Topic: History

Nadine Naber

Nadine Naber, PhD

Nadine Naber, PhD, doesn’t sit on the sidelines. She is an advocate/activist and award winning professor who has the data and stories to back up her work supporting diverse people in companies and communities.   

Past Speaking Engagements

 
Harvard University
New York University
Georgetown University
Brown University
MacArthur Foundation
Purdue University
Arab American National Museum
TedX Oak Park
Field Museum Chicago Logo
 
 

Speaking Options

Arab Americans: Beyond Invisibility and Stereotypes

Discussions about diversity rarely address the growing U.S. Arab American community.  Yet Dr. Naber knows how misunderstandings and racial stereotypes about Arab Americans matter and have grave consequences in the real world and the workplace.  In this talk, audiences will learn about Arab Americans beyond common perceptions of oppressed women, belly dancers, rich oil sheikhs, and terrorists. They will gain tools for understanding Arab American cultures in the real world, beyond stereotypes. She will help them see Arab Americans as individuals from 22 countries that span northern Africa to western Asia with many faiths and racial/ethnic identities. She will discuss the Arab American and Middle East/North Africa (MENA) invisibility in the US census. She will help your company recognize the Arab Americans all around us, from our neighbors and co-workers to to trailblazers like Apple founder Steve Jobs and actress Salma Hayek. Participants will leave this talk having shifted what they notice and remember about Arab Americans while growing a sense of belonging for all while preventing inequity.

It’s Complicated: Women’s History

Dr. Naber understands what happens when we celebrate women’s history as if all women are the same.  We ignore the experiences of women of color and their diverse experiences, and we misunderstand relevant and necessary history that informs our world and workplace. For example, many people are unaware that women’s suffrage did not include all women; Black and indigenous women were excluded from voting rights.  Through the inspiring stories of diverse women of color trailblazers–in sports, pop culture,  government, and medicine, Dr. Naber will help audiences understand how women of color have persevered through racism and sexism in order to thrive and succeed.  Audiences will better understand how to honor women’s diverse histories, and how to fully recognize all of the women around us in our daily lives.

Liberate Your Research (Workshop for Academics and Researchers)

Many underrepresented scholars face anxieties like overwhelm and imposter syndrome that obstruct their research and writing possibilities. In this 3.5 hour workshop, Dr. Naber helps academic writers liberate themselves and their research. This workshop focuses on her “3 Steps Towards Liberating Your Research” –

1) Healing anxiety, imposter syndrome, and overwhelm by claiming your core beliefs and our radical self/collective love and power.

2) Claiming and naming your own set of liberated theories and methods.

3) Designing a liberated research project in alignment with who you are and what you stand for. 

This workshop is designed ideally for the BIPOC community.

Selected Media

CBS2 – Chicago

TedX Oak Park

Spring 2022 YWomen Film (YWCA, Evanston, IL)

Press

Testimonials

Nadine Naber is simply riveting! She is one of the most fascinating and innovative thinkers. She offers ingenious solutions to better understanding our world and the dilemmas we face. Nadine is such a brilliant engaging and dynamic speaker; you will not be the same person after hearing her speak—and the world and you will be better as a result.
Clarissa Rojas – Professor, Latino Studies, University of California Davis

 

“Dr. Naber’s was a key speaker at our 10 year anniversary event. I’ve also seen her speak at other educational and community events. She has a wealth of knowledge and a great presence. She breaks down information and makes it relevant so that it speaks directly to the audience she’s presenting to.”
Chris Lymbertos – Associate Director, Center for Media Justice

About Nadine Naber, PHD

With more than two decades of studying and leading movements to support diverse people around the world, Dr. Nadine Naber incorporates deep knowledge found in academic theory and translates it into action to support people of color in the workplace and in our communities.
 
