Latinx Yoga: Take Ownership of Your Yoga and Let it Empower You
March 3, 2021 - 1:00 PM
Empower other WOC to claim their spaces and understand that they are worthy of wellness, health and self-care. Yoga does not have to look or feel one specific way.
Gabriela Cordero
Yoga Instructor, Author and Art Curator
Having grown up in a household that prioritized wellness and health, Gabriela has made it a mission to take up as much space as she can in a predominantly white industry.
Gabriela always had a passion for holistic health, a love fostered by her parents’ own love for all things organic and nutrient dense. She hopes to encourage people just like her to prioritize themselves and their bodies and to inspire the notion that movement and self-care doesn’t have to “look” a certain way.
We are all worthy of feeling good and looking good from the inside out.
How Has The Pandemic Changed The Way We Define Professionalism
March 4, 2021 - 1:00 PM
Join us for the conversation on how the daily work environment has changed in the office/classroom since the start of the pandemic. Specific topics include remote work/classes, online communication, professional attire, and work/student expectations and flexibility post-pandemic.
Bianca Diaz
Advisor at McHenry County College - Upward Bound
Bianca currently serves as the Advisor for McHenry County College's Upward Bound program serving Harvard High School. She received her M.A. in Sociology and B.A. in Psychology and Law Enforcement and Justice Administration from Western Illinois University. Bianca is passionate about empowering students to make the best decisions for their educational journey and nurturing confidence in advocating for themselves.
Melissa Sanchez
College Success Coach, McHenry County College
Melissa Sanchez, MS.ED | Melissa provides student support to McHenry County College as a College Success Coach. She received a BA in Psychology with a minor in Sociology and a MS.Ed in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Northern Illinois University. Melissa developed a strong sense of devotion to help serve first generation and underrepresented students as personal experiences as a Latinx first generation professional herself, she naturally gravitated to this special population. Outside of work, Melissa is passionate about empowering Latinx professionals through mentorship as it provides her the privilege to build meaningful relationships and create a sense of autonomy with those she mentors. She dreams of one day being a motivational speaker across the nation’s community colleges and university campuses.
Blackness & Mexicanidad: Afro-descendancy and Mis/Representation in Mexican Popular Culture
March 8, 2021 - 11:00 AM
Historically, Afro-Mexicans have been an invisible and marginalized population in México and around the globe but recent awareness has sparked interests in exploring Blackness and Mexicanidad, in particular, Black representations in Mexican popular culture. Some of these representations include the infamous El Negrito from La Lotería Mexicana, as well as other problematic images. Join Crystal Galván M.A., a recent graduate from the master’s program in Latin American and Latinx Studies from the University of Illinois at Chicago to learn about Mexico’s Black History and discuss the hidden messages behind El Negrito and other Lotería cards.
Crystal Galvan
Crystal Galván was born and raised in Omak, Washington, and is from a farmworker background. She earned a dual degree from Washington State University; B.A. in Comparative Ethnic Studies with a minor in Spanish and a B.A. in Sociology. During her undergraduate studies at WSU, she was involved in; the College Assistance Migratory Program, Gamma Alpha Omega Sorority, Inc. and the McNair Achievement Program. Crystal recently graduated from the master’s program in Latin American and Latinx Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). During her graduate studies, she created a public programming event in collaboration with the Latinx Cultural Center at UIC and the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago. The programming event explored the marginalization of the Afro-Mexican population in Mexico and the ways in which the game La Loteria has problematically constructed Mexican nationhood. Her master’s thesis focused on Afro-Mexican visibility and the importance of social media and educational spaces in increasing awareness about Afro-Latinx and Afro-Latin American populations. Currently, she works for the TRIO McNair Scholars Program at Purdue University Northwest. She enjoys working with the scholars and helping prepare them for graduate education and their lifelong goals.
How to Navigate a Virtual Career Fair
March 9, 2021 - 1:00 PM
Learn how to feel confident and network through a virtual career fair.
Gina Torres
Career Services Coordinator, Morton College
Gina Torres has worked for Morton College for 16 years. She is an alumni and graduated with her bachelor's degree in Marketing from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her passion is to guide students to discover their potential and strength their desire to pursue their educational goals.
Future is Female: What I wish I had known before building a small business
March 11, 2021 - 6:00 PM
Interested in starting a side hustle? Join the panel of empowering small business FEMALE owners as they share their experiences as an entrepreneur during the pandemic. Learn tips and tricks on work/life balance, social media marketing, and networking. Come prepared to be a part of the conversation with questions of your own for the panel.
Lena Cano
Lee’s Simple Sweets, Creator
Lena Cano, Lee’s Simple Sweets | Creator of customized sweets for special occasions. Offering a variety of dipped treats, cakepops and personalized edible arrangements.
Tatiana Diaz
Chicago Florist
Chicago Florist | Flower enthusiast exploring her creative outlet as a special event floral designer
Ilse Leanos
Lea Made Clay
Stay at home mom exploring her creative outlet by handcrafting modern and minimal statement earrings from clay.
