The Riley Institute at the Furman Showcase

The Riley Institute at the Furman Showcase

2:00 – 3:00 p.m. | Riley Institute Showcase Session One

Diversity Leaders Initiative: Leveraging deep dialogue, productive relationships, and diverse teams to take on community challenges

Dick Riley welcomed audience members, and DLI Facilitator Juan Johnson moderated a conversation with several Riley Fellows (DLI graduates) who talked about how DLI has informed the way these leaders think about what they do, built an understanding of the strengths of diverse groups and teams, and built productive relationships among different people.

About the speakers

Juan Johnson is the facilitator of the Diversity Leaders Initiative and president of Diversity Leadership in Action. His work is focused on bringing together leaders from various sectors of society to build diversity leadership skills, forge new and lasting relationships, and launch important community building initiatives. He has facilitated sessions with thousands of leaders across multiple industries, gaining a wealth of knowledge which he applies in his consultation and facilitation practice. Juan’s original background is accounting and finance. Prior to launching Diversity Leadership in Action, Juan served in a variety of key positions at The Coca-Cola Company including Vice President and Director of Diversity Strategies.

Sky Foster has worked as a corporate executive grounded in her principles of integrity, diversity and wisdom for more than 28 years. Since 1993, a member of the initial plant start-up team, Sky has held several important roles at BMW managing Compensation/Working Structures, Benefits/Payroll/ Strategic Planning; Talent Acquisition, Training and leadership development. She has had the opportunity to travel across BMW’s Global Network and share her experience in places like Africa, England, Germany, Austria, Italy, Mexico, and Canada. As the former corporate spokeswoman, Sky was the trusted voice for BMW Manufacturing. Her vast experience as a leader at BMW and throughout the South Carolina community make her a highly sought-after speaker and community leader.

Tony McDade (’79) recently retired from United Ministries where he served as executive director since 2016. Previously the executive director of Greenville Area Interfaith Hospitality Network (GAIHN), he has extensive experience in social ministry enterprises in the Carolinas. GAIHN, a shelter-to-housing ministry with homeless families, joined with United Ministries in 2016 as a premier example of how synergy and capacity of collective impact can benefit participants, agencies, and the community. He continues to provide consultation for nonprofit entities in South Carolina.

Beth Pontari was named interim vice president for academic affairs and provost in 2022 after serving as associate provost for engaged learning for five years. As associate provost, she helped launch The Furman Advantage and was responsible for promoting Furman’s academic vision to internal and external audiences and for tracking and assessing its progress. Beth has served on Furman’s faculty in the psychology department since 2001, serving as chair for four years. As a social psychologist, her research focuses on self-preservation – the process of conveying identities and images to others and investigating how and why people are more or less successful at managing their social interactions.

Juana Spears Slade is chief diversity officer and director of language services at AnMed, one of the first health systems in South Carolina to operationalize strategic diversity management. Under her leadership AnMed Health has developed an integrated diversity, inclusion and health equity framework in support of the organization’s increasingly diverse patient population and workforce. Her work in cultural and linguistic competence has been recognized by the US Department of Health and Human Services; the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; the South Carolina Hospital Association; the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce; and the American Hospital Association’s Institute for Diversity in Health Equity (IFDHE); The Riley Institute of Furman University (Greenville, SC); and South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities. Juana is a member of the Board of Trustees of the South Carolina Hospital Association and immediate past chair of the Alliance for a Healthier South Carolina.

3:30 – 4:30 p.m. | Riley Institute Showcase Session Two

Student Experiences with the Riley Institute: Driving progress, leveraging profile, and embodying The Furman Advantage

Jacki Martin, deputy director of the Riley Institute, opened this session with a quick look at the Riley Institute’s work to elevate Furman’s profile and create opportunities for students. Jessica Taylor (’07), senate and governors editor for The Cook Political Report, moderated a conversation with a current student and two other alumni about how their Riley Institute experiences helped bring The Furman Advantage to life for them.

About the speakers

Jessica Taylor (’07) graduated magna cum laude from Furman and is the senate and governors editor for The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter. Before joining Cook, Taylor was a political reporter for National Public Radio for five years, where she covered elections and breaking news, ranging from the White House to both chambers of Congress and statewide elections. Her quotes and analysis regularly appear in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal. She has reported on politics for several prestigious outlets — including the NBC News Political Unit, National Journal, Politico and The Hill, and she has appeared on MSNBC, Fox News, C-SPAN and CNN.

Monica Handa Dongre (’07) is senior employment counsel with RTI International, a nonprofit research institute in the Research Triangle dedicated to improving the human condition by turning knowledge into practice. A graduate of Furman and the University of North Carolina School of Law, she also serves as the special events co-chair for the Women’s Advancement, Leadership and Success Employee Resource Group at RTI. A devoted advocate for diversity and inclusion initiatives in the workplace, Monica is also a graduate of the Diversity Leadership Initiative.

A summa cum laude graduate of Furman University, Shekinah Lightner (’20) served as the Riley Institute Advance Team lead, an Advantage Scholars counselor, and an undergraduate research assistant at the Riley Institute while at Furman. She continued to work on several of the Institute’s research and evaluation projects as a research associate after graduating. Lightner is a current Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Political Science and Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. Her research focuses on early childhood education, education policy, and state politics.

A senior politics and international affairs major, Owen Miller (’23) has been a member of the Riley Institute Advance Team since the spring of 2020. He has helped plan and facilitate several of the Advance Team’s on- and off-campus events. He will be graduating from Furman in May and taking a gap year, after which he will be attending law school.

Jacki Martin joined the Riley Institute as deputy director in 2009. She works closely with the executive director and the Institute’s center and program directors to conceive and launch the spectrum of the Institute’s programs. During her tenure the Institute has grown to encompass three centers of work (Center for Education Policy and Leadership, Center for Diversity Strategies, and Center for Critical Issues) and has substantially expanded its portfolio of programs, increasing its annual operating budget by more than 400 percent. Her background is primarily in policy-centered program creation and management around community development issues, with an emphasis on large-scale, multi-partner initiatives. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of South Carolina.