Leading From Where You Are:

Unraveling Privilege, Power and Difference for Organizational Change

A Conference for Cultural Competence & Health Equity Campions in Health Organizations

Allan Johnson is writer, teacher, and public speaker who has worked on issues of privilege, oppression, and social inequality since receiving his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Michigan in 1972.  After almost 30 years of college teaching, he now devotes himself entirely to writing and public speaking.  He has worked with more than 200 schools and organizations in 35 states.  His books include The Forest and the Trees: Sociology as Life, Practice, and Promise, rev. ed. (2005), The Blackwell Dictionary of Sociology: A User's Guide to Sociological Language, 2e (2000), The Gender Knot: Unraveling Our Patriarchal Legacy (Temple University Press, revised edition, 2005) and Privilege, Power, and Difference (McGraw-Hill, 2nd edition, 2005). His work has been translated into several languages and excerpted in numerous anthologies.  His most recent book, The First Thing and the Last, is a novel about healing and redemption in the aftermath of domestic violence.  For more on his work, go to www.agjohnson.us.

Shakti Butler is a multiracial African-American woman (African, Arawak Indian, and Russian-Jewish). Her work as a creative and visionary bridge builder has challenged and inspired learning for over twenty-one years. Dr. Butler is also the producer and director of the groundbreaking documentaries, The Way Home, Light in the Shadows and Mirrors of Privilege: Making Whiteness Visible, which is World Trust’s latest release.

In 1994, as Executive Director of World Trust Educational Services, Inc., Dr. Butler designed and launched Heart to Heart Conversations®, a national program of public dialogue that has been reviewed on both local and national television. Her videos serve as catalysts for dialogue and set the context for constructive conversations on oppression through the lens of race. Shakti's work moves conversations beyond black and white and speaks to the interconnectedness of racism, classism, sexism, and homophobia.

Shakti is an inspirational facilitator, trainer and diversity scholar. A warm and compassionate person, she uses her ability to listen deeply while asking critical questions that support self-directed learning in others. Her work emerges from years of self-exploration, commitment to social justice and experience as a learner, lecturer and public speaker. Dr. Butler's services are sought after by colleges, universities, public and private organizations, religious and spiritual institutions.

Dr. Butler received her doctorate from the California Institute of Integral Studies in the School of Transformative Learning and Change. She holds an MA in Guidance and Counseling from Bank Street College of New York and graduated Magna Cum Laude from City College of New York. She is also a contributing author to The New Entrepreneurs, an anthology on new paradigm business practices and learning.

Tammy Johnson, the Director of Strategic Partnerships at the Applied Research Center (ARC) has many years experience as a community organizer, trainer and writer versed in race and public policy. Inspired by her family’s dedication to the struggle for civil rights, Johnson cut her activist teeth as president of the Black Student Union at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and as president of the Wisconsin Statewide Student Association. A Tennessee native, Johnson lived for many years in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she was Coalition Organizer for Wisconsin Citizen Action, Director of Progressive Milwaukee, and Board Member of the Wisconsin Community Fund. She is a former board member of the National Organizer Alliance.

Johnson has authored and edited several reports on race and equity issues, including four editions of the California Report Card on Racial Equity, and Race, Education and No Child Left Behind: A Guide for Journalists. She has become a widely recognized for her knowledge of racially equitable public policy practices, and has appeared in various broadcast, online and print media outlets on the subject. Johnson has written for and been featured in a number of publications, radio programs and online journals, including AlterNet, The Huffington Post, Leadership and ColorLines magazines.

Dancer, writer, filmmaker, inspirational teacher... Novuyo Masakhane, born in Denver Colorado and raised in Southern California - has worked as a professional artist for over 20 years.  Novuyo was raised in the African American sacred and secular dance traditions and began performing at the age of three.   Her study and work are focused on understanding the realm of trance possession through dance/movement as it shows up in indigenous spiritual systems.  “Dance is my God speak, a prayer in movement.”

Her style is eclectic, including Afro-Haitian, Afro-Cuban, Congolese, modern, dances of the Orisha.  Her teachers: Margaruite Baker, Linda Trego, Master Katherine Dunham, Joe Bunton Keel, Master Malonga Cascalord, Baba Chuck Davis, Kelly Marie Berry, Jawole Zollar, Pat Hall Smith and Colette El Wah, to name a few.

Masakahne attended Sonoma State University in Northern California for Dance Theatre, Naropa University of Boulder for Dance Therapy and Filmmaking at the American Film Institute of Los Angeles CA.  In 1990 Novuyo co-founded the Moyo Nguvu Cultural Arts Center, in Denver, Colorado.  Where she served as the artistic director, choreographer for eight years.   Within those eight years she also co- authored and produced the “Moyo Rites of Passage” program which served over 500 youth within Colorado and became a nationally recognized program. 

Masakhane has taught as a guest artist and guest professor for several institutions of higher learning including but not limited to: Naropa University, Colorado University at Boulder, Denver Center for the performing Arts, Denver Iliff School of Theology, Delta College of Northern CA, Simons Rock College of Massachusetts, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Theater, the Colorado Dance Festival, the Dance Collective- Los Angeles CA, and Saint Lucks Hospital Midwifery program in Denver CO. 

Novuyo says she is a weaver of many gifts, each one supporting the other. She made her directorial debut in 1997 with her film entitled Crossroads.  Novuyo co- wrote, co produced and directed this short film for the prestigious American Film Institute's "Directing Workshop for Women 11 cycle. 

She currently teaches writing classes for aspiring writers in the San Francisco Bay Area.  She is a writing coach and creative editor and is working on her novel entitled "House of Jewels” Novuyo’s work has appeared in Milvia Street Art and Literary Journal.

