REST 2025 PROGRAM

PRESENTED BY

4TH ANNUAL

CONFERENCE ON

JUNE 11, 2025 NORFOLK STATE UNIVERSITY

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ABOUT US

WHO WE ARE YWCA is the oldest and largest multicultural women’s organization in the world. Since 1908, YWCA South Hampton Roads has strengthened social movements that eliminate racism, empower women, and promote peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all. For nearly forty-five years, YWCA South Hampton Roads has run its emergency shelter, providing the only place of refuge for families escaping domestic and sexual violence in the City of Norfolk.

Crisis Services Community Counseling Outreach

Equity and Justice

Shelter and Housing

Victim Advocacy

OUR WHY

THE MISSION YWCA is dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women and promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all.

PLEDGE TO

STAND AGAINST RACISM Mindful of the continuing affliction of institutional and structural racism as well as the daily realities of all forms of bias, prejudice, and bigotry in my own life, my family, my circle of friends, my co-workers, and the society in which I live, with conviction and hope: I take this pledge, fully aware that the struggle to eliminate racism will not end with a mere pledge but calls for an ongoing transformation within myself and the institutions and structures of our society.

I pledge to look deeply and continuously in my heart and in my mind to identify all signs and vestiges of racism; to rebuke the use of racist language and behavior towards others; to root out such racism in my daily life and in my encounters with persons I know and with strangers, I do not know, and to expand my consciousness to be more aware and sensitive to my use of overt and subtle expressions of racism and racial stereotypes.

I pledge to educate myself on racial justice issues and share what I learn in my own communities even if it means challenging my family, my partner, my children, my friends, my co-workers, and those I encounter on a daily basis.

I pledge, within my means, to actively work to support public policy solutions that prominently, openly, and enthusiastically promote racial equity in all aspects of human affairs; and to actively support and devote my time to YWCA, as well as other organizations working to eradicate racism from our society. I join YWCA in taking a stand against racism today and every day.

FROM OUR CEO

WELCOME! Welcome to the Conference on R.E.S.T.—a space to Reflect, Educate, Strategize, and Transform as we honor Juneteenth and continue our mission to eliminate racism and empower women.

This year’s theme, “What About the Women?”, urges us to center women’s voices in the fight for justice. As rights are challenged and disparities grow, this work is more urgent than ever.

Thank you to our partners and CAAmPP at Norfolk State University for their support. We’re grateful you’ve joined us to help build a stronger, more equitable community.

In peace, unity, and advocacy, Michelle Ellis Young

OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS Krista Harrell, PhD Board Chair Associate Vice President, Alumni Relations Old Dominion University Chernelle Hill First Vice Chair Vice President Hospital Operations Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital Amasa Andes Second Vice Chair Chief Strategy Officer An Achievable Dream Sybil Spurgeon Secretary | Of Counsel Yeng Collins Law, PLLC

Angela Parson, MD,FACOG Physician, Woman Care Centers, PLLC

LaVonne Hairston, MD, FACOG OB/GYN Staff Physician OIC, Inc. of Rocky Mount, NC

Angelia Allen Admissions Director Autumn Care of Norfolk

Melissa Ramsey Director of Community Relations Rivers Casino

Cheniqua Goode, LPC Director of Counseling, Norfolk State University

Capt. Michele Meister Director of Training Virginia Beach Police Department

Chonise Tate AVP, Treasury Advisor TowneBank

ReNee’ Dunman Assistant Vice President Emerita for Institutional Equity and Diversity Old Dominion University

Danica Royster Jr. Partner First Genesis of Virginia

Joanna Brumsey, CPA Guisela Torres Shareholder Treasurer Wall, Eihorn, Chernitzer, PC Personal Financial Manager Naval Air Station - FFSC Oceana Keshia A. Brown, PA-C / Dam Neck Physician Assistant PA-C Velocity Urgent Care, Sentara Angela D. Reddix, PhD Immediate Past Chair Founder and CEO ARDX

Tara Jones Retail Catalyst Project Manager Retail Alliance Vanessa Jenkins, EdD Executive Director, Health and Wellness Norfolk State University

Thank you to our partners!

