Adam is available for campus, community and corporate presentations. See sample presentations below.

FOR CAMPUS AND COMMUNITY AUDIENCES
Leaning Into the High Impact Practices of Federal TRIO Programs: Increasing College Access and Success for All
The first TRIO program, Upward Bound, was founded out of President Johnson’s War on Poverty with the Educational Opportunity Act of 1964. Within a decade the two additional “first TRIO programs,” Educational Talent Search and Student Support Services were implemented.  Today, TRIO programs reside on most college and university campuses and have survived changes in the federal political landscape, enjoying bipartisan support for being the vaccination for barriers to college access and success for first generation, low income and students with disabilities. Despite this track record of best practices, campuses often ignore TRIO’s results and best practices and create their own student success initiatives. This session provides practitioners with real results taking the TRIO tenants and identifying, amplifying and replicating them for dramatic results. It also equips participants with the tools necessary to impact student success campus-wide through coalition building.

Black, Indigenous, Students of Color, and First Generation Student Success
Creating intentional and holistic supports for our most vulnerable students are key to ensuring success of what is and will continue to become “new traditional” college students. This is imperative as America continues to become more “brown” and the numbers of first generation students rise. Campuses are called upon to create a campus climate, initiatives, programs, and culture that ensures the new majority belongs and has support “before they ask for it.”

It's Our Job, But It's Their Home: Creating Models of Student Success That Build Student Ownership
Higher educator faculty and staff often struggle with change and yet the students who reside on college campuses continually struggle to succeed in an environment where success is measured by six-year graduation rates that would be called abhorrent failure in other industries. Practitioners are called to be mindful of the changing demographics of college students and thus the needs of Gen Z, creating structural changes in response to student’s need to feel connected, belonging, supported. Proven student success strategies grounded in change, intentionality, intrusive supports and data informed practice leading to dramatic results on diverse campuses nationwide.

Combatting the Disease of White Supremacy Through Accountability, Dismantling Co-Dependance, and Moving to a Space of Racial Recovery
The racial reckoning of 2020 and 2021 has highlighted just how unwilling white Americans have been to have conversations about systemic racism. This unwillingness to address the issue and moreover ability to focus efforts on whose work it is to heal has resulted in overt racism unmatched since the Civil Rights era. The Black community has bore the burden of eliminating the disease of racism, one that does not infect, yet effects us.  Utilizing the elements of the Twelve Step Recovery Movement focusing on intervention, accountability and holding to our bottom-line is fundamental to eliminating the plague of racism from our nation once and for all.

Knowing When to Let Go: When Resilience Goes Too Far
As higher education pushes the need for “GRIT and Resilience” - qualities first generation, BIPOC, and other minoritized populations have in excess - those who support those populations learn to equip students with the skills to learn to let go when holding on is detrimental to personal, academic, financial, and social well-being.  Practical conversations with educators, parents, and students are critical to equip them with skills to ensure that our most vulnerable students utilize their gifts and the resources around them to attain post-secondary success with the highest return on investment.

Speak Up or Pull Up: Becoming an Active Ally and Accomplice
The workshop takes students from diversity and equity, to the bystander effect, to becoming an active ally and accomplice. The session includes interactive and group activity to equip students with the skills to recognize where they fall on the “justice continuum” and to strive to move toward active accompliceship. Ideally this is a three or four part virtual workshop which can be aimed at middle school, high school, or college students.

For First Generation: Students Building your Backpack for College Success
As colleges and universities embrace the nation’s growing population of first generation students, the students need to brace to prepare for institutions that were founded for the privileged few and whose systems are often not in line with the nations’ new traditional student population. This “grow mindset” focused talk explores the assets of first generation students and builds upon those assets to equip students with the practical skills to navigate today’s institutions of higher education, while preparing for “when life happens”  to ensure success.

Multiracial Roots, Black Fruit
Growing up in a multiracial family in the ultra-diverse Twin Cities (Minneapolis, St. Paul) created a unique perspective on issues of inclusion that were shattered once I embarked on my college journey.  Learning how to be multi-racial and yet 100% Black was a journey of self-discovery, growth, tears and trauma. This talk focuses on Adam’s unique perspective and journey in a call to action for real reconciliation, repair and justice.

Becoming a Social Justice Superhero: Allyship for Young Warriors
Young people are historically the nucleus of social justice movements both past and present. Equipping middle and high school students with the tools to put their frustration with the societal systems of oppression and to become Superheroes for Justice will bring about present and future change. This interactive workshop empowers youth with tools to have “tough talks” with friends, family and community as well as to link arms with other warriors of change to bring about radical transformation of a nation.

FOR COMPANY AND CORPORATE AUDIENCES
Clear Eyes, Full Hearts: Combatting the Disease of White Supremacy Through Personal Accountability
The “Twelve Steps” of accountability begin with acknowledging that "I" have a problem. Dismantling white supremacy always starts with the “I”. The true disease cannot be cured by people of color, no more than the children of an alcoholic can cure the alcoholic parent. BIPOC communities can hold their white friends, family and colleagues accountable to bottom-lines of doing their work to dismantle this disease from their lives and all those in their community. This session will introduce and expand awareness of accountability, while giving professionals tools and inspiration to work on accountability in their company/organization. It will also equip professionals with practical skills to be able to apply both being an ally and accomplice to daily life.

We Would Hire Them If They’d Apply: How to Create a Culture that Recruits, Hires and Selects Diverse Employees
Corporations and institutions often cite the lack of BIPOC candidates for vacancies as rationale for not having a diverse workforce. The ability to recruit, hire and select for difference begins with a long and hard look at organizational culture. This session debunks the myth and divisive-nature of “fit” and how to create hiring processes and culture that will result in a not only diverse applicants, but hires. Additional examination of required shifts in organizational culture will result in BIPOC team members being their authentic selves thus increasing overall retention and recruitment efforts.

Cameras Off: Creating a Culture that Sees your BIPOC Colleagues and Where Their Trauma is More Important than Your Discomfort
The continued trauma inflected against communities of color came to a head with the civil unrest of 2020 and 2021. Many BIPOC professionals felt powerless to impact change in the streets, but showed their resistance and solidarity with The People by keeping their camera off during virtual meetings with colleagues. This “silent solidarity” was often a response to not feeling seen by their white colleagues who many times failed to acknowledge or address the pain and trauma that was being inflected on a daily basis on their BIPOC colleagues and communities. Often this failure to acknowledge was strictly the unwillingness of white professionals to “overcome awkward” and recognize that just seeing the trauma and pain was more important than their lack of comfort with the conversation. This session will explore how simple recognition and sincere empathy can result in true solidarity and an increase in BIPOC employee satisfaction, recruitment and retention.