Location:
Livingston Student Center Concourse

Location:
Livingston Hall

Location:
Livingston Hall

Presenter:
Akbar H. Cook | Principal, Newark West Side High School

About:
Principal Akbar Cook became known for his innovative approach providing for his community in Newark Public Schools with initiatives such as the “Lights On” and “Washing Bullying Away” programs. He has appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show talking about his desire to uplift and educate children and has gained the attention of many.

Click here to learn more about Principal Akbar Cook

Location:
Livingston Hall

Presenter:
Brian Pirapakaran, Graduate Hall Director for The Cook Apartments, Rutgers University — New Brunswick

About:
Brian Pirapakaran is a Rutgers University alum obtaining his B.A. in Political Science. He is currently a 2nd year graduate student for the College of Student Affairs at the Graduate School of Education at Rutgers University. Learn more about Brian here.

Location:
Livingston Student Center – Coffeehouse

Description:
Come join us anytime throughout the conference to make an impact! The Bridge of Books foundation collects and distributes books to children all throughout the state of New Jersey. To date they have donated over a MILLION books to children who don’t have access to books at home!

Visit www.bridgeofbooksfoundation.org to learn more and how you can get more involved!

Location:
Livingston Student Center – 202

Presenter: 
Dr. Charise Breeden-Balaam | Adjunct Professor, Bergen Community College

Description: 
Food insecurity is a growing problem among college students and in particular community college students. This workshop will provide attendees with information regarding this issue as well as explore best practices in how higher education institutions can address this issue systematically.

Location:
Livingston Student Center – CLC

Presenters: 

Long Wu | Student Services Advisor, One Stop Student Services Center

Stephanie Jones | Student Services Advisor, One Stop Student Services Center

Jay Stefanelli | Assistant Director, One Stop Student Services Center

Deepa Bhalla | Director, One Stop Student Services Center

(All presenters are from Rutgers University–New Brunswick)

Description: 
Enrollment management and student affairs have traditionally lived in two separate worlds. This distance is inherently at odds with institutional goals. Presenters will discuss mutually beneficial outcomes when enrollment management and student affairs seek to employ each other’s best practices. In doing so, both divisions can effectively communicate with students and enhance operational efficiency, develop student agency, and drive student success outcomes.

Location:
Livingston Student Center – Gathering Lounge

Presenters: 

Zaneta Rago-Craft | Director of Intercultural Center,  Monmouth University

Roberto Orozco | Graduate Assistant for Enrollment Management and Full-time PhD Candidate, Rutgers University–New Brunswick

David Jones | Director, Paul Robeson Cultural Center, Rutgers University–New Brunswick

Janet Jun Siew Loh | Coordinator of International Programs & Outreach, Residence Life, Rutgers University–New Brunswick

Avani Rana | Director of Leadership, The College of New Jersey

Description: 
Are you considering a doctorate, but nervous about what to anticipate? Join our panel featuring 5 professionals who are currently pursuing or recently completed their journey to doctor. This session will discuss differences across Ed.D. and Ph.D., full-time vs. part-time, in-person vs. online/hybrid, overcoming impostor syndrome, dissertation chair and committee relationships, motivation/persistence, and navigating implicit bias while centering our identities as historically underrepresented in the academy.

Sponsored by 

Location:
Livingston Student Center – 201

Presenter: 

Adam Carlson | Student Conduct Coordinator, Residence Life

Antoinette Murray | Student Conduct Coordinator, Residence Life

Dylan Sorkin |Student Conduct Coordinator, Residence Life

Margaret (Molly) Rynn | Student Affairs Compliance Coordinator

(All presenters are from Rutgers University–New Brunswick)

Description: 
We trust our student leaders with LOTS of responsibilities, and we need our staff to be up to speed on a lot of important info. And if you’re like us, in past years you’ve gotten feedback about annual trainings being long, a bit repetitive, and leaving staff on information overload. This year, the Office of Student Conduct flipped our previous Hearing Board training upside-down with online training methods, and we got stellar results. Come let us share our story with you.

Location:
Livingston Student Center – 111

Presenter: 
Dr. Joan Collier | Associate Director for Research and Assessment in Residence Life, Rutgers University–New Brunswick

Description: 
This session (re)introduces concepts within Black Feminism as guides for personal and ethical foundations in student affairs and higher education research and practice. Through presentation and small(er) group activity, attendees will learn how one higher education scholar-practitioner grounds and negotiates her work in and through Black Feminism.

Location:
Livingston Student Center – Gathering Lounge

Presented by:

Jason Joyce | Assistant Director of Student Life, Columbia University

Summary:
Sleep, Stress, Group Projects- what emojis would students use to describe their feelings toward these Emotional Intelligence influencers? Using current, relatable examples, past experiences and pop-culture sensibility, this interactive session will teach attendees ways to creatively explain and apply Emotional Intelligence practicum to improve their own communication and leadership skills, and how they can use these skills to empower student leaders to effectively share their stories with others and excel professionally in any group situation they face.

Sponsored by 

Location:
Livingston Student Center – CLC

Presented by:

Darnell Thompson | Diversity Education & Outreach Coordinator, Residence Life

Martin Petrella | Coordinator for Training & Staff Development, Residence Life

(All presenters are from Rutgers University–New Brunswick)

Summary:
Resident Assistants are tasked with developing communities with students from increasingly diverse backgrounds. Rutgers University has begun to implement a diversity training curriculum to prepare student staff to build community in a socially just way. Diversity curriculums move beyond “diversity days” or single sessions to provide a tiered and cohesive learning experience through a resident assistant’s employment. In this session, you will learn about the curriculum used in the Department of Residence Life at Rutgers, as well as, strategies to implement a similar training experience within your home unit and institution.

