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An Episcopal, co-educational 100% boarding school in Middletown, Delaware for grades 9 – 12

Hooper Conference

 

Friday, March 31 - Saturday, April 1, 2023

Our annual on-campus student-led equity conference has been renamed the “Thomas H. Hooper III ’71 Conference on Equity and Justice” in honor of the late alumnus and trustee. Mr. Hooper was a beloved member of the SAS family whose commitment to equity and justice will be celebrated during the conference by those who knew and loved him. This year’s conference will feature an exciting slate of panelists and chapel speakers—see below for more information.

Schedule of Events

Subject to change; more details to come!
 

Friday, March 31

12:15 p.m. - Chapel featuring Lauren Hooper-Rogers - watch live here

8:15 p.m. - All-school screening of College Behind Bars, Engelhard Hall

9:30 p.m. - Student discussion breakout groups, locations around campus

Saturday, April 1

10:00 - 11:00 a.m. - Panel Discussion of College Behind Bars with Tamika Graham, Giovannie Hernandez, and Salih Israil - watch live here

11:30 - 12:30 p.m. - Panelist meet and greet, Faculty Room

Speaker Bios

Lauren Hooper-Rogers earned her B.F.A in Musical Theatre from the University of Michigan where she studied and was mentored by world-renowned opera singer Shirley Verrett. For the past 18 years, Lauren has had a successful career working internationally and regionally in a diverse genre of plays, musicals, TV, and film. Her most recent credits include recurring roles on Netflix’s Manifest and Showtime’s Homeland. She also starred in the Colorado regional premiere of the play, Intimate Apparel, which earned Lauren a nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play. 

In addition to performing, Lauren leads an active teaching life, serving as an adjunct professor of private voice at Marymount Manhattan College in New York City, and maintaining a private voice studio in NYC/NJ where she coaches both singing and acting. She’s led masterclasses in musical theatre and served as a teaching artist working with grades K-12. In all that she does, she strives to breed empathy, trust, and connection in hopes of contributing to a more respectful and empathic world. 

When not working, Lauren can be found playing with her kids and spending time with her friends and family, basking in the sun on a run or in her garden, and losing her life binging the latest great TV series. 

Tamika Graham is an advocate for access to higher education for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people. She actively utilizes her public speaking skills, lived experience, and humble personality to motivate others to action. While being the Canvas Director for JustLeadershipUSA, Tamika was one of the prominent faces of the #CLOSErikers, and #FREEnewyork campaigns. She has engaged in advocacy with the Equity Alliance of Staten Island, Bard Prison Initiative, Less Is More NY, #HALTsolitary, Communities Not Cages, and other campaigns and organizations. Tamika is currently working at Services for the Underserved as a peer specialist serving the homeless population, and the lead national organizer for The Rugged Road to Recovery. Before joining JLUSA, she was teaching high school equivalency classes at the Brownsville Community Justice Center, and Dreams YouthBuild in Crown Heights, Brooklyn with the BPI-TASC program. She is also a Rehabilitation Through the Arts alumna, and sits on their Alumni Advisory Committee.

Giovannie Hernandez is a Bronx, New York native. He is a graduate of Bard College where he majored in literature with a minor in art history. He is currently an associate at Adams Buckner Advisors and has enjoyed working on accounts such as the successful #TurnOnTheTAP campaign and learning about the different components of policy and change. In addition to his work at the firm, Giovannie is a social justice advocate working to address the issues of disenfranchised communities and those impacted by incarceration. He is also a founding member of Emergent Works, a tech nonprofit teaching members of the justice-impacted community tech and software engineering skills at no cost. Giovannie travels the country speaking at national conferences and cultural institutions across the country extolling his belief in the transformative power of education.

Salih Israil is the executive director of the Philadelphia Bail Fund. Before joining PBF, he served as director of special initiatives for the Envision Freedom Fund, where he created and managed a $4.6 million regrant initiative focused on supporting Black-led social change organizations throughout New York State. He also served as advisor to the Directors of the Bard Prison Initiative, where he was instrumental in the establishment of the innovative, no-cost-to students Bard Microcollege at Brooklyn Public Library and helped facilitate, organize, and/or speak at a variety of national conferences and forums focused on expanding opportunity and access to higher education in prisons. He is a carceral state abolitionist dedicated to promoting social, criminal, and educational systems change. As a formerly incarcerated software engineer who learned to code in prison, in 2019, he founded the for-profit ReEntry Connect Technologies Inc. to create viable tech solutions for social, criminal, and educational justice reform efforts. He holds a BA in language and literature and an MPS in urban ministry and pastoral care and counseling.

Questions?

Contact Dean of Inclusion & Belonging Danica Tisdale Fisher, PhD at dtisdalefisher@standrews-de.org.