Dr. Naber is an award winning Professor in the Gender and Women’s Studies Program and the Global Asian Studies Program at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). Her dedication to these fields has led to major awards including the American Studies Association’s 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award [The Oscars of academia!), the YWSA’s Y-Women’s Leadership Award, and the Silver Circle Teaching Award.  
 
Dr. Naber is also the author/co-author of five books on race and gender, lead author of the 2023 report Beyond Erasure and Profiling: Cultivating Strong and Vibrant Arab American Communities, and serves as an expert author for the United Nations. She sits on the boards of both the National Council of Arab Americans and the National Council of Arab Americans. She co-founded MAMAS, supporting mothers of color survive and thrive, and is the founder of Liberate Your Research, a highly sought after program that empowers diverse academic researchers to learn to write fully and authentically with the wisdom of their ancestors behind them.

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Deirdre Cooper Owens

Deirdre Cooper Owens, PhD

Dr. Deirdre Cooper Owens is an award winning author and a historian most known for her writings on slavery and the history of reproductive medicine. She is also widely known for capturing the history of Harriet Tubman as a disabled woman and how it relates to DEI. 

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Desiree Adaway

Desiree creates and sustains a culture of equity and inclusivity. She’s the one who runs towards the difficult questions.  

Past Speaking Engagements

 
The Gates Foundation
3 Percent Conference
DePaul University
AWWEE
Vaya Health
OnTrack
 

Speaking Options

Organizational Reckonings: Past, Present, And Future

As organizations work to challenge, address, and repair racial inequities in the present, we need to know the truth of our past.

The truth is that American industry was built on genocide and chattel slavery. It’s not surprising that the concept of middle management and many accounting practices were developed on slave plantations. One year, ten years, of anti-racism work won’t reverse 400 years of colonization and white supremacy. But a long-term, resourced, intentional commitment can transform our organizations into places rooted in transparency and trust, where People of Color experience true equity, power, and inclusion.

During this talk, we’ll explore our history, its impact on today, and look at ways organizations have successfully pushed back on the norms of white supremacy.

The History Of The Racial Sleep Gap & Creating Communities Of Care 

Did you know that nearly 1/2 of of all Black, multiracial, and Native Hawaiians and Pacific islanders get fewer then 7 hours of sleep every night? And that the decrease in duration and quality of sleep leads to poor health outcomes?
 
The history of racial inequities in rest and health pushes us to ask: What is the cost on our bodies and minds as we live with White Supremacy? We’ll also explore the Praxis of Liberation and what it takes to develop communities of care to heal.

Bipoc Resiliency

Desiree Adaway - Melibee Global Speaker on topics of Diversity, Women, and History

What would it look like to be a person of color in the US and flourish? To be safe and to thrive in our workplaces, in our communities. To thrive in our own bodies and minds, without the constant need to contort and conform? To move beyond the relentless pressures placed on us. This is a moment to push what we’ve been told is possible, to deepen our analysis and imagination of what justice, equity, and liberation can look like. To invest even more deeply in each other. This workshop will create space for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color to be in conversation about racial equity, the pressures of dominant cultural norms, tools for resiliency, and building collective power.

 

A Critical Analysis Of Power: The Relationship Between Racial Equity And Truth

We’ll name different types of power that operate in the workplace and explore exactly what white dominant culture is, and how it impacts organizational culture, relationships, policies, and processes. We’ll look at what behaviors and practices reinforce dominant culture and share ways we can work to mitigate it.

 

Black Joy: Rest And Resilience

In this talk, we’ll talk about White Dominant organizational culture, the problem with expectations of constant resilience from BIPOC, and rest as a pathway to healing.

 

Black Joy: Waging Love And Claiming Joy

Are we treating ourselves with enough joy, tenderness, and peace? What practices are we engendering and developing in the community to support a love ethic and claim joy? In this talk, we’ll look at a framework for lifelong learning, pleasure, and Joy as resistance.

