Continuing & Professional Courses
Certificate Overview | Course Offerings | Subject Matter Experts | Cost
Certificate Overview:
The Center for Nonprofits & Philanthropy (CNP) launched its Certificate in Social Justice Leadership (CSJL), a non-credit-bearing Continuing & Professional Education opportunity, in Fall 2021. This Certificate has been developed for leaders committed to transforming systems and structures at nonprofit and public organizations to become more equitable, including managers, executives, and board members; leaders in the for-profit sector and corporate social responsibility; and charitable foundations and donors. Current CSJL courses cover topics that include social justice leadership; leading diversity, equity, and inclusion; cultural competency; managing workplace diversity; and social justice policy. The program follows the Center’s Continuing & Professional Education structure to introduce the topic, examine it further, and put a plan into action. CSJL design revolves around the following: awareness (educate and build knowledge of cultural demographics), inventory (what we generally understand about barriers), and action (explore demographics at one’s organization, investigate hiring practices, understand policies, incorporate discussion at board meetings, etc.) – put performance metrics in place and/ or examine what that might look like at one’s organization.
Course Offerings:
Social Justice Leadership at Nonprofit Organizations
Course introduces and explores structural inequities at nonprofit organizations which has contributed to a severe lack of leaders of color on Boards of Directors and within the executive staff ranks. Though charitable organizations have an enviable history of providing much needed services in under-resourced communities, many suggests these social sector organizations should also prioritize their obligation to look within and identify their own systemic issues as advocates for heightened levels of societal equity. The design of this course is to deepen participant knowledge of biased systems within nonprofits which have contributed to a longstanding culture of inequity with regard to leadership roles, build participants’ abilities to recognize and take inventory of associated fairness barriers, and empower learners to address these issues from a data perspective to accelerate racial equity at nonprofit organizations.
Social and Racial Justice: Leading Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Within Public Service Organizations
Social and racial justice is at the forefront of conversations across the nation and globally. As the workforce becomes more diverse, effective policies and practices that include and support individuals of all backgrounds are critical to an organization’s performance and overall success. This course is designed to empower individuals with the knowledge and practical skills required to build more inclusive workplaces, lead diverse teams, and help ensure leaders prioritize equity in thought at their organizations. Along with introducing the concepts diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), the essence of this course lies in identifying and building key conceptual models anyone can apply within organizations. Some of these models include Milton J. Bennett’s Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity and an interdisciplinary leadership model.
Introduction to Cultural Competency in Nonprofit Management
Cultural competency in the context of the urban landscape has evolved into an area of interest for nonprofit practitioners and scholars involved in the assessment of public service delivery. As the demography in the era of globalization broadens the need for culturally competent public servants, the programmatic response to the public interest must be grounded in culturally appropriate and culturally responsive strategies aligned to engage with racial/ethnic and cultural/ linguistic groups. To streamline this argument, this course introduces cultural competence concepts from previous works and builds on others.
Managing Workplace Diversity in Public and Nonprofit Organizations
This course examines how public policy issues are contested and shaped by the major cleavages in American society, such as race and ethnicity, economic and social class, and gender, and provides strategies for building consensus across these divisions. The course increases the student’s understanding of relevant human differences in organizations, especially as today’s workforce continues to change domestically and globally; explores the advantages and challenges of diversity in the workplace; and examines how workforce managerial strategies can contribute to positive outcomes for employers, employees, and stakeholders.
Social Justice Policy + Partnerships for Social Change
This course examines how to identify a public policy issue and how to begin an issue-based advocacy campaign to create a social justice movement. The course increases the student’s understanding of an issue, examines the difference between advocacy vs lobbying, how to conduct an assessment, and will help facilitate the start of planning for an issue-based advocacy campaign. Participants will end the course with a deep understanding of what issues are important to them as a leader or to their organization.
Subject Matter Experts:
Dr. Kenneth Anderson Taylor
Social Justice Leadership at Nonprofit Organizations
Within the Bush School of Government and Public Service, Dr. Kenneth Anderson Taylor is an Assistant Professor of the Practice and the Director of Outreach and Professional Development within the Center for Nonprofits and Philanthropy and holds the Younger-Carter Endowed Practitioner-in-Residence. In 2018, the TAMU College of Architecture appointed Dr. Taylor as a Faculty Fellow within its Center for Health Systems & Design. Dr. Taylor’s primary faculty responsibilities encompass teaching a variety of nonprofit management and leadership theory courses as well as leading consulting capstone seminars for graduate students. In the past, Dr. Taylor has served as co-faculty within the Agricultural Leadership and Development program (TAMU College of Agriculture & Life Sciences) and has accompanied students to Thessaloniki and Athens, Greece, to explore a variety of leadership models as a scholarly discipline via personal experiences. Per his Center for Nonprofits & Philanthropy duties, Dr. Taylor enjoys working in Texas and beyond with nonprofit organizations, where he truly gets to utilize his former experience as a nonprofit executive and work with leaders on a variety of professional development opportunities.
Dr. Taylor earned his MBA from Bellarmine University’s Rubel School of Business and also holds a BA in sociology from the same institution. His PhD in leadership studies is from Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio. His dissertation research focused on the link between leader behavior within nonprofit organizations and employee job satisfaction. Before arriving in College Station, Dr. Taylor founded and launched the Nonprofit Leadership Studies (formerly Youth and Nonprofit Leadership) program at Murray State University and held the appointment of Academic Program Director and Assistant Professor within its College of Health Science & Human Services. As a practitioner, Dr. Taylor has more than twenty years of leadership experience inside, and on behalf of, nonprofit organizations. His self-defined career highlights include the twelve consecutive years he served the mission of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and the five years he spent as a self-employed nonprofit consultant. Dr. Taylor is also a State of Texas Credentialed Mediator.
