Tempe, AZ (PRWEB) September 08, 2016
“Democracy in Action” is the theme of the 2016-2017 Honors Forum Lecture Series presented by the Maricopa Center for Learning and Instruction (MCLI), a service of the Maricopa Community Colleges.
This year, the Honors Forum Lecture Series brings four distinguished national and local speakers to the stage to engage students and community members in thought-provoking discussions about current topics that impact Maricopa Community College students and the local and global community.
The evening lectures, free and open to the public, are held on Wednesdays from 7 to 8 p.m. at Phoenix College Bulpitt Auditorium, 1202 W. Thomas Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85013.
Kevin Powell, Wed., Sept. 21, 2016
Writer, Humanitarian & President of BK Nation
Kevin Powell is one of the most acclaimed political, cultural, literary and hip-hop voices in America today. A native of Jersey City raised by a single mother in extreme poverty, Powell studied at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, thanks to New Jersey’s Educational Opportunity Fund. Powell is the author of 12 books. His latest “The Education of Kevin Powell: A Boy’s Journey into Manhood” is a brutally honest memoir about his youth and life. In 2018, he will publish a biography of Tupac Shakur, the late rapper and controversial American icon. As an activist, he is the president and co-founder of BK Nation, a new national, progressive, multicultural organization focused on such issues as education, civic engagement, leadership training, health and wellness, social media, arts and culture, and job and small business creation.
Patricia Ferguson-Bohnee, Wed., Nov. 16, 2016
Director of the Indian Legal Clinic, Faculty Director of the Indian Legal Program, and Clinical Professor of Law, at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University
Professor Ferguson-Bohnee brings vast experience in Indian law, election law, voting rights, and status clarification for tribes to her Honors Forum Lecture Series presentation. Ferguson-Bohnee has assisted in complex voting rights litigation on behalf of tribes, has drafted amicus briefs to the United States Supreme Court for tribal clients with respect to voting rights issues and serves as the Native Vote Election Protection Coordinator for the State of Arizona.
Erika Andiola, Wed., Feb. 15, 2017
Community organizer and activist
Erika Andiola's personal struggle as an undocumented woman with an undocumented family has given her the drive and passion to keep fighting for immigrant and human rights. She is a former honors student who enrolled at Arizona State University (ASU) with dreams of becoming a school counselor. Despite losing her scholarships due to her undocumented status, Andiola graduated from ASU with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology. Andiola still aspires to work as a school counselor one day – after helping to pass the DREAM Act. Andiola became involved with Promise Arizona, a grassroots civic engagement organization with a mission to recruit, train and support a new generation of leaders from across the state and register Latinos to vote. She is the co-founder of the Dream Action Coalition and the Arizona DREAM Act Coalition, and a former congressional staffer for Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema.
Neil Giuliano, Wed., April 19, 2017
President/CEO of Greater Phoenix Leadership
Neil Giuliano serves as the President/CEO of Greater Phoenix Leadership (GPL), a forum for corporate leadership to collaborate with government, education, and philanthropy sectors. Prior to joining GPL, Giuliano was the CEO of San Francisco AIDS Foundation (SFAF), one of the largest AIDS service organizations in the world. He was president of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), and executive producer of GLAAD Media Awards. Giuliano also served as mayor of Tempe, Ariz. where was the youngest person ever elected to that position, and was the first directly-elected openly gay mayor in the United States.
For more information and photos of the speakers, visit the Honors Forum Lecture Series website or contact Don Jensen-Bobadilla, (480) 731-8296.
About Maricopa Community Colleges
The Maricopa Community College District includes 10 regionally-accredited colleges–Chandler-Gilbert, Estrella Mountain, GateWay, Glendale, Mesa, Paradise Valley, Phoenix, Rio Salado, Scottsdale and South Mountain–and the Maricopa Corporate College, serving more than 100,000 students with two-year degree, certificate, and university transfer programs.