Now in its twelfth year, Voices Envisioned is a series of events for Oakwood students, their families, and our faculty/staff/administrators to explore important issues related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice.
October 3, 2018
Voices Envisioned, 2018–19
Debby Irving Returns to Oakwood!
May 14, 2019
7–9PM | Secondary Campus Community Room
I’m a Good Person! Isn’t that Enough?
Debby is an educator, racial justice activist and author. The focus of her work is exploring Whiteness and its importance in today’s complicated racial landscape.
Her first book, Waking Up White, tells the story of how she went from well-meaning to well-doing and how she confronted her own long-held beliefs about colorblindness, being a good person, and wanting to help People of Color.
This interactive conversation is designed to examine the complexities of racism and racial tensions at the individual, interpersonal, institutional and cultural levels.
RSVP BELOW
Past Voices Envisioned Events
Rosetta Lee
January 15, 2019
7–9PM | Oakwood Elementary Campus Community Room
What Boys and Girls Are Made Of: Gender and Sexuality Diversity
Gone are days when boys are made of “snips and snails and puppy dog tails” and girls are made of “sugar and spice and everything nice”… or are they? Children are barraged with messages about gender and heterosexual norms everywhere they go—their homes, their schools, the media, and more. Do you know what hidden lessons they are learning? How do gender and sexuality affect everything from boys struggling in school to girls dropping out of the STEM pipeline, from sexual harassment to anti-gay bullying, from eating disorders to plastic surgery? How do parents, guardians, teachers, and schools provide safe environments for positive self-esteem, healthy identity development, and acceptance of differences? Please come hear Rosetta Lee address these questions and more.
Rosetta Lee
Rosetta Lee serves Seattle Girls’ School in dual roles. SGS is an innovative school for Junior High School girls, aiming to empower women leaders and change agents and dedicating its energies to a diverse community of students and faculty, an anti-bias mission, and an integrated curriculum. As a faculty member, Rosetta teaches subjects such as science, math, technology, art, ethics, social justice, and more. As a professional outreach specialist, she designs and delivers trainings for all constituencies of the school community, as well as the local and national educational and nonprofit sectors.
Since 2004, Rosetta has been a diversity speaker and trainer on a variety of topics, including cross cultural communication, identity development, implicit and unconscious bias, gender and sexuality diversity, facilitation skills, and bullying in schools. Rosetta has presented at numerous conferences and nonprofit organizations such as the White Privilege Conference, Junior League, and City Year. She has also worked with over 200 K-12 public and independent schools throughout the country, as well as a number of colleges and universities. She has served several years on the faculty of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) Diversity Leadership Institute, as well as NAIS’ diversity think-tank cadre, Call to Action.
Rosetta has served as President on the Board of Directors of SMARTgirls, a Director on the Board of the Northwest Association for Biomedical Research (NWABR), Chair of the 2006 Seattle Expanding Your Horizons Conference, Co-Chair of the 2006 NAIS People of Color Conference, Think Tank Member of the 2012 NAIS Annual Conference, and as a trainer/facilitator with the National Coalition Building Institute. Rosetta is the recipient of the 2007 Outstanding Partner in Education Award from the Northwest Association for Biomedical Research and recipient of the 2005 Distinguished Teacher Award for the Washington Federation of Independent Schools.
Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy, MD & Aydin Olson-Kennedy
October 23, 2018
7–9PM | Oakwood Secondary Campus Atrium
Supporting Gender Diverse & Transgender Youth:
A Deeper Look at Gender Dysphoria
Johanna Olson-Kennedy, MD is an Adolescent Medicine physician specializing in the care of gender non-conforming children and transgender youth. Board certified in Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Dr. Olson-Kennedy has been providing medical intervention for transgender youth and young adults including puberty suppression and cross sex hormones for the past twelve years. Dr. Olson-Kennedy is the Medical Director of The Center for Transyouth Health and Development at Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles, the largest transgender youth clinic in the United States. She also spearheads a rigorous research program that seeks to understand the trans experience from childhood through early adulthood. Dr. Olson-Kennedy has appeared frequently on national television, and spoken all over the country to educate providers, parents, and other communities about the needs of transgender youth.
Aydin Olson-Kennedy is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and the Executive Director of the Los Angeles Gender Center. He began his Social Work career working with youth in foster care and group homes, the juvenile justice system, and those experiencing homelessness or precariously housed. Aydin’s advocacy work has also included assisting youth and adult victims and survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence. Over the past ten years, his career as a mental health professional has primarily focused on providing services for gender non-conforming and transgender youth, adults and their families. He speaks internationally on the importance of informed consent mental health care, with emphasis on broadening clinicians and families understanding of gender dysphoria and its impact on the psychosocial well-being of gender-nonconforming and transgender individuals.