LeConté Dill hails from South Central Los Angeles, calls Atlanta her second home, and definitely grew her professional sea legs in the Bay Area.  She holds degrees from Spelman College and UCLA, and is currently a doctoral candidate at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health.  An urban health scholactivist by day, LeConté has been writing poetry and fiction since elementary school.  Her dissertation research focuses on strategies of resilience among urban adolescents, using an innovative narrative analysis methodology.  When LeConté is not writing poems or health education curricula, you can find her planning events for Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., the Spelman College Alumnae Association, or the California Black Women’s Health Project.  LeConté is passionate about the power of writing for healing, empowerment, and social justice.  She credits her mom, sisters, and Nanas for inspiring her endeavors.

Marlon Altan, multi instrumentalist, performer, drum facilitator, and educator has led and inspired drum circles for thousands of people. He began playing percussion as a child while playing alongside his late father, Oscar Altan, who played the keys, saxophone, marimba, and sang in numerous Latin bands.  In 1999/2000, while living in Madrid, Spain, Marlon was exposed to various Afro-Caribbean rhythms and musical genres. Bachata, son, son montuno, flamenco, rumba, roots/reggae, and nueva trova cubana to name a few. Inspired by the legacy and richness of Flamenco mu sic in the region, Marlon decided to pursue flamenco guitar under worldly renowned guitarist Chema Vilchez. While living in Spain, Marlon experienced the unifying power of music as he would meet with musicians from all of over the world and create harmonies, melodies and rhythms that brought smiles to the faces of onlookers, but most importantly brought hearts, minds, and souls together.

After graduating, from UC Davis in 2001, with a double major in Spanish Literature and Political Science, Marlon continued to study Flamenco music and began to study Afro-Caribbean rhythms under drum instructor Zeke Nealy. After witnessing the healing and uplifting effects of traditional Afro-Haitian drum and dance, Marlon began to play for various dance classes, workshops and shows throughout the country. Marlon then began to study Afro-Brazilian drumming under instructor and life coach, Ron Leong from 2003-2007. He also studied under Afro-Haitian master drummer Lee Hetelson from 2007-2009.

Marlon was percussionist in the Latin rock band La Clandestina as well as a drummer in the Haitian Dance Troupe Rara Toulimen from 2005-2008. Most recently, he was playing percussion with Buena Mezcla; a Salsa/Latin Jazz band.

Marlon seeks to combine his work as a trained educator with his passion for drumming . Having witnessed first-hand the healing and soothing effects of music while his father was terminally ill with cancer, Marlon has recently embarked on a journey to bring the Heart of Drum to entire world, especially those who need a little rhythm in their lives.

Kokomon Clottey and Aeeshah Clottey, co-founders of Attitudinal Healing Connection, Inc. Kokomon holds a Master Degree in Business Management with an emphasis in international business and is the co-founder of the Attitudinal Healing Connection, Inc., and currently serves as the Executive Director. Kokomon is the co-author of “Beyond Fear: Twelve Spiritual Keys to Racial Healing" and the author of "Mindful Drumming: Ancient wisdom for Unleashing the Human Spirit and Building Community." Kokomon is from Ghana, West Africa and has captured the richness of his culture and the essence of mindful drumming as a healing modality in his latest book, Mindful Drumming. Mindful Drumming is an experiential and interdisciplinary workshop that uses synchronistic drumming, rhythm, movement and storytelling to explore trans‐cultural communication and personal relationships. The Mindful Drumming process heals ancestral wounding and increases community ties. Manifestation of this connection is through rhythmic inter‐play of the participants. Mindful Drumming emerges from the Ga Adagbe tradition of Ghana West Africa. In addition to his accomplishments he has 30 years of musical experience in performing and recording. He has produced three CD's: Love Is The Answer, Mystic Vision and The Journey. Kokomon is a lecturer and a facilitator on how Mindful Drumming can be utilized as a healing modality and a tool for community building.

Aeeshah is an author, co-founder of the Attitudinal Healing Connection, Inc., (www.ahc- oakland.org), a nonprofit organization with the mission of eliminating violence and fear by supporting creative and educational programs that transforms the spirit and build peaceful and loving communities for all humanity.    She has thirty years work experience in the field of mental health and the utilization of the principles and processes of attitudinal healing for social, mental and environmental justice. Aeeshah is a motivational speaker, spiritual activist and is internationally recognized for her work in healing racism. She has written numerous articles on the subject of healing racism and her book, Beyond Fear: Twelve Spiritual Keys To Racial Healing, which she co-authored with her husband Kokomon Clottey is now being utilized in many colleges and universities to assist students in deepening their understanding of diversity. The diversity work that she focuses on is grounded in healing from ancestral wounding and racism, which she defines as a life threatening disease. She also co-authored a chapter on Race Relations in a bold book titled: Imagine: What America Could Be In The 21st Century, edited by Marianne Williamson. She is the co-founder and President of Sankofa Publishing, a company dedicated to publishing books and music that delight the heart and heal the mind.

Derique has taught Hambone body percussion for hundreds of workshops and residencies at performing arts programs throughout the U.S. and abroad. This summer he performed at the International Body Music Festival at the Lincoln Center in New York and will be performing this November in Brazil.

The human body is naturally responsive to internal and external rhythms, and music is an intrinsic part of the human experience as entertaining as it is informative demonstrates and celebrates the ways in which the human body can be used as a musical instrument.

This workshop will concentrate on authenticity and subtleties of many traditional styles of Hambone body music and is taught to all beautiful souls. The instructions are to help you find your own body music style in a  fun spirited environment and non-competitive atmosphere.