How to Be an Advocate Panel

Tanya M. Odom, Ed.M. is a global consultant, writer, coach, and diversity, equity, and inclusion and civil rights thought leader. She has worked globally for more than 20 years, in more than 40 countries, as a consultant, coach, storyteller, and facilitator focusing on areas including: Diversity and Inclusion, Inclusive Leadership, Race/Racism, Challenging Conversations, Mindfulness, Coaching, Innovation and Creativity, Educational Equity, and Youth Empowerment/Mentoring. Tanya’s unique portfolio career has allowed her to work in the education, private sector/corporate, not-for-profit/NGO, law enforcement, and university/college arenas. She is the co-author of "Evaluation in the Field of Education for Democracy, Human Rights and Tolerance.” Tanya is a frequent contributor to the Huffington Post, where she has written posts about diversity, leadership, self-compassion, and mindfulness. Tanya also writes for cnn.com. Tanya’s work and commentary has also appeared in several publications including Diversity Woman Magazine, Bloomberg News, and The Village Voice. Tanya was named by Diversity Best Practices as “A Diversity Thought Leader to Follow on Twitter. As a mindfulness practitioner, Tanya weaves in mindfulness research and practice in her work with individuals and groups and connects it to leadership, teams, intentional inclusion, and the mitigating of unconscious bias. A recent area of focus has been supporting the United Nations in their gender equity by 2030 pledge. Tanya has worked with 15 UN entities in nine different countries focusing on inclusive leadership, unconscious bias, and women in leadership. Tanya is passionate about working with youth, and engaging them in meaningful, relevant conversations. She has combined her global diversity and inclusion work with her youth development/youth leadership focused work. She has worked with youth in the U.S, and on projects in Northern Ireland, where she worked with Catholic and Protestant Youth; and in Israel, where she worked with Palestinian and Israeli youth on topics including bias, dialogue, community building, and youth leadership. She has also worked with young people from different ethnic groups in Myanmar, where the program focused on women’s empowerment and increased inclusion in the political process. Over the last three years, Tanya has spent a great deal of time globally facilitating sessions, and moderating panels focused on "Challenging Conversations," where she has been creating spaces for honest and courageous dialogues and sharing. Entrepreneur Magazine recently featured Tanya as one of the "3 Women Entrepreneurs Who Unleash Their Energy for the Greater Good." Tanya has a master’s degree in education from Harvard University, where she focused on administration, planning, and social policy. She received her B.A. in anthropology/sociology with a correlate sequence in women’s studies from Vassar College. In addition to the NSHSS Foundation Board, Tanya is a member of the Board of Trustees for Vassar College, and a Board Member of the Institute for Mindful Leadership.

Todd Corley is the creator and catalyst of The TAPO Institute, a think tank and strategic advisor advocating inclusive leadership. He is a former corporate officer in charge of global diversity and inclusion at an iconic retailer, where he elevated them as the “#1 Specialty Retail Brand” among the African American segment and positioned them as a leader among the LGBT community via the HRC’s Corporate Equality Index. As a seasoned executive who has built corporate social responsibility platforms that improve brand equity, he is passionate about societal and organizational change. He chairs both the National Society of High School Scholars Foundation, which serves 2M+ Millennials across 170 countries and the Chief Diversity Officer Consortium at Georgetown University. Todd has an MBA from Georgetown University and is a graduate of the inaugural Brand & Reputation Management Program taught by Tuck Executive Education at Dartmouth College.

