Liz Roccoforte serves as the full time Director of Case Western Reserve University’s (CWRU) Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) Center in Cleveland, Ohio.

Prior to her tenure as the Director of the LGBT Center at CWRU, Liz served as the Program Manager in CWRU’s Office of Inclusion, Diversity and Equal Opportunity. Working under CWRU’s first Vice President for Inclusion, Diversity and Equal Opportunity, Liz crafted and implemented a variety of programs and workshops from the ground up, including a large scale speaker’s series and numerous tailored
departmental workshops. Liz also played an instrumental role in the design of CWRU’s university-wide Diversity Strategic Action Plan.

Skilled in program development and an experienced facilitator, Liz has assisted in the establishment and ongoing implementation of a variety of LGBT Safe Zone programs and networks on several university campuses. Safe Zone programs provide university participants with tailored interactive workshops that assist in increasing participant knowledge about LGBT issues, testing their personal assumptions and in the learning of ally and advocacy skills. Liz has presented Safe Zone training to hundreds of participants in areas of university life as diverse as faculty, athletics and Greek life.

Liz is known for her ability to navigate higher educational environments regarding LGBT issues and communities and can assist in the development of tailored communication regarding the importance of LGBT initiatives on campus—especially within complex and sometimes oppositional environments. Most recently her work has focused on including critical policy and procedure changes for transgender
individuals on campus, including name change procedures, housing solutions and inclusive health care implementation.

Roccoforte grew up in San Diego, California and earned her B.A. with honors from the University of California, Irvine and a MA in Gender and Women’s Studies from the University of Cincinnati, where she also served as the LGBT campus coordinator. Liz is proud board member of the LGBT Center of Greater Cleveland as well as a member of the Consortium of LGBT Higher Ed Professionals. She resides in Cleveland Heights with her partner.

Anthony T. Bostic, “A.T.”, regards himself as a change agent committed to human capacity building; challenging others to be better than what they are. As a social worker and community leader, A.T.’s eclectic portfolio of professional and personal experiences has centered around social service program development and implementation; non-profit and government administration; training and facilitation, domestic and international special event logistics management; and manufacturing and retail entrepreneurship. A.T. has served as champion for embracing diversity throughout his adult life and is constantly drawing from his array of experiences to strengthen his work in this area.

His educational and training background includes a Bachelors of Arts in Psychology from Morehouse College; a Master of Social Science Administration from Case Western Reserve University; training in Emotional Intelligence, Appreciative Inquiry, Challenge and Ropes Course Facilitation, Value Based Life Coaching, Face to Face Conflict Resolution, DiSC Assessments and Community Organizing. Embracing the charge that “service is the rent we pay for living,” A.T. has performed countless hours of Missionary and Community Service Work, both domestic and abroad, and as a Foster and Adoptive Parent for teenagers. A.T. currently resides in Atlanta, Ga. with his two sons.

Dr. Burks is a career educator who, since 1993, has served independent schools, public schools and institutions of higher education as a teacher and principal, adjunct professor, and school district administrator. In 2002 Dr. Burks became the founding principal of North Carolina’s first early college high school, and he was a founding board member of the North Carolina New Schools Project. In 2006 he was appointed Director of Magnet and Choice Schools, supporting 44 schools in Guilford County, NC.

With the San Diego Unified School District from 2008 to 2011 Dr. Burks held several leadership positions including Area Superintendent, Secondary School Improvement Officer, and Executive Director for Atypical and Charter Schools.

Dr. Burks earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy with Honors from Morehouse College, a Master of Education degree in Educational Leadership from Trevecca Nazarene University and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from The University of North Carolina—Greensboro. A fellow of the British-American Project, Dr. Burks has thrice participated in Fulbright Programs in Thailand, Jordan and Japan.

Dana Adrienne Ponte has been a consultant with Criticality Management Consulting (CMC) since 2010 and is a founding consultant with Campus Diversity Agenda (CDA). Her work in higher education diversity is grounded in a thorough understanding of internationalization and globalization issues as they impact American campuses. A specialist in Russian and Eurasian affairs, Dana holds a bachelor’s degree (summa cum laude) in Russian from the University of Oregon, and a master’s in Russian and Central Asian studies from Harvard University. She is a candidate for the doctorate of philosophy in Higher Education Leadership and Policy at the University of Washington, where she divides her time between the policy history and sociological facets of higher education.

Dana is a skilled interviewer in the qualitative research tradition. She has worked with CMC on its campus diversity strategic action plans, formulating and conducting comprehensive interviews and focus groups that address all stakeholders in higher education institutions. Dana’s strengths in writing and editing have been utilized by CMC in producing its internal and external reports. With nearly a decade of experience working in the non-governmental and non-profit sectors, Dana is CMC’s expert on programmatic assessment, outcomes identification, and institutional best-practices.

Dana’s personal commitment to diversity in higher education is buttressed by her expertise in the history and federal policy environment surrounding diversity advancement in the United States. Her work has particularly been focused on the nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and Tribal Colleges and Universities. In partnership with CMC, she provides management oversight to the Association for Underrepresented Minority Fellows (the AUMF), the nation’s largest scholarly association of African American biomedical scientists and researchers.

Dana is a member of the American Association of Educational Researchers, the History of Education Society, and the American Association for Eurasian and East European Studies. She serves on the editorial team of the policy journal Problems of Post-Communism, and is based in Washington, DC.

Thought-leader and diversity expert, Dr. John Fitzgerald Gates is President and CEO of Campus Diversity Agenda and Principal of Criticality Management Consulting. He brings to his work two decades of experience leading and evaluating institutional diversity and inclusion strategy. An internationally credentialed organizational scientist, Dr. Gates advances diversity as a strategic asset to be leveraged to improve institutional outcomes.

Dr. Gates has served as Associate Dean at Harvard College and a Member of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University, where he oversaw diversity programming and strategy, human resources and fiscal affairs. Dr. Gates led the reestablishment of and co-chaired Harvard’s Association of Black Faculty, Administrators, and Fellows, served as faculty advisor to the Black Men’s Forum, and a Resident Fellow of Lowell House.

As Special Assistant to the President and the Provost and Lecturer of Higher Education at the University of Vermont, Dr. Gates oversaw institutional diversity, including the ALANA Student Center, the Women’s Center, and the LGBTQ Center. He was the president’s point person on complex, confidential and strategic university matters, and represented the president to the Board of Trustees, the Faculty Council, the Staff Council, the University Planning Council, and the Master Planning Committee, among other bodies.

At New York University, Dr. Gates oversaw global diversity—leading NYU’s international network of campuses in Argentina, the Czech Republic, Spain, France, Great Britain, and Italy, as well as Villa La Pietra. He led the establishment of NYU’s offices of Faculty Affairs and Global Affairs, and managed a $100 million budget. While at NYU, Dr. Gates also served as Associate Director of the Faculty Resource Network, a national faculty development and diversity consortium; Associate Director of the Africana Studies Program; and Associate Director of the Institute of African-American Affairs.

A national advocate for LGBT inclusion, Dr. Gates has served as a member of the Board of Directors and chair of the Diversity Committee of Fenway Health—the largest academic medical center focused on LGBT health in the world. He speaks to student and professional groups on such topics as “A Gay Black Man’s Journey to Authenticity” and “Breaking Through the Privilege Gap”.

Dr. Gates holds a Bachelors degree in English from Morehouse College, a Masters degree in Higher Education Administration from New York University, a Certificate in Educational Management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and a Ph.D. in organizational behavior from the University of London.