MEET THE SPEAKERS
The Virtual US UK Summit on Race
Tribute To Black History Month
In The United Kingdom
Friday, October 7, 2022
FREE & OPEN TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC WORLDWIDE
4pm BST • 11am EDT • 10am CDT • 9am MDT • 8am PDT
*Please note that some of these biographical profiles are written using a British style of writing.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
PROFESSOR PATRICK VERNON OBE
UK
|
Patrick Vernon is an Independent Non- Executive Director of Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care System, where he leads on inequalities. He also serves as the Chair of Walsall Together Health Partnership, and is the Specialist Adviser for Centre for Ageing Better, and the Chair of Citizenship Partnership for Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch of the National Health Service.
Patrick was awarded an OBE in 2012 for his work on tackling health inequalities for ethnic minority communities, and in 2018 he received an honorary PhD from Wolverhampton University. He was selected as one of the 1000 Progressive Londoners by the Evening Standard. In 2019 he was awarded a lifetime achievement award for campaigning and advocacy work by the SMK Foundation. In August 2021, Patrick was appointed by Wolverhampton University as an Honorary Professor of cultural heritage and Community Leadership for the Department of Community Development. In 2020 Patrick was selected by British Vogue as of Britain’s Top 20 campaigners and was included in the 2020 Power List of 100 influential Black People in Britain. Also, in 2020 Patrick co-authored 100 Great Black Britons and established the Majonzi Fund, which provides small grants to families and community organisations to organise commemoration events for individuals from BAME communities who have died from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. Patrick is a sought-after broadcaster and public speaker and writes blogs and articles for the national and international media on healthcare, cultural heritage, and race. |
DISTINGUISHED PANEL
PROFESSOR LAURA SERRANT OBE
UK
|
Professor Laura Serrant OBE is a global, multiple award-winning international Global Diversity and Inclusion, Leadership, Development, and Inclusive practice specialist, professional speaker, and experienced coach. She is the Director of her own consultancy, Laura Serrant Limited.
Author of over 100 articles, including edited books and research, she is one of the BBC expert women and was identified by The Health Service Journal among the top 50 leaders in three separate categories: Inspirational Women in Healthcare, BME Pioneers, and Clinical Leader awards. She was named the 8th most influential Black person in Britain by the Powerlist 2018. In 2018 she was awarded an OBE for services to Nursing and Health Policy. She has a successful podcast series, “Speaking for Ourselves,” available across most social media platforms. Her family is from The Commonwealth of Dominica, West Indies. |
PROFESSOR SIR GEOFF PALMER
UK
|
Professor Sir Geoff (Godfrey) Palmer was born in Jamaica in 1940. He migrated to London in 1955 and unexpectedly had to return to school because he was one month younger than the school leaving age of 15 years. He was designated Educationally Sub-Normal and attended a Secondary Modern School. In 1958 he secured a job as a Junior Laboratory Technician at Queen Elizabeth College, where Professor Chapman ‘changed’ his name from Godfrey to Geoff and assisted his entrance to Leicester University in 1961.
