A new Diversity Speaker Series at Napa Valley College will feature speakers including a Filipino historian and a former Black Panther, and will cover topics from modern earth-based spirituality to gender issues. Speakers will provide the college and community the opportunity to learn about a variety of cultural and social issues. All presentations are free and open to the public.
Ericka Higgins, professor of Women’s Studies at California State University East Bay and a former Black Panther, will speak from 4 to 6 p.m, on Monday, Nov. 1, in building 1200/Little Theatre. Huggins is a human rights activist, poet and teacher. For the last 25 years, she has lectured throughout the United States, where her extraordinary life experiences enable her to speak personally and eloquently on issues relating to the physical and emotional well-being of women and children, youth, incarceration, education, and the role of the spiritual practice in sustaining activism and promoting change.
Charlie Toledo, executive director of the Suscol Intertribal Council, will speak from 4 to 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 15, in building 800, room 838. She has a lifelong commitment to social justice and international work on human rights. Toledo is of Towa descendant, native to New Mexico. The Suscol Intertribal Council is a community-based organization incorporated in 1992 and located in Napa. She has more than 20 years in alternative healthcare fields, as well as a background in consultation for problem solving and stress reduction for individuals, families, and organizations.
Colin Close, director of FTM (Female to Male) of Sonoma County will be the final speaker of the series from 4 to 6 p.m., Monday, Dec. 13, in building 800, room 838. Close co-founded FTM Sonoma County in 2004 to provide peer support to transmasculine people and their loved ones. After leading FTMSC for six years, Close recently stepped down to began pursuing a master’s degree in history focused on gender and religion. By day he works for local government managing environmental projects. His passion, though, is speaking with college classes, faith-based groups and civic clubs and providing training to medical providers, nonprofits, and government agencies on gender and diversity.
The Napa Valley College Diversity Speaker Series is sponsored by the Associated Students of Napa Valley College, the Social Justice Committee of the Unitarian Universalist Association of the North Bay and the Arts Council of the Napa Valley. All presentations are free and open to the public. Daily parking is $2. For more information about the series visit www.napavalley.edu or call the Student Life/ASNVC Office at (707) 253-3060.