Sunday, March 8, 2020, 2pm
New Voices: Our Beliefs, Our Reality
Presenters: Funmi Oyekunle, Carlos Cardona, Courtney Dalbec, Jordan Thompson
Location: Temple Israel, 200 State St., Portsmouth
The implicit associations and beliefs we harbor in our subconscious cause us to have feelings and attitudes about other people based on characteristics such as race, ethnicity, age, and appearance.
With a lens on educational institutions, politics and the law, this closing discussion will feature a group of emerging New Hampshire voices that will explore where we are culturally as a state and where we want to be heading.
Biographies
Funmi M. Oyekunle is the Coordinator of the CONNECT Program at the University of New Hampshire. Her professional interest involves mentoring and advocating for underrepresented students in higher education. She has worked on various social justice projects at Whitman College, University of Massachusetts Lowell, and Middlesex Community College. Oyekunle earned her B.A. degree in English and Women Studies from the University of New Hampshire, and her M.ED in Higher Education in Student Affairs from Salem State University.
Carlos Cardona is a New Hampshire activist and NH State delegate for the City of Franklin. He became one of the youngest elected officials in New Hampshire in 2007, serving 2 terms on the SAU #18 School Board, and is a former candidate for New Hampshire State Representative. He was nominated as a Youth Ambassador to President Obama in 2008. He has been appointed the Immigration Commission of New Hampshire and currently serves as the Chairman of the Laconia Democrats.
Courtney Dalbec is a senior at Dover High School and a member of the student-funded group Project DREAM (Diversity, Respect, Education, Advocacy, Mission), representing a team of young leaders promoting diversity and respect in their schools and community. She was one of 3 Project DREAM members invited to speak at the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. event hosted by the Seacoast NAACP. Ms. Dalbec and her teammates at Project DREAM work to raise funds for speakers and facilitators to lead discussions on diversity and multicultural issues at Dover High School and advocate for positive action to better meet the needs of marginalized students.
Jordan Thompson is a writer, youth activist and community organizer from Nashua. In 2017, he ran a youth-powered campaign for moderator in Nashua’s Ward 2. He ran for the New Hampshire House of Representatives in 2018, narrowly losing the primary by 30 votes. Today, he’s focused his efforts on child welfare advocacy and empowering others through cultural awareness and civic engagement. In February 2018 he was one of 10 young men of color selected to participate in the My Brother’s Keeper Conference for young leaders, a White House initiative started by President Barack Obama.