Justice Partner

Empower Partner

Peace Partners

Advocate Partner

Media Partners

Valued Partner

News Coverage Partner

Beverage Partner

TablePartners Partners Table

Order of Events Dorothy B. Brothers Auditorium Norfolk State University Student Center

8:00 10:00 AM

Community Legacy Awards Breakfast Featuring Mikki Kendall - Keynote Fireside Chat Janet Roach, 13News Now - Mistress of Ceremony

10:15 11:20 AM

Women, Movement Building & Cross-Racial Solidarity Presenter: Keilah Jacques, Kei-Impact Group

11:25 11:55 AM

Men in the Mission Panelists: Darryl Boykins, Virginia Department of Health Amere Langley, Volunteers of America Chesapeake & Carolinas Travis Young, COUSIN Moderator: Eugene Daniel

12:00 12:55 PM

Juneteenth Lunch Cookout Sounds by WNSB Hot 91

1:00 2:15 PM

Politics, Policy, & Women Presenter: Councilmember Jennifer Rouse City of Virginia Beach - District 10

2:00 3:10 PM

Travel fair 10:00 AMthe - 6:00 Bridging GapPM Panelists: 123 anywhere st., Any City, st 12345

Viviana Andrade, Hispanic Resource Center Manolita Akiko Holadia, Joynes & Gaidies Melissa Ramsey, Rivers Casino Portsmouth Ru Williams, Elizabeth River Project Moderator: Councilmember Jennifer Rouse

3:20 4:20 PM

Operationalizing Love

4:30 PM

Closing Ceremonies

Presenter: Dr. Durryle Brooks Love and Justice Consulting, LLC

Legacy Awards Breakfast Keynote Speaker

Mikki Kendall

New York Times Bestselling Author, Activist, and Social Justice Advocate

Mikki Kendall is a writer, diversity consultant, and occasional feminist; she has appeared on the BBC, NPR, The Daily Show, PBS, Good Morning America, MSNBC, Al Jazeera, WBEZ, and Showtime, and discusses race, feminism, police violence, tech, and pop culture at institutions and universities across the country.

She is the author of the New York Timesbestselling HOOD FEMINISM (recipient of the Chicago Review of Books Award and named a best book of the year by BBC, Bustle, and TIME).

She is also the author of AMAZONS, ABOLITIONISTS, AND ACTIVISTS, a graphic novel illustrated by A. D’Amico. Her essays can be found at TIME, the New York Times, The Guardian, the Washington Post, Essence, Vogue, The Boston Globe, NBC, and a host of other sites.

2025 LAURA ETTA DAVIS TITUS TRANSFORMATIONAL COMMUNITY LEADER AWARD

DELCENO C. MILES PRESIDENT/CEO, THE MILES AGENCY Delceno C. Miles is the President/CEO of The Miles Agency, a Virginia Beach-based niche marketing and public relations firm she founded in 1989.

It is arguably the oldest minority-owned PR firm in Hampton Roads.

Delceno’s areas of expertise are community outreach, promotions, marketing, media and public relations and special event planning. Delceno was the founding president of the Hampton Roads Chapter of the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO).

Currently, she’s providing public affairs, public relations and stakeholder support to VDOT for its $3.8 billion Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel Expansion Project.

Delceno was appointed in 2002 as the first African American and only the third woman chair of the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce regional board. She was elected to the Virginia Beach School Board and served as vice chair for two years. She was honored by the Virginia Black Expo and City of Virginia Beach with the 2007 Business Leadership Award. The Virginia Beach NAACP awarded her its 2009 Community Service Award. She was honored by Inside Business publication with its Women in Business Achievement Award in 2009. Inside Business named her to its 2011 Power List as one of the top 75 most powerful leaders in Hampton Roads. She was named to the Power List again in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022,2023 and 2024 as emeritus.

2025 CHAINBREAKER AWARD

KEMBA SMITH PRADIA INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM ADVOCATE Kemba Smith Pradia is a nationally recognized advocate for criminal justice reform whose story of resilience and the need for redemption brought national attention to mass incarceration and the war on drugs in the 1990’s. After being sentenced to 24.5 years for a drug-related offense tied to her abusive boyfriend and fighting a highly publicized legal battle, she received executive clemency from President Clinton after serving 6.5 years.

