Represent!

Join us and for a panel discussion with award-wining educator Donovan Livingston, literary advocate Ty Allan Jackson, psychology professor Dr. Eden-Reneé Hayes as they examine the importance of representation in education and media. 

Donovan Livingston is an award-winning educator, spoken word poet, and public speaker. In 2016, his Harvard Graduate School of Education convocation address “Lift Off” went viral, reaching over thirteen million views and prompting Hillary Clinton to praise, “It’s young graduates like [Livingston] who make it clear that America’s best days are still ahead.” His convocation address was published as a book by Spiegel & Grau in 2017. Livingston has earned master’s degrees from Columbia University and Harvard University, and is now a doctoral candidate at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro. 

Ty Allan Jackson is a children’s book author, publisher, literacyadvocate and two-time TEDx speaker. Ty travels across the country empowering children of all ages about the joy and power of reading. His books have been used by companies such as Google, The YMCA, The Boys and Girls Club, The United Way as well as numerous financial institutions and countless schools across the country. He is the co-founder of the Read Or Else movement, created to shine a light on the problem of illiteracy and to provide books to children in homeless shelters across America. You can learn more about Ty and his mission to make the world more literate at BigHeadBooks.comand ReadOrElse.com

Dr. Eden-Reneé Hayes has taught psychology at Loyola University of New Orleans, Tulane University, and The Pennsylvania State University. In one of her research lines she investigates how the intersecting identities of race and gender may influence everyday experiences and perceptions of discrimination. She has presented papers on her research at a number of national conferences including The American Psychological Association, The Society of Personality and Social Psychology, and The Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues. Students working with her have the opportunity to present at conferences as well. Dr. Hayes is also involved in the Berkshire community through sitting on boards of directors for nonprofit organizations and volunteering. With Multicultural BRIDGE, Dr. Hayes assists in conducting cultural competency trainings for various groups and organizations and statistically analyzes the impact of trainings. She has been teaching at Simon's Rock since 2009.

This program is funded in part by Mass Humanities, which receives support from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and is an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. 
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The Mount is a Massachusetts Cultural Council UP designated organization welcoming participants of all disabilities. Please contact The Mount at 413-551-5100 or by email, info@edithwharton.org, to discuss accommodations needed to participate fully in this event.