The Greater Burlington Multicultural Resource Center (www.gbmrc.org) is sponsoring its 2019 Diversity Conference on Friday, April 12th from 8:30 AM to 3 PM at the Burlington Hilton, 60 Battery Street, Burlington, VT. The 2019 conference will feature panels on Opiate Addiction and Workplace Diversity, as well as a job fair featuring over 20 employers. Registration for the conference varies from $15 to $75; seating is limited. To register, go to https://gbmrc.org/2019-diversity-conference/
This year's line-up of speakers is an impressive one. The opening keynoter at 9 AM is Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, Professor of Sociology at Georgetown University, author, a contributing opinion writer at the New York Times, an MSNBC political analyst, a contributing editor at New Republic, the host of the Michael Eric Dyson Podcast, and an ordained Baptist minister for over 30 years. His latest book, What Truth Sounds Like, continues the conversation started in his 2017 bestseller Tears We Cannot Stop, and was the winner of the 2018 Southern Books Prize for nonfiction.
The session on Opiate Addiction will feature Judge Craig Hannah, a Buffalo City Court Judge. In January 2017, Judge Hannah was appointed to preside over the Opiate Intervention Court, the first court of its kind in the nation that is dedicated to getting drug-addicted criminal defendants into recovery before their criminal case is heard. Judge Hannah, a former addict himself, was once hooked on cocaine, but stopped using drugs in his early 20s. Since the Opiate Intervention Court started last May, only one of its 92 participants has died from an overdose. It is too early to tell if others will stay clean, but the court is definitely saving lives. Judge Hannah will be introduced by Burlington Police Chief Brandon del Pozo.
The panel on Workplace Diversity will feature Ryan Hargraves, Director of Admissions at UVM; Ame Lambert, Chief Diversity Officer for Roger Williams University, and Gerald Coleman, UVM Director of Custodial Services. The panel will be moderated by Civil Rights Attorney Robert Appel.
The 2019 Diversity Conference is sponsored by Church Street Marketplace, United Way of Northwest Vermont, KeyBank, People's United Bank, Association of Africans Living in Vermont, Peace & Justice Center, Vermont Department of Labor, Vermont Department of Health, Robert Appel Law, and UVM's Office of the Vice President for Human Resources, Multicultural Affairs, and Diversity Initiatives.
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