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Nia Speaker of Color Series

Through the Nia Speaker Series, we have addressed various topics including race, class, politics, resiliency, human kindness and acceptance, and incorporated a wide variety of industries including engineering, medicine, biotech, sports, politics, arts and education. Click here to see a compilation of our past speakers.

Please join us on February 8, 2023 for the 19th annual installment of the Nia Speaker of Color Series when Shereem Herndon-Brown and Timothy L. Fields, authors of The Black Family's Guide to College Admissions, will participate in an in-depth conversation on the differences, similarities and opportunities communities face as they navigate the many educational opportunities and decisions that exist in our current world.

Refreshments will be offered at 5:00 pm
Doors open at 5:30 pm
Panel discussion begins at 6:00 pm

The event is open to the Head-Royce and Oakland/Bay Area communities. As a fundraiser for the Nia Endowed Scholarship Fund, tickets for the main discussion are available for a suggested donation of $25/adults and $10/students. Tickets to the post-panel book signing and reserved panel seating are available for $50 (includes copy of their book The Black Family's Guide to College Admissions.)

Reserve your tickets!

Nia postcard with authors, the title of the event and the date.

Past Nia Speakers

2022: Bisa Butler on Art and Representation (postponed until 2025)

2021: Kwame Alexander

2020: Angie Thomas

2019: Kevin Nichols

2018: Courageous Conversation with Glenn Singleton

2017: "Tech Talk: Unlocking the Color Code," featuring a panel of experts who discussed breaking barriers in the technology industry

2016: "Martin & Music," music and the spoken word of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with Charles Holt and Gerald Rivers

2015: "Tonight I Celebrate My Love,"  an intimate evening with Roberta Flack

2014: “Rubbing Off” Allison Briscoe-Smith, Ph.D.

2013: An Evening with Anthony Robles, a three-time all-American wrestler born with only one leg

2012: "Instilling Hope in Our Children" featuring Sarah O'Neal Rush, great-granddaughter of Booker T. Washington

2011: "A Tale of Acceptance" featuring Cheryl Kilodavis, author of My Princess Boy, and Monte Poole, sports reporter for the Oakland Tribune2010: "Diversity in the 21st Century" with Dr. Harry Edwards