Her story has inspired youth and women nationwide about life choices, while motivating students and professionals across disciplines to become advocates for social justice. She is the author of her memoir, Poster Child: The Kemba Smith Story and executive producer of the award-winning film KEMBA, now streaming on BET+.

Kemba has worked alongside Members of Congress, The White House, the United Nations, state officials, universities and national organizations in advocating for laws and reform such as drug policy, voting rights, prison education, reentry, clemency, probation, women and incarceration. Previously, she served on the Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission and Virginia Parole Board under Governors Terry McAuliffe and Ralph Northam.

This year, Kemba was selected as an Equity in Action Visiting Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania and was a national consultant to a federal initiative aimed at rebuilding trust between communities and law enforcement. She also led an impact campaign launched along with KEMBA, urging President Biden and governors to grant clemency to women who experienced intimate partner violence. This effort helped secure the release of her friend, Michelle West.

2025 CHANGEMAKER AWARD

VIVIAN ODEN VICE PRESIDENT, EQUITY AND INCLUSION, HAMPTON ROADS COMMUNITY FOUNDATION Vivian Oden is the Vice President for Equity and Inclusion at the Hampton Roads Community Foundation where she leads the foundation in its racial equity work.

Since taking on her current role, she helped to implement a racial equity plan and dashboard, established a Racial Equity Advisory Council, developed events educating the community on housing, education and health disparities, and strategized with localnonprofits to support their racial equity work. Most recently, she co-created Community Peacemaking Circles to bring the Hampton Roads community together around truth-telling, reconciliation and racial healing.

Oden was the co-creator of Unmasking Hampton Roads, a three-part learning series designed to examine the historic and contemporary impact of racism in Hampton Roads in 2019. She facilitates conversations on race, unconscious bias, stereotypes and racial equity.

As an expert in philanthropy, Oden sees the importance of engaging diverse voices, understanding how they give and developing engagement strategies to build long-lasting relationships. She spearheaded Hampton Roads’ first celebration of Black Philanthropy Month in 2018 that continues as a regional event. In 2019, she founded Visionaries for Change, a giving circle, with other Black business and civic leaders to develop solutions for Black communities experiencing economic distress. The first giving circle of its kind in Hampton Roads raising more than $1 million.

2025 CORPORATE/ NONPROFIT AWARD

VIRGINIA ORGANIZING Virginia Organizing is a non-partisan statewide grassroots organization dedicated to challenging injustice by empowering people in local communities to address issues that affect the quality of their lives.

Virginia Organizing especially encourages the participation of those who have traditionally had little or no voice in our society. By building relationships with individuals and groups throughout the state, Virginia Organizing strives to get them to work together, democratically and non-violently, for change.

Their goal is to uplift voices of directly-affected Virginians across the state.

They do that by sharing stories through press conferences and town halls, speaking with local and state officials, and direct actions to make sure that the voices of our community are being heard. Much of their work centers around local issues and campaigns across 18 chapters, as well as statewide priorities including dismantling racism, housing, environmental justice, restoration of rights, child care, gender justice, language justice, and healing justice.

RACIAL JUSTICE SCHOLARSHIP AWARD

YORK-PAGE SEATON York-Page Seaton is an upcoming senior at Norview High School and a member of the Leadership Center for Science and Engineering (LCSE).

With a 3.955 GPA and a passion for STEM and the humanities, he is a resilient, open-minded scholar, athlete, and leader.

He is also the captain of the track team, vice president of Model Judiciary, junior class treasurer, and musical lead of the Strolling Silver Strings. In addition to excelling academically, he’s active in organizations like the National Honor Society, Tri-M, Model UN, and Student Council. His passion for photography and music, driving him to see the world through diverse perspectives, and a commitment to service, York- Page Seaton stands out as a well-rounded and determined future biomedical or civil engineer.

Community Legacy Awards Breakfast Presenters Janet Roach Mistress of Ceremonies

Janet Roach is a 13-time Emmy Award-winning journalist and weekday news anchor at 13News Now in Norfolk, Virginia, where she anchors the 4 p.m., 5 p.m., and 6 p.m. newscasts.