Genesis Villalobos
Radiance Threads, Owner
Genesis is owner of Radiance Threads, an Etsy shop specializing in effortlessly chic apparel for women
Melissa Sanchez
College Success Coach, McHenry County College
Melissa Sanchez, MS.ED | Melissa provides student support to McHenry County College as a College Success Coach. She received a BA in Psychology with a minor in Sociology and a MS.Ed in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Northern Illinois University. Melissa developed a strong sense of devotion to help serve first generation and underrepresented students as personal experiences as a Latinx first generation professional herself, she naturally gravitated to this special population. Outside of work, Melissa is passionate about empowering Latinx professionals through mentorship as it provides her the privilege to build meaningful relationships and create a sense of autonomy with those she mentors. She dreams of one day being a motivational speaker across the nation’s community colleges and university campuses.
Finding the Courage to Live
March 12, 2021 - 2:00 PM
"It is said our comfort zone allows us to remain small, hidden, and invisible in the world. But it is also said it allows us to be at peace when things seem or are overwhelming. So, how do we know when our comfort zone is keeping us small versus letting us live?
""Doubt is a feeling that comes to us when we are about to step out of our comfort zone.""
- Jia Ni Teo
We’ll be discussing:
1. Recognizing what our comfort zone is and what it consists of
2. Begin to identify what has influenced our comfort zone and its purpose
3. Having the wisdom to know the difference and pinpoint what supports you "
Natalie Yaipen
Author, artist, and social worker
Natalie Yaipen is an author, artist, and social worker born and based in Queens, New York. As a social worker, Natalie supports youth to live in a world where they can show up freely as themselves. An Amazon best-seller, she writes to give voice to the love, trauma, inner battles and journeys of healing survivors may live through. A survivor of sexual violence herself, Natalie recognized the battle that often goes unseen and believes the world should be given an opportunity to see and understand it, even the slightest of it. She aims to emphasize a message that states: it's not the survivor's fault even if it has happened to them more than once." She writes to envision a world where violence isn't internalized but challenged in order for our future generations to live. Natalie works to let folks know that healing can look many different ways, no way is the way.
Building Community for Young Women of Color during a Pandemic
March 16, 2021 - 2:00 PM
Zainab Khadijah Karim and Flor E. Carabez from National Louis University present the framework they use to facilitate sessions for Exuberance: An Intentional Sisterhood. About Exuberance: An Intentional Sisterhood (Exuberance) was created as a retention tool, targeting our female-identifying students of color from the Undergraduate College (UGC) at the Chicago campus of National Louis University (NLU). The objectives are to provide a brave space for students to have vulnerable conversations promoting education, catalyzing self-awareness, practicing good health, and celebrating culture through creating an intentional sisterhood. Exuberance is facilitated using Positive Youth Development (PYD) framework and Restorative Justice (RJ) practices through workshops and talking circles.
Flor Carabez
NLU, Student Success Coach
Flor E. Carabez is a Student Success Coach with the Undergraduate College at National Louis University. She guides students through their undergraduate careers, ensuring each of her students has all the tools they need to be a bona fide success. Previously, Carabez was a Columbia Central Counselor and Financial Wellness Specialist for Columbia College Chicago, in which she advised students on their financial aid options and personal finance habits. Carabez also co-facilitated events such as The Game of Life, Annual Mural Competition, Money Smart Week, America Saves Week, and Get Savvy: Grow Your Green Stuff webinar series, with partners in and out of the College.
Carabez, a South Side Chicago native, graduated from the University of Illinois in Chicago as a Master of Education and earned her Bachelor of Science from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois. As a first-generation college student and product of the Chicago Public School system, Carabez has strived to be a pivotal person in young people’s lives, ensuring they have the support needed to reach their goals. Recently, Carabez started her Doctoral of Education program at National Louis University, with a research focus on financial literacy and generational wealth within historically excluded and minoritized groups.
Outside of work, Carabez is a Zumba instructor of the Crossroads YMCA in Northwest Indiana.
Zainab Khadijah Karim
NLU, Assistant Professor of Englsh
Zainab Khadijah Karim currently holds the position of Assistant Professor of English in the undergraduate college at National Louis University’s Chicago campus, where she teaches beginning/intermediate composition and public speaking to first-year students. Zainab began her teaching career as a teaching intern at College of Lake County in Children’s Literature. She then worked as an in-class tutor and English adjunct at Harold Washington College for four years before joining NLU. In addition to teaching, Zainab serves as a faculty advisor for the NLU sisterhood group Exuberance.
Outside of work, Zainab is a freelance writer with work that has been featured on Medium.com, Ebony.com, Jet.com, Revelist.com, and other online platforms. Her research interests include African- American feminist and sexuality theories and African-American matrifocal societies within fiction.
Making our Feminism Inclusive, Powerful + Irrisistible
March 17, 2021 - 1:00 PM
How can we build a feminist movement that creates more space for healing, for community building and for sisterhood and siblinghood that holds us as we fight the patriarchy?
Join us in a workshop where we will explore feminism past, present + future and start to dream up what a radical vision for a feminist future looks and feels like.
Michelina Ferrara
Co-Founder The Homegirl Box and Rebellious Root Collective
Mickey is a community organizer and youth worker turned disruptive designer. She began organizing at the age of 14 in NYC and continues to imagine liberation and work towards abolition as a daily practice and commitment. She is co-founder of The Homegirl Box - a gift box inspired by visionary women and a worker-owner at The Rebellious Root Collective - a feminist multiracial facilitation collective rooted in racial and gender justice, and committed to movement health. You can find her designing graphics for the revolution and rocking big earrings in Brooklyn, NY.