Sofia Gonzalez is a high school English teacher, college professor, and published author in Illinois. She has been in the field of education for over ten years and has a deep passion for students who are disadvantaged. She also educates and empowers future teachers in an online teacher preparation program as she believes teachers need as much empowerment as students do. She obtained a double Masters from the University of Phoenix and St. Xavier University in Secondary Education/licensure, and Reading instruction. Sofia has also traveled the country and internationally as a sought-after public speaker covering a plethora of topics for the sake of inspiration, influence, and empowerment. In addition, out of her tireless commitment to education, she started a non-profit called Project 214. Inspired by her first classroom number, she began her career in a gang-infested, impoverished neighborhood in Chicago. Her first job consisted of teaching students who were expelled or dropped out of the Chicago public school system. As a result, she saw great disparity and lack of resources for at-risk students. Many, unfortunately, died of gun violence. The organization promotes the power of education by providing basic resources/books to both teachers and students at a local and international level. Her organization has partnerships with schools and communities in Costa Rica, Panama, El Salvador, and Puerto Rico. She believes that ALL students matter, and the world is a global classroom. She’s an advocate and social activist for fair and equitable access to education for all. She is the 2019 recipient of Educator of the Year with National Society of High School Scholars, and 2020 Spirit of Education Award recipient with National Safe Schools convening.

Leilah Saint Louis is a rising senior at Westhill High School. She was previously at J.M Wright technical High School where she studied Culinary Arts. She founded Blackout Stamford in May 2020. She is dedicated to giving back to the community. She is an aspiring Pediatric Surgeon. She is responsible for delegating her members, scouting for new opportunities, and finding new ways to educate her community etc. She has a lot of passion for helping others and social & racial justice.

Mr. Patrick Berard Jr. is a Senior at Virginia Wesleyan University (VWU) majoring in Earth & Environmental Sciences, Eagle Scout from Troop 259 Chesapeake, Virginia, member of the Order of The Arrow, a National Honor Society within Boy Scouts of America, a Certified GLOBE teacher, and a member of the National Society of High School Scholars. He managed a blog for The Gunn Group and was instrumental in devising and coordinating a Climate Change Symposium and Green Career Fair (Generations Uniting to Address Climate Change) at VWU (November 2019). Patrick was one (1) of five (5) VWU students selected to participate as a “Young Disruptor” for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Chiefs of Transformation Conference (December 2019). He received an intern acceptance with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) (May-November 2019) and worked in the Water-Monitoring Department. Recently, he interned by teleworking with the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) in the Environmental Health Services Department (February-March 2020). Prior to COVID-19, Patrick was in the process of piloting a study with the VDH, working alongside environmental health managers (EHM), assessing the health and current state of Virginia homeowners’ septic tanks in the peninsula region of Virginia. Previously, Patrick served as Vice President of the Marlins Go Green club, and is a volunteer member with the Sierra Club Virginia Chapter. He previously interned with the Virginia League of Conservation of Voters as a Senior Project Director Fellow. Most recently, Patrick designed, coordinated, and executed a virtual panel-style webinar titled: “Environmental And Racial Justice, Here And Now, In The Era of Covid-19, Where We Go From Here?” (August 2020). The event was sponsored by the Virginia League of Conservation of Voters and Co-Sponsored by the Union of Concerned Scientists, Center for Sustainable Communities, Eco-districts, and the Sierra Club Virginia Chapter. He is an intern with the Center for Sustainable Communities. Patrick’s guidance and mentorship consist of his parents Mr. & Mrs. Patrick Berard Sr. and his sister who currently attends Virginia Commonwealth University. Patrick is adventurous and enjoys the outdoors. His hobbies include listening to music, cooking, volunteering, watching the animal channel, and traveling. Lastly, Patrick believes that one must surround themselves with happy warm and genuine people. Patrick’s moto is, “success is keeping your mind awake and your desire asleep.” It always seems impossible until it is done.

Fabian De Rozario is a business and community leader who has led, coached, and trained thousands of people globally. After 18 years in various leadership roles, Fabian started his training & development practice, GlobalConnect LP in 2005. He also spent 14 years as a contract consultant and master facilitator with Korn Ferry, a global talent and organizational consultancy. Since 2005, Fabian has traveled extensively around the world, delivering an average of 100 workshops and speeches every year. He is a subject expert of diversity & inclusion, unconscious bias, cultural agility, and inclusive leadership. Fabian’s passion is also in community service, and he has served on several boards and previously served as the President & CEO of the National Association of Asian American Professionals. His acknowledgments include the President’s Award from the Georgia Society of Association Executives and he is a member of the 2011 Class of Leadership Atlanta.