Meet The 2020-2021 Team

NADIA JOHNSON

Dr. Nadia Johnson became the Director of the Office of Equity and Inclusion in 2016. Prior to transitioning to the office, she taught in the Upper School English Department Her primary responsibilities have included providing strategic leadership in the area of equity and inclusion, partnering with admissions to recruit and retain students from various backgrounds, promoting multicultural and global curricular integration as well as TK-12 alignment, conducting internal and external faculty training sessions that promote cultural competency and cultural awareness, and recruiting and retaining faculty and staff from diverse backgrounds.

Prior to joining PD, Dr. Johnson taught at the University of Miami, where she received her doctorate in Cultural, Literary, and Gender Studies. In particular, her studies focused on race, gender, and national identity formation in the Caribbean and Latin America. She continued to explore her interests in cultural politics, identity formation, and social justice during her tenure at PD, both in the classroom and in her role as Director of Equity and Inclusion.

Dr. Johnson authored “The Culturally Responsive Classroom Without Borders”,  which was published in Independent School magazine.

Effective in July 2021, she will become the Assistant Head of School for Curriculum and Community at Castilleja School, an independent school for girls and young women grades 6-12 in Palo Alto, California

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NORA HUDSON

Nora Hudson, the Associate Director of Multicultural Programs, joined the Office of Equity and Inclusion in 2018. She is responsible for planning and executing TK-12 and community programming as well as supporting the Director of Equity and Inclusion in executing initiatives informed by the school’s strategic plan. She collaborates with faculty, parents, and student groups to facilitate integration in multicultural and inclusion programs within the school community.

Hudson also supports student affinity groups across all three divisions, serves as the faculty advisor for both the Hispanic/Latinx Affinity and the Multiracial Affinity groups, oversees the student cohort for SDLC (Student Diversity Leadership Conference), and works with counselors to develop advisory lessons that align DEI with social and emotional learning. 

In addition to her work with students, Hudson also partners with the Director of Equity and Inclusion and the Assistant Head of Academic Affairs to plan and execute faculty professional development, which has included the all-school book reading of “The Racial Healing Handbook” and trainings with Ali Michael, the co-founder and director of the Race Institute for K-12 Educators. Additionally, Hudson worked on a team to create a microsite with resources on race for the PD community, now available in Charger Commons Resources.

Effective in July 2021, Nora will become the English Language Learning Catalyst at Trinity Episcopal School in Charlotte, North Carolina.

 

JANA DORSEY

Jana Dorsey joined the Providence Day community in September 2020. In her capacity as Associate Director of Equity & Inclusion Outreach, she focuses primarily on marketing/communications and connectivity groups with alumni of color, allies, and parents of currently enrolled students. She runs the social media accounts @PDInclusion (Instagram/Twitter); @PDEquityInclusion on Facebook.

This year, Dorsey delved into ramping up the Equity & Inclusion social media pages. She had the opportunity to work closely with the WIE (Women’s Intercultural Exchange) as they facilitated the Listening Sessions that took place in February and March of this year. Jana meets regularly and works directly with AFIRM (Alumni Fostering Inclusion Respect & Multiculturalism), the Anti-Racist Task Force, and the newly launched Black Families Network. She assisted with the creation of a microsite with resources on race for the PD community, now available in Charger Commons Resources. 

Prior to moving to Charlotte for this role, she worked in operations for current U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg’s 2020 Presidential Campaign in South Bend, IN and Las Vegas, NV. Additionally, Dorsey spent 5+ years working in admissions, enrollment management and student affairs at Northeastern University in Boston. 

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2021-21 FACULTY COORDINATORS

Providence Day has six faculty coordinators who work with the Office of Equity and Inclusion. In the 2020-21 school year, they were: