In this inspiring episode, Dr. JeffriAnne Wilder welcomes Liz Gordon-Canlas, Managing Director of Zora’s House, a vibrant hub for women and gender-expansive people of color in Columbus, Ohio, to discuss how disruption can mean building radically different spaces rooted in care, connection, and collective courage. Drawing on her transformative journey through higher education, nonprofit leadership, and personal advocacy as a transracial adoptee and community builder, Liz shares her vision for equity, belonging, and economic empowerment. Through programs like the Leadership Fellows and Wealth Builders, she is redefining what thriving looks like and challenging limiting narratives about women of color, proving that when we invest in dreaming, policy, and solidarity, we don’t just survive, we create a blueprint for the future.

• Season focus on disruption and reimagining change
• DLE program takeaways and Black professional cohort impact
• Origin story from residence life to governance fluency
• Mentorship from Black leaders shaping career pivots
• Pandemic-era shift and readiness for new work
• Building Zora’s House and the $6.3M campaign
• Programs including Leadership Fellows and Wealth Builders
• Regenerative economics and keeping talent in Columbus
• Boundary-setting as a launchpad, not social service
• Internal blueprint for centering Black women at work
• Visions for policy, community, and the next decade

🔗 Find out more about Dr. JeffriAnne Wilder.
🔗 Follow the Center for DEI Innovation and Leadership on LinkedIn.
🌎Visit Oberlin College's website.
Podcast Produced by: Paradigm Media Group

We sit down with Dr. Gregory C. Hutchings Jr., teacher, principal, superintendent, consultant, and now professor at Howard University, to map a leadership journey that breaks barriers without losing its compass. From making history in Shaker Heights as the first Black superintendent at 35 to steering Alexandria City Public Schools through a pandemic and political crosswinds, Dr. Hutchings shares how his VIP framework (Vision, Integrity, Passion) kept him grounded while centering Black and Brown students.

You’ll hear the inside story of pushing for equity in districts known for tradition, what happens when you change who sits at the table, and why authenticity, down to how a family shows up, matters in public leadership. We explore measurable wins that challenge false tradeoffs between equity and excellence: higher graduation rates, full accreditation, and a strategic plan with equity at its core despite statewide retrenchment. Then we zoom out to the national stage as Dr. Hutchings steps from the superintendency into movement work, founding Revolutionary Ed and Hutchings & Associates, to help boards and leaders dismantle systemic racism with strategy, governance, and coaching.

• Origin story and early shift into education
• Becoming the first Black superintendent in Shaker Heights City Schools
• VIP leadership model: vision, integrity, passion
• Authenticity, family, and community grounding
• Legacy in Alexandria amid pandemic and politics
• Equity results: graduation, accreditation, new campus
• Burnout, therapy, and sustainable leadership
• Moving from district leader to national systems builder
• Howard University role and the leadership pipeline
• Research on Black women superintendents and solutions
• Pipelines, networks, and board relations for equity

🔗 Find out more about Dr. JeffriAnne Wilder.
🌎Visit Oberlin College's website.
Podcast Produced by: Paradigm Media Group

Brand builder, marketing strategist, and entrepreneur Martin Ekechukwu joins Dr. JeffriAnne Wilder on The North Star to unpack how entrepreneurship can drive equity in a time when formal DEI programs are retracting.

From his immigrant roots to founding WHTWRKS, Martin shares the mindset required to build resilient businesses, align profit with purpose, and create brand ecosystems—not mere diversity checkboxes. He lifts the curtain on the truths of influencer marketing, opens up paths through supplier diversity and local impact, and shows why AI-fueled service models are the next frontier for founders and students alike.

Whether you’re starting out or scaling up, this is a guide to turning tension into opportunity.

• Immigrant roots, academic household, love of culture
• Leaving corporate to build, connect, and lead
• The limits of “change agent” roles in big firms
• Ecosystems over campaigns in multicultural marketing
• Influencer work as discipline, not luck
• DEI retrenchment, new access and supplier diversity gaps
• Social impact through arts, politics, and partnerships
• Profit with purpose in health and skincare needs
• Student playbook for organizing and peer networks
• Act local: councils, boards, and community service
• Becoming fluent in AI for practical business value
• A 10-year vision to reinvent product promotion

🔗 Find out more about Dr. JeffriAnne Wilder.
🌎Visit Oberlin College's website.
Podcast Produced by: Paradigm Media Group

Dr. Herman Felton shares his remarkable journey from growing up in Jacksonville's inner city to becoming the 17th president of Wiley University, a transformative leader who has redefined what it means to lead an HBCU in today's challenging landscape.

