Kara Hunt is a public intellectual, educator, and scholar currently serving as the Director of Education & Outreach at the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights where she provides statewide training on civil rights (law, investigations, history, and enforcement), systemic and structural discrimination, inequality, best practices for effective diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace, as well as discrimination in the areas of housing and public accommodations.

Kara began her undergraduate work at Bowie State University and completed her studies at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Africana Studies as well as a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science. She continued her research at The Ohio State University culminating in a Master of Arts degree in African American and African studies to include a Graduate Certificate in Women’s Studies. Kara earned a Doctorate from the University of California, Irvine’s School of Humanities program in Culture & Theory where her research centered on philosophy, critical race theory, and communication. Currently, Kara has more than fourteen years of work experience in the areas of Civil Rights and Diversity research, teaching, advocacy, and management. Kara served as a research and teaching associate at The Ohio State University as well as the University of California, Irvine. After completing her degree programs, Kara served as a Lecturer in the Department of Philosophy at Avila University. She was then awarded a Postdoctoral Fellowship at her Alma-mater, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

At the close of her fellowship, Kara sought out opportunities to apply her knowledge and skillset to serve the community that initiated her comprehension and understanding of social justice and marginalization. She first worked in the areas of Disability Rights Advocacy, Aging Populations and Longterm Care, and then Civil Rights Investigation and Enforcement—her current field.

With more than 20 years of talent and organizational development experience, Dr. Zandra D. Rawlinson is an accomplished leader and practitioner-scholar. Dr. Rawlinson currently serves as the Director of Organization and Employee Development at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. Dr. Rawlinson takes immense pride in establishing cultures of learning to embrace and value differing identities, thoughts, and intellect. She has a deep understanding of creative learning and management solutions to advance individual and organizational success. Dr. Rawlinson is proficient in program development and evaluation, collaborative partnerships, intercultural leadership, and technology applications.

Dr. Rawlinson is intentional about incorporating and promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging within the learning and work space. While employed at the University of Baltimore, she established Diversity Dialogues as a brave space for employees to discuss their concerns about the racial and social injustices relative to the national atrocities against black and brown people during the Spring of 2020. With overwhelming responses to Diversity Dialogues, Dr. Rawlinson worked to create a campus-wide engagement platform known as JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion). JEDI allowed for a more expansive conversation, learning, and reflection about current events related to injustices, inequities, and discrimination.

Along with a colleague, Dr. Rawlinson produced a conceptual paper proposing a new leadership model to respond to the disruptive trends facing higher education institutions. Specifically, the S-Power Leadership Model consisted of four capabilities leaders could activate to effectively lead themselves, synergize teams, and transform organizational culture. The capabilities included perspectives, inclusion, belonging, and collaboration.

Dr. Rawlinson holds an Educational Doctorate in Leadership, Master of Education in Adult Learning, and Bachelor of Science in Administration of Justice. All degrees completed at Virginia Commonwealth University. Additionally, she recently completed (Spring 2022) the Intercultural Leadership Certificate program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore.

Overall, Dr. Rawlinson leads authentically and inspires others to bring their whole selves to any type of learning space. She utilizes a growth mindset to create learning communities where all members are accepted, appreciated, and included.