CREATING CHANGE BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE AGENT
Dr. Nooshin Valizadeh is an equity and inclusion expert trainer, spoken word Artivist and published author. While her impact began in academia, her work expanded into local communities to create opportunities for change through DEI coaching, trainings, activism and the arts. Her clients include school districts, universities, politicians, Fortune 500 companies, and more. On the day of the Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation in 2018, she was asked to perform her "Survivor Solidarity" poem in front of over 22,000 people, and was picked up by World Stage Press soon after. Her poetry book WOMXN, gives voice to the survivorhood and resistance of a womxn’s existence in America in the form of chapters that demonstrate ways in which WOMXN can be emotionally unhoused in exile, empowered in solidarity and more.
WHY DR. V?
AWARD-WINNING EDUCATOR AND PUBLIC SPEAKER COMMITTED TO BUILDING AND FOSTERING RELATIONSHIPS
Dr. V has the knowledge and experience to meet and exceed your expectations, and offer a variety of services customized to fit your specific needs. Learn more about the improvements she can help you achieve in your organization and contact her today.
THE BEST TEACHERS INSPIRE
Dr. Valizadeh's innovative approach to equity, diversity, and inclusion work inspires real change in the classroom and in the field. She infuses pedegogicial frameworks with creative application in a way that gets her students excited to learn.
COLORING OUTSIDE THE LINES
Dr. Valizadeh's intersectional approach to her work ensure she is able to design for the margins. As an Iranian American woman, she understands the importance of inclusive practices and strives to create unique pathways to better support underserved groups.
MAKING AN IMPACT
In everything she does, Dr. Valizadeh strives to make an impact. Activism and community support are central to her foundation as an educator, leader, and capacity-builder.
MY CLIENTS
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EXPERT AFFILIATES
Dr. Valizadeh strongly believes in the power of unity and collaboration. Hiring multiple consultants for specialized services can be time consuming, disconnected and very expensive. This is why Dr. Valizadeh decided to curate a team of trusted experts so that Clients can have a one stop shop where all of their EDI needs can be serviced through this exceptional team. Experts range in skills from education, art, therapy and more.
VICTORIA L. ALEXANDER, M.ED
PhD student in Student Affairs at the University of Maryland
Diversity, Equity, and Justice Educator
Areas of Expertise: Race and Racism, Implicit Bias, Anti-Blackness, Allyship, Intersectionality, Racial Identity Development
DR. CORY M. BUCKNER, EDD
Professor
Life Mentor
Personal Development Coach
Writer
Areas of Expertise: Leveraging Athletic Identity for High School and College Student-Athletes, Leadership Development, Personal Development, Effective Personal and Professional Communication Strategies, Virtual Networking
BRANDON JOHNSON, M.ED, CPCC
Career Designer & Coach
Founder of Be Gallant Coaching
Areas of Expertise: Action Plan Strategy & Development, Resume & Cover Letter Writing, Compensation Negotiation, Goal & Value Clarification, Interview Preparation, Mapping & Communicating Strengths, Specialized with Introverts and Quiet Leaders
BRANDI JUNIOUS, M.ED, LBBP
Director of Corporate Partnerships, USC Race and Equity Center
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Consultant
Therapeutic Art Instructor
Artist, Artivist, & Justice-Centered Therapeutic Art Life Coach
Areas of Expertise: DEI Management Consulting & Executive Coaching; Equity-Minded HR Advising; Keynote Speaker and Expert Facilitator; JEDI Curriculum Design; Therapeutic Art Instruction; Creating Trauma-Informed Healings Spaces through Art, Poetry, and Music
PROFESSOR LYRICAL
DR. PETER MICHAEL PLOURDE
Raptivist (Rapper & Spoken Word Poet)
Associate Professor of Mathematics
University of the District of Columbia
UDC-CC Director of Faculty Development
QuSTEAM NSF Convergence Accelerator (Quantum Science STEAM Subject Matter Expert)
Areas of Expertise: Inclusive Mathematics Pedagogy, Culturally Relevant Education, Financial Literacy for Musicians & Citizens, Hip Hop Lyricism & Live Performance, Spoken Word & Rap Performance, STEAM Education, Quantum Information Science, Professional Development for Educators, Higher Education Leadership
DR. KIM TABARI
Professional Affiliation: USC Equity Research Institute
Areas of expertise: Immigration and Racial Justice, Anti-Blackness and Intersectionality, Yoga and Centering for Individuals and Groups, Race and Healing Justice, Restorative Justice practices, and Organizational Development practices
MARISSA H. THOMPSON
Meditation and Energy Guide
Founder of Luminous Minds Los Angeles
Areas of Expertise: Breathwork, Energywork, Corporate Wellness Consulting, and Self-Care
GINGER LAVENDER WILKERSON, LMFT
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
Contract Coach
Founder of Lavendar Soul Care
Areas of Expertise: Bullying, Self-Awareness, Self Esteem, Identity, LGBTQAI+, Depression, Anxiety, Traumatic Loss, Suicide Awareness, Parenting with Mental Health, Self Care, Inter-Generational Trauma
SERVICES
Cultivating Equitable Communities | Fostering Inclusive Environments | Creating Brave Spaces
Professional development trainings, antiracist strategies, and intersectional equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives.