Location:
Livingston Student Center – 202

Presented by:

Chelsea Rushing | Educational Opportunity Fund Counselor, Saint Peters University

Kaseem Foster |Clinician & Doctoral Candidate, University of Hartford

Summary:
We will be utilizing the A.D.D.R.E.S.S.I.N.G. method to explore the traumas that both students and student affairs professionals experience throughout their personal, professional, and academic journeys. This framework will allow us to explore the ways in which our narratives are interwoven with the complexities of our identity.

Location:
Livingston Student Center – 201

Presented by:

Matthew Garcia | Associate Director of Employer Relations and Alumni Programs, Yeshiva University

Tiffany Hernandez | Manager of Operations & Events,  New York University

Summary:
Want to take the leap and apply for a role outside of your current functional area? Challenged to find the confidence to take action and achieve this goal? Join this Round Table to address understood and overlooked methods of jumping functional areas and walk away with specific, actionable steps to ensure you are more prepared to make your transition.

Location:
Livingston Student Center – 111

Summary:
Conference attendees will have the opportunity to take part in a Professional Coaching Session. The Professional Coaching Session is an opportunity for a new/mid-level professional to talk with a seasoned professional about their career goals and get suggestions for next steps, opportunities to gain new knowledge and develop networking skills. To learn more about the coaches, click here.

Location:
Livingston Hall

Location:
Livingston Hall

Presenter:

Jonathan Sun, Assistant Director, Center for Diversity & Inclusion, Rider University

About:
Jonathan is a student affairs practitioner at Rider University who’s work primarily focuses on diversity and inclusion. His research interests include race, religion/spirituality, student development, assessment and post-colonial theory. Learn more about Jonathan here.

Location:
Livingston Hall

Presenter:

Deja L. Jones, President & Director of Programming at Curate Your Life, LLC

About:
Deja L. Jones is a New Jersey native who currently lives in Newark. She is the founder and Director of Programming for Curate Your Life, a civic engagement organization that exposes teen girls to social justice issues via service-learning. Learn more about Deja here.

Location:
Livingston Student Center – CLC

Presented By:

Philip Smith | Director for Student Activities, Temple University

Neela Patel | Rutgers University–New Brunswick

Summary:
Power comes not from the barrel of a gun, but from one’s awareness of his or her own cultural strength and the unlimited capacity to empathize with, feel for, care, and love one’s brothers and sisters” – Addison Gayle Jr. This session will walk you through what is the study of Cultural Intelligence (CQ), your own CQ assessment and its importance in the world, possible staffing challenges, and questions if your university is currently Culturally Intelligent.

Sponsored By 

Location:
Gathering Lounge

Presented By:

Krista Klein |Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, Rutgers University Honors College-New Brunswick

Nicole Baron | Assistant Dean & Director for Admissions, Rutgers University Honors College-New Brunswick

Kelly Hennessy | Interim Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs, Student Services,  The College of New Jersey

Issata Oluwadare | Associate Dean for Student Affairs, Rutgers University Honors College-New Brunswick

Delmy Lendof |Associate Dean for Student Affairs, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, New York University

Summary:
Can we have it all? This question plagues women as they return to work from maternity leave, and the “fifth trimester” defines when the working mom is born. In this session, presenters will share strategies for navigating work and life after maternity leave. This session will help define what it means to become a working parent in student affairs.

Location:
Livingston Student Center – 202

Presented By:
Eena Singh | Assistant Director, Center for Student Life, New York University

Summary:
It is becoming more and more common in higher education to pursue a masters in order to be able to get a desired position and to move up successfully in the field. However, there are many aspects of the field that are not adequately being taught in many of the graduate programs, specifically about the job search and navigating your career as a new professional. We have termed this the “hidden curriculum of higher education” because it should be a required course for everyone. Elements of this “hidden curriculum” like preparing for the job search, negotiating salaries, understanding supervision, and discovering your area of expertise should be taught and not be “hidden” for individuals to discover it on their own. This workshop sheds light on what the presenters think the “hidden curriculum” is and will help attendees uncover things they should have known all along about navigating a career in higher education.

Location:
Livingston Student Center – 201

Presented By:

Lisa Smith, MS, DVS |  Coordinator for Domestic Violence Services, VPVA

Rebecca Vasquez, PhD, LAC, NCC, ACS | Assistant Director, VPVA

Will Pauwels, Ed.M | Coordinator of Special Programs, VPVA

(All Presenters are from Rutgers University–New Brunswick)

Summary:
How do survivors of trauma experience our campuses? Student Affairs professionals and para-professionals play a vital role along this journey. This interactive workshop will discuss the Neurobiology of Trauma, how to create trauma-informed spaces and offer practical ways for Student Affairs staff to respond to survivors of trauma.

Location:
Livingston Student Center – 111

Summary:
Conference attendees will have the opportunity to take part in a Professional Coaching Session. The Professional Coaching Session is an opportunity for a new/mid-level professional to talk with a seasoned professional about their career goals and get suggestions for next steps, opportunities to gain new knowledge and develop networking skills. To learn more about the coaches, click here.

Location:
Livingston Hall

Location:
Rutgers Club