Forrester was a co-founder and director of wellness at a Boston charter school and director of an award-winning, educationally-based reentry program at Suffolk County House of Correction. Her professional experiences have fueled her passion for social and emotional learning (SEL), equity, and youth development, affording her unique insight into the importance of SEL in the lives of children and the adults who care for them.

Drummond-Forrester is attuned to the changing landscape of education and, in her new role with Open Circle, intends to work collaboratively with her colleagues to provide curricula, professional development, and implementation support that keeps the wellbeing of students at the center while meeting the needs of schools and educators.

Anne Brown holds a PhD and an MURP from UCLA. Her research examines the intersection of equity, shared and innovative mobility, travel behavior, and transportation finance. Anne has published on a range of transportation equity topics including discrimination in new mobility, the planning implications of ride-hailing, transit fare equity, and the policy implications of being car-free versus car-less. An academic expert in equity, transportation, innovative mobility, travel behavior and finance, she is an assistant professor in the School of Planning, Public Policy and Management. 

Latasha "Tasha" Holden is an assistant professor in the  at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a researcher at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology.
Holden's research seeks to better understand how (process), when (context), and why (internal vs. external factors) different individuals achieve academic and career success in spite of threats to their identity, well-being, and belonging.
Her research interests include learning and memory with a focus on applying cognitive science to support students with diverse learning needs. She is particularly interested in supporting student resilience in the face of cognitive demands, biases, and identity threats experienced in various testing and learning situations. 
Research areas

Working memory, long-term memory, and learning
Control of cognition
Inter- and intra-individual differences
Culturally informed and responsive science and pedagogy
Diversity, equity, and inclusion
Test performance and achievement
Intervention
Open science and secondary data approaches

Education

B.A., psychology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2010
B.A., art history/museum studies, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2010
M.A., experimental psychology, Towson University, 2012
M.A., psychology, Princeton University, 2014
Ph.D., psychology, Princeton University, 2018

Lab page: 
CV: 

Danushi Fernando is the Chief Diversity Officer at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry located in Syracuse, New York. ESF. 
Fernando has over a decade of experience in DEI management in higher education settings, with a passion for human resources and student development through immersive experiential learning, training, hiring and retention programs. Her focus areas are; ally training, antiracism training, BIPOC & LGBTQ+ talent development, Title IX, change management, conflict resolution, and crisis management. As a mental health clinician working predominantly with marginalized communities, her DEI and management work use an intersectional mental health lens centered on social justice.
Fernando is an expert in diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education. She has led DEI programs at Vassar College, Clarkson University and Farley Dickinson University. She holds master's degrees in Clinical and Mental Health Counseling, Creative Writing and Literature for Educators, and Corporate and Organizational Communication. 

Dr. Pentsil is the chief diversity & health equity officer of LifeBridge Health, and associate program director of the pediatrics residency program at Sinai Hospital. She is a graduate of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Her clinical work is focused on pediatric hospital medicine, with additional interests in patient safety, global health, and medical education.