If you are registering after 6:30pm on 12/2\, please call the library at 973 584-2400. \; Thank you!
\nOn Race and Ra cism: A Roxbury Conversation is presented as part of the Comm on Grounds \;series\, co-hosted by Unity in the Community\, Roxbu ry Coalition for Social Change and the Roxbury Public Library.
\nPan elists will offer a respectful dialogue about personal histories\, challen ges\, and identities in our very white community.
\nMeet the Panelists
\nOllie Starnes\, Moderator\, w as born in 1988 at Morristown Memorial Hospital. His family moved repeated ly across the county from Morristown\, to Randolph\, and Budd Lake before settling on Woods Edge Drive in Succasunna. Ollie attended Jefferson Eleme ntary\, Lincoln-Roosevelt\, then Eisenhower Middle School before his famil y moved to Ledgewood\, where Ollie&rsquo\;s primary education culminated a s a member of the 2006 Roxbury High School graduating class. Ollie chose t o pursue higher education at Trinity College in Hartford\, CT and returned home with degrees in Political Science (B.A.) and Public Policy (MPP).&nb sp\; Since 2014\, Ollie has been actively involved with grass-roots commun ity organizing throughout Morris County. In 2015\, he served as Campaign M anager for Dan Kline (RHS &rsquo\;06) who became Roxbury&rsquo\;s youngest -ever Councilman and the first Democrat on Township Council since 2003. In 2020\, Ollie was appointed to the Morris County Human Relations Commissio n\, the Morris County NAACP Executive Committee\, and currently serves as Executive Director at the Sankofa Heritage Collective of Morris County.&nb sp\; As of writing\, Ollie is 1 of 4 candidates vying for 2 seats represen ting Morristown on the Morris School District Board of Education.
\nRadwa Ali\, Library Director of Roxbury Public Library\, started her library career as a middle school volunteer at the Plainsboro Public Library. Through high school and college\, she continued to work th ere\, gaining experience at the customer service desk\, reference and chil dren's departments\, volunteer management\, collection development\, and t he technological needs of a public library. After she attained her BA in I nformation Technology and Political Science\, as well as a MLS degree from Rutgers University\, Radwa worked at the Johnson Public Library in Hacken sack as their Technology Librarian\, then as Director of the Bogota Public Library. She has been the Director of the Roxbury Public Library since 20 17. \; Radwa is currently a board member of the Morris Automated Infor mation Network (MAIN) consortium of libraries in and around Morris County\ , \; co-chair of MAIN's DigiTech committee\, former board member of NJ LA\, former co-chair of the Bergen County Cooperative Library System Techn ology Committee\, and a member of the Roxbury Rotary Club.
\nJakki Cobb is a wife and mother of three daughters and &ldquo\;M imi&rdquo\; to one granddaughter. \; Born and raised in Morristown\, J akki and her family moved to Landing 15 years ago. \; \;After a 3 0-year career with CIT\, most recently as Vice President of External Repor ting\, Jakki was downsized in January 2019. \; She describes herself a s semi-retired\, splitting her time as a basketball mom and serial volunte er. \; She serves as Executive Secretary of the Morris County NAACP\, Treasurer for Carette&rsquo\;s Inc.\, and is an active member of Delta Sig ma Theta Sorority\, Inc. and the Morristown Area League of Women Voters.&n bsp\; Previously\, as a licensed minister\, Jakki&rsquo\;s advocacy and vo lunteer service was through her faith community\, and she led bible studie s at the Morristown Correctional Facility and Market Street Mission. \ ; For years she encouraged people to &ldquo\;look up and live&rdquo\; and wait for change\; now she actively looks for ways to bring about changes s he had prayed about for so many years. \; She reminds us that we have to be the change we want to see.
\nJuan Morales res ides in Succasunna with his wife Elizabeth and two children Giovanni and S abrina and his two dogs Frosty and Princess. \; As a technical trainin g manager for Samsung Electronics\, Juan has traveled across the US and ar ound the world giving presentations on the latest consumer electronics tec hnology. \; Juan was born and raised in Mexico City\, Mexico. \; I n his childhood years\, Juan knew he wanted to excel in school and someday be able to give his family a better life. \; Juan immigrated to the U S in 1994\, where he continued his educations and graduated from college w ith Honors. \; It is also the place he met his wife. His first few yea rs in the US were challenging\, as Juan did not speak any English. \; To make ends meet\, he worked a variety of jobs including landscaping\, ga s attendant and stock boy among others. \; It was the latter position where he began to actively speak to customers as he loaded products into t heir vehicles. \; Management quickly noticed his rapport-building skil ls and encouraged him to work on the sales floor. \; This change would offer Juan a world of opportunities\, and catapulted him to become the ex troverted person he is today. \; Juan adores all animals\, and in his spare time loves to sing and play the guitar. \; \;
\nKristen Simon is a graduate of Hofstra Univ ersity and longtime activist. In her undergrad years\, Kristen was a board \;member of the Hofstra Chapter of the NAACP and student leader in Ho fstra First&rsquo\;s\, an organization dedicated to \;First-Generation students. In her post grad life\, Kristen has remains active in social ju stice initiatives. She is a \;board member of the Morristown chapter o f Black Lives Matter and has participated in conversations where the \ ;topic of race and gender collide. \;
\nJade Turner is a Roxbury alumna\, who attended Roxbury between 2009 and 2012. Jad e went on to attend The University of Tampa and received a BFA in Musical theatre. After college\, she has worked in numerous regional theatres arou nd the country\, and before COVID was Performing in Jimmy Buffets &ldquo\; Escape to Margaritaville&rdquo\; first Broadway national tour. Jade was a part of Broadway Directors Jeff Calhoun's first African American lead musi cian man\, she also appeared in Ragtime at Asolo Rep\, in Sarasota Florida . Jade also can be seen in Ben Platts Music video &ldquo\;Temporary love&r dquo\; with Atlantic records. Jade is a person of color\, a woman\, and a member of the LGBT community. During her free time\, Jade was a GOTV organ izer for New Jersey Congressman Tom Malinowski in 2020\, while also taking part in Roxbury Coalition for Social Change. Jade currently lives in New York City and intends to be back on tour by the end of 2021.
\nR egister online or by calling the library at 973 584-2400. \; The link will be sent the day before the program.
\nCommon Groun ds: \;This series explores and facilitates civil conversatio ns on race\, political beliefs\, gender\, creed\, and more\, celebrating d iversity in Roxbury. \; Virtual events are open to all. \; Past an d Upcoming events include Skills for Bridging the Political Divide Worksho p led by Braver Angels on September 29\; How She Leads Panel on October 21 \, On Race and Racism: A Roxbury Conversation\, and others upcoming on gen erations in the workplace\, climate change and sustainability\, and sexual preference. \; Co-produced by the Roxbury Public Library\, Unity in C ommunity\, Roxbury Coalition for Social Change.
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