KEYNOTE SPEAKING
Dr. Valizadeh is an expert keynote speaker who regularly speaks to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice-related topics.
EXPERT WITNESS
Dr. Valizadeh has served as an expert witness in court, testifying on the topics of sex and gender descrimination in the workplace.
ARTIVISM
As an “artivist,” Dr. V strongly believes in the power of music and art to promote social change, and is a member of NeverSpeakLB, a collective of Long Beach's singers and poets. She was one of the main stage performers at the 2018 Amber Rose Slutwalk in Pershing Square, where she shared her “Survivor Solidarity” rhyme to a crowd of over 22,000 people on the day of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation. The Performance can be seen here. She has also been the featured speaker and performer at numerous college and community events such as USC’s International Intersectionality Conference, Columbia University’s Hip Hop Education Conference, and was a featured artist at the 2020 Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles.
One way Dr. V builds engagement in her classes is by incorporating social media and “artivism” into her curriculum. For example, in her Sociology of Education course, she created an Instagram page where students could share current events and/or art and relate them to course content.
Poetry and Spoken Word
Dr. V also incorporates her advocacy into her poetry and spoken word by writing on topics of sexual assault, race, gender, and the political climate. She has a compilation of social justice poetry and art titled "WOMXN" that was released in June 2021!
PRESS
2/08/2022: The Los Angeles Trust
1/06/2022: The Los Angeles Trust
06/08/2021: The Los Angeles Trust for Children's Health
10/9/2018: The Daily Wire
10/8/2018: Los Angeles Magazine
10/8/2018: SHE'SAID'
2/17/2017: Los Angeles Times
EVENTS
3/8/2020: UC WOMXN'S LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE - UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES
7/10/2018: NEVER GET COMFORTABLE AND THE CAREER PIVOT. READ MORE HERE
P4/24/2018: RECLAIMING OUR TIME: WOMEN OF COLOR HEALING SEXUAL TRAUMA - USC RACE AND EQUITY CENTER, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. WATCH HERE
4/14/2018: EVOLUTIONARY, REVOLUTIONARY (TALK ON THE THE TOPIC OF SEXUAL ASSAULT AND RAPE CULTURE) W/ MAYA JUPITER AND DANAH CLEATON. WATCH HERE
11/25/2017: NOMADLAND'S FIRST HEATED DEBATE (TALK ON DEATH OF DIALOGUE ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES, CULTURAL APPROPRIATION, SLUT WALK, AND GENDER EQUALITY DILEMMA). WATCH HERE
TESTIMONIALS
Long Beach City College had the opportunity to be part of Dr. Nooshin Valizadeh’s Intersectionality Series training - Equity-minded Inclusion & Celebration: Curriculum and Beyond. This interactive module focused on equity-mindedness and intersectionality theory as a framework for solidarity and alliance building at LBCC. It was truly an informative and insightful look into not only the concepts of racism and inequities but also focused on how intersectional approaches can be implemented in terms of equity-mindedness in language, interactions, curriculum, collaboration, communication, student engagement, and transformation at institutions of higher education. I appreciated the dialogue and the creation of a safe space to share information and experiences. The concepts presented and discussed allowed for a more in-depth way of looking at challenges we face but also ways in which we can move beyond them. Truly a valuable session with many takeaways including application of the intersectionality prism to better understand the work we must continue to do at community colleges and beyond.
Meena Signhal, Ph.D.
Interim Dean - Language Arts & Communication
Long Beach City College
COURSE REVIEWS
