2025 CCPA Fall Institute:
Rooted in Resilience: Education, Healing, and Community in Times of Change
San Diego State University
Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union (Map Link)
October 18, 2025
Speakers
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Lawana Richmond
Plenary Speaker: Dr. Aja Holmes
Resilience Roundtable Speaker: Dr. VinSché Gray
Resilience Roundtable Speaker: Dr. Mariam Lam
Resilience Roundtable Speaker: Dr. Chris Manning
Keynote Speaker
Dr. LaWana Richmond
Dr. LaWana Richmond is an individual who embodies the principles of Afrofuturism and believes it is society’s path forward. She has taken significant steps to prepare herself for this path by acquiring various degrees and certificates in diverse fields.
Her educational background includes degrees in business, information systems, and educational leadership. These areas of study equip her with a well-rounded understanding of different domains and their interconnections. With a degree in business, she possesses knowledge of organizational dynamics, strategic planning, and resource management. Her information systems degree provides her with a solid foundation in technology and data analysis. Lastly, her educational leadership degree supports work in effective management and leadership in educational settings.
Moreover, Dr. Richmond has completed training in restorative practices, indicating her dedication to fostering healing and reconciliation. Restorative practices are focused on resolving conflicts, promoting inclusivity, and repairing harm through dialogue and community engagement. By incorporating these practices into her life, she actively contributes to creating a more compassionate and equitable society.
Dr. Richmond’s adherence to the philosophy of Ubuntu, encapsulated by the belief that “I am because we are and therefore I am,” guides her actions and interactions. Ubuntu is an African concept that emphasizes the interconnectedness of individuals and the significance of communal well-being. It encourages a sense of shared responsibility and empathy for others. By embodying this principle, Dr. Richmond recognizes the importance of collective efforts in shaping the future.
In summary, Dr. LaWana Richmond’s educational background, certifications, and commitment to Ubuntu theory showcase her dedication to Afrofuturism and preparing for society’s path forward. Through her diverse knowledge and practices, she seeks to make a positive impact on the world and foster a sense of unity and shared progress.
Plenary Speaker
Dr. Aja Holmes
Aja C. Holmes, Ph.D. is the Assistant Dean of Students and Director of Community Living at the University of San Francisco, where she leads Residential Life, Off-Campus Living, and Basic Needs programs. With over 25 years of experience in student affairs, Aja’s professional expertise lies in housing and residential life, with a specialization in supervision skill development among student affairs professionals. She has created innovative programs and leadership pipelines, including comprehensive training curricula and living-learning models that prioritize equity, belonging, and student success.
A proud Chicago native, Aja earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Illinois State University and her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from Iowa State University, where she also received a Certificate in Social Justice in Higher Education. She is a published scholar and editor, with contributions to New Directions for Student Services, Journal Committed to Social Change on Race and Ethnicity, and several publications on supervision development and identity-conscious supervision. She also teaches African American Studies at USF in a service-learning course connected to the Marshall-Riley Living Learning Community.
Dr. Holmes has served in leadership roles with ACPA—College Student Educators International, including on its Governing Board and as Director of Membership Development. She is a member of NASPA, WACUHO, and has been recognized with numerous national awards, including the ACPA Diamond Honoree and the ACUHO-I Carmen L. Vance Herstory Award.
Personally, Aja is the proud older sister to one brother, aunt to three nieces and one nephew, and godparent to one awesome little boy. She’s a lifelong Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. member, an avid reader, travel enthusiast, chili connoisseur, and believes Chicago-style pizza reigns supreme. After living on both coasts, she now enjoys the warmth of the West Coast while bringing heart, humor, and hope to her work and community.
Roundtable Speaker
Dr. VinSché Gray
VinSché Yvette Gray, Ph.D., serves as the Program Director for the Leadership Studies Minor at the University of San Diego and is a leadership facilitator and coach with the Conscious Leadership Academy, one of USD’s distinguished institutes. A passionate lifelong learner, she is deeply curious about how people grow, lead, and create meaningful connections across diverse communities.