He gained an Honours Degree in Botany in 1964 from Leicester University, a Ph.D. Degree in 1967 from Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt College, and completed a Post-Doctoral Fellowship in grain science at Edinburgh University and Heriot-Watt University in 1968. At the Brewing Research Foundation (1968 to 1977), he used the fundamental research from his Ph.D. to develop the industrial process of Barley Abrasion. He pioneered the use of the Scanning Electron Microscope to study cereal grains. In 1977, he returned to the Heriot-Watt University as a staff member, gained a DSc degree for his research work in 1985. Professor Palmer retired in 2005 and came out of retirement to become Chancellor of the Heriot-Watt University in 2021. Professor Palmer sits on the Boards of Community Organisations and has received Honorary Degrees from various Academic Institutions. His awards include an OBE (2003) and Knighthood (2014) for his scientific research, charity, and human rights work. He was the fifth recipient and the first European resident to gain a distinguished research award from the American Society of Brewing Chemists. His work on the history of the enslavement of African people as British slaves has led him to work on slavery projects with Glasgow University and to chair projects set up by Edinburgh City Council, the Scottish Government on Museums, and Edinburgh University. In 2021 Leicester University gave him its Diversity and Inclusion award as part of its 100-year-old celebrations. He has published books on race relations and cereal science and technology. He is the first Honorary Consul for Jamaica in Scotland and the Freeman of Midlothian. In 2021 he received the Pride of Scotland’s Lifetime Award, and in 2022 he was made an Honorary Keeper of the Quaich by the distilling industry. |
RETIRED JUDGE LAJUNE LANGE
US
|
The Honorable LaJune Thomas Lange began her legal career with the Hennepin County Public Defender's Office as a trial lawyer until appointed by the governor to the trial court in 1985. Judge Lange served as a Fourth Judicial District Court Judge for the State of Minnesota, handling complex civil and criminal cases until her recent retirement. Judge Lange now serves as a Senior Fellow with the Roy Wilkins Center for Human Relations and Social Justice at the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs. She is a founding member of the Minnesota Minority Lawyers Association and has served on the Minnesota State Bar Association Board of Governors, Minnesota Women Lawyers, Minnesota Public Interest Research Foundation, American Bar Association, National Bar Association, Minnesota Association of Black Lawyers, Minnesota Supreme Court Racial Bias Task Force. Judge Lange is an internationally recognized expert in developing nations' human rights and the rule of law.
|
BILL WELLS, JR.
Panel Moderator
US
|
Bill Wells is President, W. Wells & Associates, LLC, a management consulting firm specializing in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) strategy development. In his work, Additionally, Bill provides customized human capital and talent acquisition & retention solutions as well. Bill also works closely with senior leaders providing coaching and guidance during culture change and transformation.
Previously, Bill served as Vice President - Global Diversity/Chief Diversity Officer (CDO) for Traveler's Insurance. Earlier in his career, Bill held a variety of executive and general management level positions in both the telecommunications industry, including leadership roles in Human Resources, Information Technologies, Marketing, Operations, Strategic Planning, and Business Development. Bill holds an MBA degree with a major in Marketing, a graduate certificate in Business Administration, and a Bachelor of Arts degree with a Psychology major. Bill is a life member of the National Black MBA Association, including former Chairman, and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity. Also, Bill is married, has two sons, is a freelance writer, avid music-lover, jazz enthusiast, and enjoys golf. |
Youth Speak Out About Black History & DEI
Young People Speak Out About The Issues
The collaborators of the US UK Summit on Race make a point to include the voice of young people in much of what we do. This includes helping them to tell the story of Black History and what it means to celebrate it. Our October 7th program will feature the voices of young people from around the world, including the UK and the US.
Patrick Parsons, Curry College
Jaryee Cooper, University of Bridgeport
Troi Dixon, Curry College
We plan on including more youth voices in our virtual events and online discussions. Young people are not only our "Leaders of Tomorrow," they are our guideposts for better cross-cultural platforms for change.
Carole Copeland Thomas
Garth Dallas
William Wells, Jr.
The collaborators of the US UK Summit on Race make a point to include the voice of young people in much of what we do. This includes helping them to tell the story of Black History and what it means to celebrate it. Our October 7th program will feature the voices of young people from around the world, including the UK and the US.
Patrick Parsons, Curry College
Jaryee Cooper, University of Bridgeport
Troi Dixon, Curry College
We plan on including more youth voices in our virtual events and online discussions. Young people are not only our "Leaders of Tomorrow," they are our guideposts for better cross-cultural platforms for change.
Carole Copeland Thomas
Garth Dallas
William Wells, Jr.
Friday October 7, 2022
FREE & OPEN TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC WORLDWIDE
4pm BST • 11am EDT • 10am CDT • 9am MDT • 8am PDT
