Humanity Through Community

Dr. Robin DiAngelo is a former Associate Professor of Education. She is a two-time winner of the Student’s Choice Award for Educator of the Year from the University of Washington. Her scholarship is in White Racial Identity and Race Relations. In addition to her academic work, Dr. DiAngelo has extensive experience as a workplace consultant in issues of race relations and racial justice. She was appointed to co-design the City of Seattle’s Race & Social Justice Initiative Training. She has numerous publications and books, including, “What Does it Mean to be White?: Developing White Racial Literacy. Her work on White Fragility has influenced the national dialogue on race and been featured in Alternet, Salon, NPR, PBS, The New York Times, The Atlantic, Slate and Colorlines.

Nikkita Oliver is a Seattle-based creative, teaching artist, attorney, and organizer. Her writing has appeared in the South Seattle Emerald, Crosscut, and the Stranger. Oliver holds a J.D. and Masters of Education from the University of Washington. She is also the case manager for Creative Justice, an arts-based alternative to incarceration, and has worked for arts organizations such as Writers in the Schools and the Arts Corp.

Nikkita is a voice for large scale criminal justice transformation, police accountability, and racial equity. She ties her work as a community organizer, artist and attorney together through storytelling. She believes that understanding the stories we do and do not tell are key to our transformation. If we do not tell whole honest stories, how can we be whole honest people and communities.

Nikkita is the recipient of the 2017 Community Legal Services Imagine Justice Visionary of the Year, the University of Washington Women’s Law Caucus Outstanding Achievement as a Young Lawyer Award (2017), the Seattle Office of Civil Rights Artist Human Rights Leader Award (2015), and the 2014 Seattle Poetry Slam Grand Champion. She has opened for Cornel West and Chuck D of Public Enemy and performed on The Late Night Show with Stephen Colbert.

Richard Kim, MDiv | Facilitator

Richard (Master of Divinity, 2011) is a husband to Grace and father to Caleb. Richard is the Intercultural Credibility Coordinator and Consultant at The Seattle School, where he works to support the integration of culture and identity frameworks in the formational development of pastors, therapists, artists, and leaders. Richard is also the owner and principal consultant at RDKim Consulting, helping organizations understand and engage culture and identity paradigms. Richard is from Minnesota by way of Florida and currently lives in Issaquah, WA.

Dr. Angela Parker | Facilitator

Dr. Angela Parker Parker is an Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies at The Seattle School. She received a Master of Theological Studies degree from Duke Divinity School and a Ph.D. in Bible, Culture, and Hermeneutics from Chicago Theological Seminary. Ordained as a Baptist minister and well-versed as a teacher in the church, Dr. Parker’s academic teaching focuses on the New Testament, Biblical Greek, and womanist and postcolonial thought.

Kelle Brown | Panelist

Rev. Kelle Brown is ordained in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and serves as Lead Pastor of Plymouth Church United Church of Christ in downtown Seattle. She is a graduate of Spelman College and received her Master of Divinity from Seattle University, where she was recently selected as a faith leader to participate in the new Center for Religious Wisdom and World Affairs—part of her ongoing work in the effort to dismantle racism and other forms of oppression. Rev. Brown has also worked as a mental health provider, a community liaison, and a spiritual and leadership coach. She recently completed her Doctorate of Ministry from San Francisco Theological Seminary.

Andy Carlson | Panelist

Andy Carlson (Master of Divinity, 2011) is a Seattle School alumnus and the pastor of Awake, a neighborhood church in north Seattle that identifies with the people and culture of Seattle’s iconic Aurora Avenue. He is part of the community that founded Aurora Commons, a space of hospitality and resource-bridging for neighbors who are experiencing homelessness, drug-dependence, sexual exploitation, and social alienation. Andy’s wife Lisa is one of the directors for Aurora Commons, and they share in the work with their two children, Cedar and Kipling.

Sharon Suh | Panelist

Dr. Sharon A. Suh is Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at Seattle University. She earned her Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies from Harvard University and is the author Being Buddhist in a Christian World: Gender and Community and Silver Screen Buddha: Buddhism in Asian and Western Film. Dr. Suh is an avid meditator and popular speaker on the topic of feminism and Buddhism. She has also led workshops on mindful movement, meditation, body image and acceptance, and mindful eating practices.

Katie Ladd | Panelist

Rev. Katie Ladd serves as the pastor of Queen Anne United Methodist Church in Seattle. Originally from the South, Katie worked in congregations both large and small before joining QAUMC in 2011. She has long felt called to work with those who are marginalized and left out, and she is honored to journey with others as they struggle through their own faith journeys. Katie blogs about faith, social issues, pop culture, and more at peaceablekindom.blogspot.com.

Paula Womack | Panelist

Paula Womack (MA in Counseling Psychology, 2010) is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and an approved Clinical Supervisor in Washington State. She has been serving in community-based mental health for more than seven years and works at Atlantic Street Center in South Seattle, where she runs the internship program, works primarily with African American and Latina adolescents who have experienced complex trauma, and participates on the clinical leadership team. Paula is also working toward the creation of an equity team at Atlantic Street Center, part of her ongoing work of healing from internalized dominance and addressing structures of racism and other forms of oppression.