Mason Alexander-Hawk
Social and Racial Justice: Leading Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion within Public Service Organizations
Mason Alexander-Hawk is a first year PhD student in the Urban and Regional Science program. In May of 2020, she received a Master of Public Service and Administration degree from the Bush School of Government and Public Service. Her area of interest is nonprofit management with a focus in urban development and sustainability, particularly how to build capacity within marginalized communities through equitable planning practices. Before coming to the Bush School, she worked for two years at a local nonprofit in Portland, OR, that used mentorship to build relationships with youth facing barriers. During summer 2019, Mason served as a Hatfield Fellow at Metro, Portland’s Regional Government Agency. Her project for the summer was to work with a team of content strategists, editors, and community engagement experts to create a style guide for inclusive content. The objective of this project was to help ensure that the words on Metro’s family of websites, social media channels, materials, ads, and signs are welcoming to all people—particularly communities of color and other historically marginalized groups. Her current research focus is on nonprofits’ role in long-term disaster recovery and how they can better serve marginalized communities, who are disproportionately impacted by disasters. After completing the PhD program, she hopes to work as a consultant for both government agencies and nonprofits to promote more equitable disaster recovery policies and programs.
Dr. Duchess D. Humphrey
Introduction to Cultural Competency in Nonprofit Management
Dr. Duchess D. Humphrey is Program Evaluator for the Tarrant County Administrator’s Office. She holds a doctorate in Public Administration and Nonprofit Management from the University of North Texas at Denton (UNT) and a Master of Urban Affairs from the University of Texas at Arlington.
Duchess’ primary research and scholarship focuses on Public and Nonprofit Governance and Culturally Competent Leadership. She has served as an adjunct professor at UNT and as a subject matter expert at the Texas A& M Bush School of Government and Public Service.
In addition to her role as a pracademic, Duchess has actively served on a variety of nonprofit boards including Arlington Proud, For the Love of the Lake, and the Tarrant County American Association of University Women. She has also served on the United Way of Tarrant County Public Policy Committee, United Way of Tarrant County Health Council, United Way Tarrant County Grants Review Committee, and the African American Museum of Dallas Gala Planning Committee. Art and matters of social equity are her passion and avocation.
Dr. Frank B. Ashley III
Managing Workplace Diversity in Public and Nonprofit Organizations
Dr. Frank B. Ashley III is the Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University. He came to the Bush School from the College Board, where he was Senior Vice President of Membership and Higher Education Engagement. As Senior Associate Dean, Dr. Ashley oversees graduate education and research activities as well as strategic planning, faculty affairs, student affairs, program development, diversity, assessment, communications and external relations, student services, and extended education programs in the Bush School. He also teaches the Managing Diversity in Public and Nonprofit Organizations course. Dr. Ashley earned his bachelor’s degree from Louisiana College and a master’s and doctorate from the University of Alabama. He began his academic career as a science teacher and coach. His previous appointments include faculty positions and service as Dean of the College of Education and Interim Provost-Vice President for Academic Affairs at Texas A&M University-Commerce as well as Director of Admissions and Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies and Teacher Education in Texas A&M University’s College of Education. From 2007 to 2010, Dr. Ashley served as Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs for the Texas A&M University System, where he served as Chief Academic Officer for the System and represented the System at the state level on all academic issues. In 2010, he was named Vice Chancellor for Recruitment and Diversity and Chief of Staff. In this position, he collected and analyzed System data on diversity and assisted System universities and agencies in recruiting and retaining diverse students, faculty, and staff. A former College Board trustee, Dr. Ashley also has served on boards and committees for numerous other organizations, including the Community Foundation of the Brazos Valley, CHI St. Joseph Health, the North American Society for Sport Management, the Commerce Independent School District, and the Development Education Subcommittee of the P–16 Education Council of the Texas Education Agency. He was also a member of the editorial board of both the Journal of Applied Research in Coaching and Athletics and the International Journal of Sports Management.
Terri Broussard Williams
Social Justice Policy + Partnerships for Social Change
Throughout her journey as an award-winning nonprofit executive, lobbyist, and public speaker, Terri Broussard Williams transformed public and community service into a professional art form, positively impacting millions of lives. Her twenty-year career as a government relations executive afforded her opportunities to create significant community-shifting outcomes, including the Louisiana Smoke-Free Air Act. She is one of Austin Business Journal’s Most Influential Women in Central Texas and a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Master of Nonprofit Leadership Program, where she delivered an authentic, inspirational presentation as the student commencement speaker and won the Excellence in Social Impact Award. She brings an unwavering commitment to creating meaningful, ground-breaking, and systemic change, turning moments into transformative movements. She is the author of Find Your Fire, a #1 Amazon New Release, #1 Amazon Best Seller for Women in Politics, and #6 Cosmopolitan Best Non-Fiction Books of 2020.
Cost:
- $1499 – Certificate in Social Justice Leadership; commitment to all five courses up front
- Three or more staff and/or board members from the same organization are eligible for a 10 percent discount. Contact our staff for more information.
