Visibility, Social Mobility, Success
2023 Program
Registration Check In
8:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.
Presser Hall
Welcome & Opening Remarks
9:10 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
Welcome & opening remarks from Leocadia I. Zak, President of Agnes Scott College,
Visibility, Social Mobility, Success: The Global Perspective
9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
Dr. Amani Ballour in conversation with Rose Scott, HOST and executive producer of CLOSER LOOK WITH ROSE SCOTT. Dr. Ballour is a Syrian pediatrician who became the first female hospital director in Syria. During the civil war, her colleagues elected her to oversee the Cave, an underground hospital, where she endured a 5-year siege of her neighborhood and was subjected to chemical weapons attacks, aerial bombardments, and barrel bombs. In 2020 the Council of Europe awarded Dr. Ballour the Raoul Wallenberg Prize. Dr. Ballour has briefed the UN Security Council and her story has been chronicled in the award-winning documentary The Cave as well as in The New York Times, Nightline, and The Guardian.
Purpose, Profit, and Philanthropy: Exploring New Avenues to Success
10:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.
Jill Savitt, President and CEO of the Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta will engage two well-known philanthropic and business leaders in a conversation about the intersection of philanthropy and business in addressing historical marginalization, enhancing social mobility, and redefining the notion of success. Fay Twersky, President and Director at the Arthur M. Blank Foundation and Saadia Madsbjerg, Vice President of Global Community Affairs at The Coca Cola Corporation and President of the Coca Cola Foundation, are thought leaders in the field of community transformation through responsible corporate citizenship and investment.
The Invisible Campus Comes to Light
1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
This panel brings together leading scholars from Davidson College, Clemson University, and Agnes Scott College to discuss pioneering research projects into the histories of their institutions and surrounding communities. Dr. Hilary Greene, James B. Duke Professor of Africana Studies, Davidson College, is the author and project lead for The Hallowed Grounds Project: Race, Slavery and Memory at the University of Alabama. Dr. Rhondda Robinson Thomas, Calhoun Lemon Professor of Literature, Clemson University, is known for initiating Call My Name, a research project dedicated to telling the stories of Black men, women, and children connected to Clemson University’s history. Dr. Robin Morris, Associate Professor of History at Agnes Scott College, participates in a Mellon Grant-funded reexamination of how Agnes Scott’s history as an academic institution for women has evolved in relation to the surrounding communities. Moderated by Agnes Scott College’s Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion, Dr. Yves-Rose Porcena.
Transforming Organizations and Redefining Leadership
2:15 p.m. - 3:15 p.m.
As senior leaders at global business organizations, Chanel Frazier, Head of BlackRock’s Atlanta Innovation Hub; Tara Hogan Charles, Senior Director for Racial Equity Programs and Partnerships at Procter and Gamble; Venessa Harrison, President of AT&T Coastal States, and Catherine Lynn, Vice President of Product and Product Design for Business Blueprint & Banking at American Express, will provide insight into how their respective organizations work towards more inclusive workplaces that enable historically marginalized groups to generate their own stories of success. Moderated by Economy and Business Reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Mirtha Donastorg.
Entertainment Entrepreneurs: Building Success from Scratch
3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Kim Fields has turned an award-winning career in the entertainment industry into leadership opportunities in other areas. After significant roles in shows such as The Facts of Life and sitcoms such as Living Single, Kim starred in Martin (1992), The Golden Palace (1992), The Crew (1995), Music of the Heart (1999). She received the NAACP Image Award for Best Actress in Fight the Good Fight and also an NAACP Image Award for Best Director for bringing Vanities to the stage in Los Angeles. As an entrepreneur, Kim Fields has created several successful businesses, among them Signature Blends by KF, a coffee and tea company selling specialty brews to consumers online and on places such as Agnes Scott’s campus. Kim Fields will be in conversation with Rose Scott.
