INFORMATION FOR
--Julissa Arce, best-selling author and social justice and immigrant rights advocate, will present the keynote address
How can today’s students gain access and transform institutions of power within education, the criminal justice system, and the media, as they seek to attain the American dream? A day-long multidisciplinary conference at William Paterson University in Wayne will explore that topic on Thursday, October 20, 2022, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. The event, to be held in the University Commons Ballrooms on campus, is free and open to the public.
This year’s 11th annual multidisciplinary “Contexts” conference, “Access USA: Generational Change and the Evolving American Dream,” is hosted by William Paterson’s College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. The event is divided into two panel sessions and a keynote address.
“As we enter a new world post-COVID, the ability and freedom to maintain or make use of resources such as water, energy, education, money, media or political power have emerged as critical issues,” says Lauren Razzore Cedeno, interim associate dean of the College of the Arts, Humanities and Social Science. “How do we access systems and society that has evolved? Are the power structures the same or are we navigating a new landscape for which there is have no roadmap? We are excited to explore these issues with our speakers who, as leaders in their industries, bring their experiences and wealth of professional knowledge to this important discussion.”
Julissa Arce, a best-selling author and social justice and immigrant rights advocate, will give the keynote address, “Access to the American Dream: The Myth of Assimilation,” from 11:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Arce, the author of My (Underground) American Dream (Entre Las Sombras del Sueño Americano) and Someone Like Me (Alguien Como Yo), was named one of People en Español’s 25 Most Powerful Women of 2017, as well as the 2019 Woman of the Year by the City of Los Angeles.
Arce’s commitment to education for all young people led her to co-create the Ascend Educational Fund (AEF), a college scholarship and mentorship program for immigrant students in New York City, regardless of their ethnicity, national original or immigration status. Since its founding in 2012, AEF has awarded over $500,000 in college scholarships. Prior to becoming an advocate, she built a successful career on Wall Street working for Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch.
The morning session, from 9:30 to 10:45 a.m., will explore “Access to Education.” Speakers are Laura Kaplan, clinical assistant professor, School of Education, Pace University, and Heather Beth Johnson, associate professor of sociology, Lehigh University.
The final session, “Access to Justice and Media,” will be held from 2:00 to 3:15 p.m. The presenters are Justin M. Thomas, and independent filmmaker and founder of the Black Independent Filmmaker’s App, and Karol Ruiz, Esq., assistant deputy public defender, State of New Jersey.
