The tragedies of recent weeks laid bare the social injustices that people of color face in the United States. These events have brought public attention to long-standing issues both worldwide and at the University of Delaware.

In response these events, the Lerner Diversity Council (LDC) and the Women’s Leadership Initiative (WLI) at UD’s Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics are co-hosting a webinar, “Addressing Racism: Advancing Justice in Times of Crisis,”  on Friday, June 19 from 9-10:30 a.m. EST. Registration for the webinar is free and open to the public.

“As members of the University of Delaware community, we can, and must, do better. With hope and empathy, we commit to joining in this work,” said Wendy Smith, professor of management and co-founder of the Women’s Leadership Initiative. “In thinking about how we best begin to serve the call, we have planned an additional Leadership in Times of Crisis webinar to hear the experiences of Black women and offer all of us a call to action for individuals and organizations. We stand in solidarity with the Black community and stand in support of all people who have experienced violence and hate due to bias and prejudice.

“We realize that we need both deeper understanding and action,” Smith continued. “We hope this panel will focus us, educate us, connect us and motivate us to continue this important work.”

The WLI and LDC brought together a panel of Black women leaders, representative of UD students, faculty and alumni, from a range of industries to share their experiences and talk about how to take meaningful action to enable change.

Panelists include:

• Jennifer Joe, Whitney Family Endowed Chair of Accounting, Cohen Family Lerner Director of Diversity, Chief Diversity Advocate, Lerner College

• Daphne McRae, Vice President Project Management Office, JPMorgan Chase & Co., alumna of UD’s MBA program and the WLI’s Women’s Leadership Forum

• Nicole Jeter West, head of Marketing and Brand Engagement for LA 2028; UD alumna

• Vina Amankwaa Afrifa, UD Class of 2021, incoming JPMorgan Chase & Co. summer analyst, incoming Harvard Summer Venture in Management Program ’20 participant

Those interested in participating must register for the “Addressing Racism: Advancing Justice in Times of Crisis” webinar online.