• Product of "scarcity" who discovered his dyslexia later in life
• Joined the Marine Corps before attending Edward Waters College as a non-traditional student at age 28
• Inspired to pursue higher education leadership after witnessing his college president defend open-door admissions
• Views his role as a "disruptor" through the lens of resolve and faith
• Leads Wiley University with an understanding of its historical significance as a place founded in a Confederate stronghold
• Navigates today's higher education challenges with a measured, faith-based approach
• Co-founded the Higher Education Leadership Foundation that has produced 16 HBCU presidents in 10 years
• Believes future HBCU leaders need both specialist knowledge and a generalist understanding of all university operations
• Maintains that effective leaders ascend to the presidency rather than pursuing the title itself
• Hopes his legacy will be the multiplication of fearless, bold leaders committed to HBCU work

🔗 Find out more about Dr. JeffriAnne Wilder.
🌎Visit Oberlin College's website.
Podcast Produced by: Paradigm Media Group

This bonus episode features the inaugural show of the Conversation Series: Living Our Values, where Dr. JeffriAnne Wilder sat down with Dr. Airica Steed—a living change maker and history maker—to explore what it truly means to live your values through the lens of authenticity, equity, and collective excellence. Dr. Steed candidly reflected on navigating the complex realities facing women of color and high-profile leaders, and sustaining resilience amid adversity and personal loss. Through powerful storytelling, she shared her commitment to legacy, generational impact, and building access and opportunity in healthcare, offering insights for anyone seeking to lead with purpose and advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB).

📲 Connect with Dr. Steed: LinkedIn

🔗 Find out more about Dr. JeffriAnne Wilder.
🌎Visit Oberlin College's website.
Podcast Produced by: Paradigm Media Group

Dr. JeffriAnne Wilder welcomes back Dr. Tammy Hodo, educator, DEI consultant, and CEO of All Things Diverse, for an insightful conversation about the foundational role of psychological safety, civility, and inclusive leadership in building high-performing teams and sustainable workplace cultures. Drawing from her background in urban studies and two decades of leading equity and curriculum initiatives, Dr. Hodo shares actionable strategies for fostering trust, addressing race and identity in organizations, and navigating the challenges of DEI work in today’s polarized climate—empowering leaders to cultivate environments where all employees can thrive.

🔗 Find out more about Dr. JeffriAnne Wilder.
🌎Visit Oberlin College's website.
Podcast Produced by: Paradigm Media Group

Gardy Guiteau—educator, facilitator, coach, and principal of GJG Training and Consulting—returns to The North Star for a powerful conversation with Dr. JeffriAnne Wilder about his journey from student affairs to global DEI consulting, the role of dialogic inclusion and intersectional leadership in building human-centered organizations, and the critical importance of self-care and community for sustaining diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) work. Gardy shares lessons from his upbringing as a first-generation Haitian American, insights from consulting across the US and UK, and practical strategies for leaders and chief diversity officers navigating burnout, organizational complexity, and the evolving demands of equity and belonging in today’s workplaces.

📲 More about Gardy Guiteau: https://gardyguiteau.com/

🔗 Find out more about Dr. JeffriAnne Wilder.
🌎Visit Oberlin College's website.
Podcast Produced by: Paradigm Media Group

In this episode of The North Star, Dr. JeffriAnne Wilder sits down with Oberlin College students Natacha Lee and Skylar Leung—two Gen Z changemakers working at the Center for DEI, Innovation, and Leadership. Together, they discuss the evolving landscape of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in higher education, the challenges and opportunities facing today’s students, and how Gen Z is redefining student leadership, agency, and activism.

*This episode was recorded in April 2025. We wish Natacha and Skylar all the best as they’ve moved on from their work at the center.

🔗 Find out more about Dr. JeffriAnne Wilder.
🌎Visit Oberlin College's website.
Podcast Produced by: Paradigm Media Group