Jewish Federation of NENY Community Engagement Partnership presents an educational opportunity on What You Never Learned about Racism: A look at History, the Capital Region, and What We Can Do Today.
All sessions are on Tuesdays at 7:00 PM and are free to our partner agencies and congregations.
NOTE: Registration links are specific to each session. Please sign up for each session individually.
The Roots of Racism
with Barbara Smith
Tuesday, July 28
Dvar Torah by Rabbi Dan Ornstein
Register for this session:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYlcu2qqz4sG9JuYjQq9Zsbofp1E5tnZCsK
An Overview of the Mind Science of Bias
with Gregory Owens*
Tuesday, August 4
Dvar Torah by Rabbi Roy Feldman
Register for this session:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAsfu-gpjMsHd1eZJs4I8pd17Jj5hswn5Rd
Engaging in Courageous Conversation with an Equity Lens
with Kathleen McLean
Tuesday, August 11
Dvar Torah by Rabbi Linda Motzkin
Register for this session:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMucOmopz0vEtc4JO77XYSswLv7n40-7uTP
Where Do We Go From Here?
with Corey Ellis
Tuesday, August 18
Dvar Torah by Rabbi Deborah Gordon
Register for this session:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwrdO2sqj8sH9E-i5jcdF-b46M-viblrLNm
All sessions are moderated by Harris Oberlander, LCSW-R
Cosponsored by Trinity Alliance INC
*Gregory Owens is a licensed master social worker and has worked for NY State for over 30 years. He is a highly sought-after keynote speaker, trainer and consultant in leadership development, mentoring, cultural competence, and effective approaches for working with young Black males. He has consulted on racial disproportionality in the juvenile justice systems in Ohio, Michigan and Hawaii.
Owens provided training on Implicit Bias to the Albany Police Department, local community stakeholders, and the New York State Unified Courts. In 2017, he provided leadership development sessions to program managers and leaders of federally funded health marriage and responsible fatherhood programs from across the nation. He has presented training sessions on the mind science of bias, anxiety and threat to the Mediation Centers in Columbia and Dutchess Counties, and Raleigh, North Carolina. He worked with municipal staff in Goldsboro, North Carolina on leadership, managing difficult conversations and bias.
He is currently working with schools and school districts, facilitating sessions with administrators on Implicit Bias, Leadership, Cultural Competence and Mastering Difficult Conversations, and with the Albany Law School on Diversity and Inclusion efforts, facilitating listening sessions with faculty, professors and students. He convenes the Albany Minority Health Task Force for the University at Albany, Center for the Elimination of Minority Health Disparities, and consults with the Adirondack Health Initiative, presenting workshops on health literacy and culture to stakeholders in the upstate region of New York State.
He was appointed to the NYS Board of Regents Workgroup to Improve Outcomes for Boys and Males of Color in 2015. He has participated as a member of the Campaign for Black Male Achievement, the national advisory board on Improving Outcomes for African American Males in the Child Welfare System: Identifying Effective Programs and Services, and the Alliance Network of Social Service Administrators Committed to Racial Equity, and is an advisory board member of the Child Welfare Adoption Leadership Institute (CWALI): Developing and Supporting Emerging Leaders of Color.
Owens has coached track and field, was the host of smooth jazz radio stations in the Capital Region for nine years, and has also worked as a treating clinician for the National Football League substance abuse program.
He received his BA in Sociology from Rider University and a master’s degree in Social Work specializing in Criminal and Juvenile Justice from the University of Pennsylvania. He is a soloist, and member of the male choir. He and Terry Owens have been married for 26 years, are Deacons at the Macedonia Baptist Church in Colonie, NY. They are the proud parents of Kayla, a graduate of American University, and a recent graduate of Georgetown University with a master’s degree in Conflict Resolution. She will begin a doctoral program at George Mason in 2021.