Selected Media

Sizzle Reel

At the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Spring 2023

Desiree Adaway, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Testimonials

“Desiree’s teaching and mentorship have radically enhanced our leadership, focus and vision for our work at Be Nourished. Her wisdom and skillful presence has touched every layer of our business, imbuing each with a renewed depth of focus on equity and inclusion. Desiree leads with the kind of love that is fierce, true, and holds you to your wisest self. She embodies the kind of leadership that holds space for growth and depth of change. Working with Desiree will solidify your vision for a new world so you can stay in process with that vision for a lifetime.”
Hilary Kinavey & Dana Sturtevant, Co-Creators of Body Trust®

“Desiree Adaway is a powerful doula for this lifelong process of inquiry and praxis. She takes participants down a sometimes painful and always revelatory path towards a deeper and more personal understanding of freedom, inclusion, access, race, and equity.” 
Tucson, AZ

“Desiree Adaway is a gifted coach and mentor. 
I appreciate Desiree’s extensive wisdom, her direct, no-bullshit style of communication and her huge heart. With her guidance, I have not only developed and enhanced my leadership and communication skills but I have been able to gracefully navigate my transition out of direct leadership of the organization I founded and move into an emerging new role related to that work.”
Amy Mandel, Founder and Funder, Tzedek Social Justice Fund

“Desiree brings compassionate rigor. She tells the truth about what she sees. Desiree challenges us to think deeply about what real equity looks like, and in the process, we live into our values and amplify our impact.”
Danielle Keiser, Exec. Dir. and Founder, Menstrual Health Hub

Carrie Meyer, Assistant Professor, Head of Special Collections and Archives, Leon S. McGoogan Health Sciences Library

“As an organization with a lot of energy behind DEI, but without much experience, Desiree Adaway has helped us navigate several important junctures on our still emerging journey. I’ve grown as a person and professional because of our partnership.”
Carrie Meyer, Assistant Professor, Head of Special Collections and Archives, Leon S. McGoogan Health Sciences Library, University of Nebraska Medical Center

About Desiree Adaway

Desiree Adaway is a consultant, trainer, coach and speaker building resilient, equitable, and inclusive organizations. Desiree is the person who says the “thing”, who runs towards difficult conversations. She is an expert at teaching others how to handle complex, charged conversations (particularly around identity and power) with grace, assertiveness, and transparency.

Desiree has over 20 years of experience creating, leading and managing international, multicultural teams through major organizational changes in over 40 countries. As the Senior Director of Mobilization for Habitat for Humanity, she was responsible for planning the strategy and training for hundreds of membership organizations, totaling more than 50,000 members. She was responsible for the overall strategy and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) plans for 1,600 US affiliates and one million volunteers globally. 

Her keynotes have a mix of thought-provoking content presented with humor and wit. She makes a point to create a safe space for growth. Desiree is known by colleagues, peers, and partners as being great at open, honest, and productive conversations. She is not afraid of addressing anything that gets in the way of great work. Her style is positive, approachable, engaging, service-oriented, and audience-centered.

 

Who Caught Your Eye?

Melibee Global Speakers is a boutique speaker booking agency, laser-focused on the needs of event professionals in any industry or field seeking to book diverse keynote speakers and corporate edutainment. Our mission is to provide an easy, customer-friendly, efficient and trusted talent booking experience.

Inquire about booking MelibeeGlobal speaker, Desiree Adaway using the form below.

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Name*
Select from the speakers listed below.*
Please select one or more speakers of interest.
Appearance Preference
Please select the preferred appearance location.
Please tell us more! Who is your audience? What are you goals? Why do the speakers interest you? Do you want a standard talk with Q&A or something more?
Please enter the venue name. Not required if an online appearance.
Venue Location
Please enter the address of the venue location. Not required if an online appearance.
Please enter an ESTIMATED budget for the speaker fee and travel. (This field will only accept one amount and not a range.)
Please enter a date or date range in the text field provided.
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What else do we need to know to make this a great event? Don't hold back!
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