Oh, it is wonderful to see all the introductions here! I am Lori-Beth Larsen, English, Reading, and Global Studies Instructor and OER Lead Faculty at Central Lakes College in Brainerd, Minnesota. I’m looking forward to our conversations and to learning with all of you.
Hello, everyone! I’m Shinta Hernandez, and I’m the Department Chair of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice at Montgomery College in MD. I’ve been at MC for 14 years, and throughout my time here, I’ve been advocating for increased accessibility, equity, and inclusion in curriculum, policies, and practices.
I’m co-founder of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Open Pedagogy Faculty Fellowship, which is in its fourth year and now has seven institutional partners throughout the U.S. and Canada. Nearly 50 fellows have been selected to participate this summer.
I’m a member of the CCCOER Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee. I’m also honored to have been selected as the Vice President of Professional Development on the CCCOER Executive Council next year.
Alan, that is the best laugh I have had in a while! What a great story.
Hi everyone,
My name is Stacy Katz and I am an Open Resources Librarian at Lehman College, CUNY in the Bronx. I’m interested in how to expand my practices to incorporate EDI work with more intentionality. Looking forward to reading and learning together!
Hello, everyone! My name is Julie Reed and I am the e-learning librarian and de facto OER librarian at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, NC. I’m interested in how best to incorporate EDI principles with OER advocacy and make both practices sustainable for the long term. I look forward to participating in this great group!
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I too am thinking about this ever-present tension and this was in our minds in planning an EDI Community and would hope we can address with this as we go. I think we all need to be asking that question with every letter typed into a box like this.
That ugliness you described is something that seems to be always out there. I’ve not experienced the attacks you describe but have had my photos used to create many fake identities.
Open needs to be something we modulate continuously. I remember doing some video interviews with students where all we filmed were their hands as they described how they perceive identity-- one memorable student used their hands to show what they see as identity not as a singular thing, but an orifice that is always being widened and narrowed depending on context.
I hope we can have a lot of that critical examination here. But if at any point the openness of this space is an issue, we will make changes.
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Hi All,
My name is Andrea Scott, and I’m the Operations Associate in the Faculty Development and Educational Initiatives Department at Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) in Salt Lake City, Utah. I joined the Open SLCC Team in 2013 and co-led the development efforts of the initiative. I currently coordinate the OER Initiative, Chair the Open SLCC Advisory Committee at SLCC, and serve on the CCCOER Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee.
Since joining SLCC, I’ve advocated for knowledge equity and accessibility. In 2018 I co-developed the Student Advocacy and Outreach Internship Program, which includes Open Pedagogy and a student-centered approach to learning, allowing the ability to adjust the content to the intern’s experiences, aptitude, or estimated internship eligibility.
Before joining SLCC, I worked in the social services arena, supporting, and developing programs that addressed educational barriers to student access and success for underserved and underrepresented populations. Although I consider myself an advocate for EDI, I still have so much to learn. I’m excited to be on this learning journey with you.
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Hello! I am Karen Neville, Library Director and OER Ambassador at Red Rocks Community College in Lakewood, CO. I am interested in OER not only a means to provide equal access to materials but as a way to decolonize courses. I am also interested in equity in education policy, and I am currently part of a Professional Learning Community (PLC) that is developing guidelines and a rubric to review all college polices and procedures through an equity lens.
Cynthia - That is crazy about the LIS Microaggressions forum. I am really glad you are part of this discussion. I attend both OpenEd sessions that you, Regina Gong, and Ariana Santiago did. I was so inspired by those sessions that I did a SPARC capstone project based on them. Thanks for being here!
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Hi, Ursula–yes, I remember seeing you there! And I’d love to hear more about your SPARC capstone at some point!
Aloha, folks. I’m Dayle Turner, a composition/writing instructor at Leeward Community College (Pearl City, Hawaii). I wish OERs were around when I began teaching (1990!) because I would’ve been all over them. I dove into OER maybe five years ago, happy to free of the yoke of ridiculously expensive textbooks I had students purchase, and I’m happy to report that all of my writing instructor colleagues are now onboard, with 100+ sections of comp courses designated as Textbook Cost: $0. Hallelujah! I’m currently taking part in a professional development course/workshop, with one of our assignments being to “connect to a local, national or international OER activity.” So here I am, connecting. 
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