Please save the dates so you can join us for all events! All sessions will take place on Zoom from 12:00 pm-1:15 pm EST on the third Thursdays in February, April, July, and September. Each session will involve a presentation followed by Q&A. See below for titles, descriptions, speaker bios, and registration links. To receive direct communications about upcoming DEI programs, please sign up for the monthly CFAES DEI Newsletter.
Dates, details, and speaker bios
An Identity in Crisis: The Impact of a Single Decision
February 16th 2023 – 12:00pm-1:15pm EST
Courtney Johnson (she/her)
Chief Program and Education Officer, Office of Institutional Equity, The Ohio State University
Description:
What happens when one decision changes every aspect of your life and makes you question your core identities? Courtney Johnson, Chief Program and Education Officer, from the Ohio State University Office of Institutional Equity, will discuss some of the choices she made in the past that changed the course of her entire life and set her on the path that led her to where she is today doing equity work. Her inspiring presentation will generate awareness about a topic that creates significant barriers to jobs and education, especially for members of marginalized groups. Insights shared in this session will enable participants to better understand and support individuals who face similar challenges.
About the speaker:
Courtney Johnson, Chief Program and Education Officer, from the Ohio State University Office of Institutional Equity, is a proud alumnus of The Ohio State University where she received a bachelor’s degree in Psychology. Upon graduation, Courtney attended Purdue University, earning a Master’s in Counseling Psychology. In 2014, Courtney returned to Columbus and to Ohio State to continue her academic and professional pursuits. Courtney earned her Ph.D. in Higher Education and Student Affairs. Courtney leads a team of educators that helps to inform and consult with members of the Ohio State community about our policies. They facilitate both preventative and responsive educational opportunities for individuals and groups. Courtney is interested in the ways that our institutions make decisions and how those decisions impact marginalized groups.
How COVID-19 Impacted Food Systems
April 20th 2023 – 12:00pm-1:15pm EST
Karima Samadi (she/her)
Policy Analyst – Food Systems, Policy, Research, and Evaluation, Center for Public Health Innovation
Description:
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the fragility of our food supply system. While national-level responses to our food supply revealed a lot of weaknesses, the hyper-local response to feeding our communities demonstrated great strength in our mutual aid networks. The foundations of food justice include the belief that food is a human right. In Columbus and Franklin County, we have a strong network of community organizations that lead the charge in feeding our neighbors in need of food, especially those that are underserved and underrepresented.
About the speaker:
Karima Samadi has engaged in food systems work for over 15 years, in various programs ranging from child obesity prevention to food and agricultural education, to food insecurity research. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Nutritional Food Science from the University of Kentucky, and master’s degree in Public Health from The Ohio State University.
After nearly 10 years at OSU in food security research coordination and research translation, she recently began working as a Policy Analyst at Columbus Public Health in the Center for Public Health Innovation - Policy, Research, and Evaluation section. In this role, she works to advance policy, programs, and services that advance health and equity, with a particular focus on reducing health disparities, raising the life expectancy of the community, and racism as a public health crisis. She engages in multiple policy areas with a main focus on the food system. Through all this, Karima continues to advance the work of the Columbus and Franklin County Local Food Action plan, and bolsters the efforts to improve food access, food equity, and food justice.
Intuitive Eating and Health at Every Size: Moving Away from Harmful Diet Culture Toward Self-Compassion
July 20th 2023 – 12:00pm-1:15pm EST
Gina Forster (she/her)
Assistant Director of Nutrition, OSU Dining Services
Description:
The diet industry in the United State is worth nearly $65 billion dollars and its success can be attributed to a 95% long-term failure rate. Weight management programs feed on insecurities that are perpetuated by societal norms of beauty and health. Diet culture promotes the incorrect assumption that a person’s weight is a predictor of health and something to be fixed if not within a range deemed “normal.” What if instead of promoting weight loss and deprivation the focus is on self-compassion, satisfaction, and permission? In this webinar, Gina Forster, Assistant Director of Nutrition at The Ohio State University, will address the harmful effects of diet culture and outline a more inclusive, satisfying, and realistic way to live. Gina will discuss the misconceptions about weight and introduce four of the ten principles of Intuitive Eating. She will also share a favorite short meditation that can help people find peace regardless of their weight or size.
About the speaker:
Gina graduated from Miami University with a degree in Dietetics, followed by an internship at Mt. Carmel College of Nursing. Soon after becoming a Registered Dietitian and starting work at her first RD job, Gina decided to return to school for a master’s degree in Human Nutrition Science from The Ohio State University. After receiving her master’s degree, she worked for a brief period for a private workplace wellness company, followed by three years working as the Dietitian and Wellness Coach at the Kingsdale Giant Eagle Market District. For the past 9 years Gina has worked as the Assistant Director of Nutrition for OSU’s Dining Services. Gina is a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor and an avid proponent of Health at Every Size. Gina works with people of all ages to develop a healthier relationship with food and their body. Gina’s favorite foods are Tommy’s pizza and any cake with real buttercream.
The Contemporary Relevance of Historic Black Land Loss
September 21st 2023 – 12:00pm-1:15pm EST
Dania Francis (she/her)
Assistant Professor of Economics at University of Massachusetts Boston
Description:
At the close of the Civil War, Black Americans owned very little farmland but began acquiring it at a rapid pace, so that by 1910, Black farmers owned more than 16 million acres. This, however, would be the peak of Black farmland ownership in the United States as the twentieth century oversaw the rapid dispossession of Black-owned agricultural acreage. As a result of having their land stolen from them, many Black landowners lost a valuable tool for wealth creation. This talk will chronicle the loss of Black farmland from 1920-1997 and draw links between that land loss and current racial wealth disparities.
About the speaker:
Dr. Dania V. Francis is Assistant Professor of Economics at University of Massachusetts Boston. Her research interests include examining racial and socioeconomic disparities in education, wealth accumulation, and labor markets. She is the co-author of an influential paper titled “The Economics of Reparations” in the American Economic Review. Her research has also been published in Science, Journal of Economic Literature, and Review of Black Political Economy among other peer-reviewed journals.
Dr. Francis received her doctorate from Duke University and also holds a master’s degree from Harvard University and a bachelor’s degree from Smith College. She is a board member of the National Economics Association and a National Academies of Education/Spencer Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship award recipient (2018-2019). Dr. Francis has been featured on CNBC International and TRT World and her research has been written about in several major publication outlets.