Dr. Gray’s work centers on shaping leadership development experiences and work environments where belonging is cultivated and sustained. Guided by a love for people and a spirit of curiosity, she designs collaborative spaces that inspire individuals to lead with purpose and navigate complex challenges with confidence and integrity. Her approach fosters personal, professional, and spiritual growth while creating lasting impact within organizations and communities.
Roundtable Speaker
Dr. Mariam Lam
Mariam Lam joined the UCR faculty in 2002 as a member of the Department of Comparative Literature and Languages with specialization in Southeast Asian studies, part of a Henry Luce Foundation and College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences initiative in Southeast Asian Studies. She is trained in comparative Asian and diasporic literatures, arts and cultures, postcolonial criticism, critical race and ethnic studies, globalization, gender and sexuality, translation, tourism, community politics, media and educational development, trauma and affect, minoritization and multiculturalism, la Francophonie, and academic disciplinarity. She was founding co-editor-in-chief of the Journal of Vietnamese Studies for the University of California Press from 2005-2016, served as Director of Graduate Studies and Admissions Advisor for both Comparative Literature and the Southeast Asian Studies Interdisciplinary Research Program, later stepping into the position of Director of the Southeast Asian Studies Program from 2011-2016. As a faculty member, Lam has served as Vice Chair of the Academic Senate (2014-2016), Chair of the Committee on Committees and systemwide UCOC member (2012-2014), CHASS Executive Committee member (2009-2011), and in many other systemwide roles.
Professor Lam was president and a longtime board member of the Riverside Asian American Community Association, and has served on the boards of Thirdway Human Rights and Development, Vietnamese American Arts and Letters Association, Diasporic Vietnamese Artists Network, Global Village Foundation, and on the Grades 7‐12 Vietnamese American Curriculum Project for the Orange County Asian Pacific Islander Community Association. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in English, a Minor in Spanish, and Master’s and Ph.D. degrees in Comparative Literature with Certificates of Emphasis in Feminist Studies and Asian American Studies from UC Irvine.
In her role as the Vice Chancellor and Chief Diversity Officer, Lam advises the leadership team, including the Chancellor, on all issues related to diversity, equity and inclusion, and sets the vision and course for positioning UCR as a national leader in reimagining diversity in higher education. She heads a wide range of initiatives and committees that address DEI, partners with campus and community stakeholders to advance UCR’s diversity mission, and represents UCR at the system, state and national levels.
Roundtable Speaker
Dr. Chris Manning
Christopher Manning is an experienced leader and advocate for diversity in higher education. He was appointed chief inclusion and diversity officer in March 2021. Chris joined SDSU after serving as both an assistant and associate provost for academic diversity for nearly five years at Loyola University Chicago and serving three years as the inaugural vice president and chief inclusion and diversity officer for the University of Southern California.
At Loyola, Manning became the first assistant provost for Academic Diversity in 2016. He evaluated the campus climate and created practices to promote inclusion, seeking input from students, faculty and staff. Identifying barriers to student success and the retention of diverse faculty were among his top priorities. At USC, Manning solidified and built out new elements of the institution’s DEI infrastructure, including establishing faculty and staff peer-to-peer development programs, incorporating restorative justice as a form of alternative dispute resolution and proactive campus community building, facilitating the development of the university’s first demographic dashboards, and establishing its first university-wide diversity and inclusion council. At both institutions, Manning supported a range of issues and crisis management.
In addition to administrative experience, Manning was an associate professor of history at Loyola for 16 years, teaching subjects such as Black history, the civil rights movement and Black politics. He has written on African American political development in the 20th century and is completing an oral history of social justice movements in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina (forthcoming LSU Press). He is also completing a memoir about race and identity entitled “Army Brat.”
Manning also has a strong connection to the arts. He was a professional Latin dancer and the executive director and founder of the nonprofit dance company Inspiración Dance Chicago, which offered free youth and adult Latin dance training in Chicago.
Manning holds a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Alabama in Huntsville and a master’s degree and Ph.D. in history from Northwestern University.