With a broadcasting career spanning major cities including Washington D.C., Baltimore, Milwaukee, and Myrtle Beach, Janet is known for telling impactful stories that serve the public good.

Her award-winning documentaries have tackled critical issues.Notably, her documentary Donovon explored the controversial police shooting of Donovon Lynch, while 20 and Odd chronicled the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in English North America.

Sunshine Huggins Sunshine Huggins is the inaugural Miss Juneteenth Virginia. She represented Virginia at Nationals in 2024 bringing home the Miss Juneteenth USA 2024 title!

She is currently enrolled at Norfolk State University as a rising sophomore majoring in music media with a concentration in the harp.

Sunshine an aspiring artist with multiple talents in modeling, music, drawing, writing, and media production. She inspires to be a worldwide influencer and entrepreneur. Her goal is to own a Music Therapy resort and spot called Azalea’s frequency.

Vocalist Tamar Smithers

Tamar Smithers is a dynamic actress, vocalist, and arts advocate whose powerful voice and commanding stage presence have captivated audiences nationwide.

A classically trained performer, Tamar holds a B.F.A. in Acting from Syracuse University and has graced the stage in a wide range of theatrical productions, concerts, and performances. Her artistic repertoire spans classical and contemporary theatre, jazz, r&b, funk/soul, sacred music and gospel.

She currently serves as Chief of Staff at ARDX, a healthcare management consulting firm, while also pursuing a Ph.D. in Community Engagement at Point Park University.

Featured Conference Speakers Keilah Jacques Keilah Jacques is a Health Equity Scholar and equityfocused experience designer, facilitator, and Certified Professional Coach. With a background in policy organizing, health advocacy, nonprofit leadership, and curriculum design, they bring a systems-thinking lens to transformational work across sectors.

Their consulting focuses on experiential education, equitable leadership, and liberatory organizational culture, grounded in antioppressive methods, somatic awareness, and structural competence.

As a healing-centered coach, they support clients in unlearning limiting beliefs shaped by systemic oppression.

Councilmember Jennifer Rouse

Jennifer Rouse was elected to Virginia Beach City Council on Nov. 8, 2022, to serve as the District 10 representative.

Councilmember Rouse has been appointed to various city council boards including the Active Transportation Advisory Committee and Clean Community Commission. Currently, she is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and former Department Chair for Social Sciences at Tidewater Community College. In 2023, she was recognized by Inside Business Magazine’s as part of the region’s “Top 40 Under 40.” She is currently working toward her PhD Public Administration and Policy at Old Dominion University.

Dr. Durryle Brooks Dr. Durryle Brooks is a Baltimore-based interdisciplinary scholar-practitioner and the Founder/CEO of Love and Justice Consulting, which equips leaders with tools to authentically engage in diversity, equity, and social justice work.

Holding degrees in Religious Studies (B.A.), Sexuality Studies (M.A.), and a Ph.D. in Teacher Education and Social Justice Education, Dr. Brooks has spent the past 15 years addressing the impact of racism, sexism, homophobia, poverty, and religious oppression on marginalized communities. He is also the author of (Re)conceptualizing Love: Moving Towards a Critical Theory of Love in Education for Social Justice.

Men in the Mission Panel A call for men to step up, stand strong, and show up as intentional allies in the fight to eliminate racism, empower women

Moderator

Eugene Daniel Eugene Daniel is a morning anchor for 13News Now in Norfolk, Virginia. He serves as President of Hampton Roads Black Media Professionals, the local affiliate chapter of National Association of Black Journalists. His work on issues facing the Black community earned a regional Murrow Award in Illinois. He is a proud graduate of Elon University in North Carolina.

Featured Voices

Amere Langely Amere Langley is a dedicated mental health professional with a background in psychology and sociology. He is currently pursuing a Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Regent University. He currently holds the role of Program Specialist for Newport News YouthBuild under Volunteers of America Chesapeake & Carolinas.

Darryl Boykins

Darryl Boykins currently serves as the Training and Workforce Development Coordinator for the Hampton and Peninsula Health Districts. He supports staff and community development through leadership, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and health literacy initiatives. A VCU graduate, Darryl is passionate about equity and uplifting women and marginalized communities.

Travis Young

Travis Young is a social entrepreneur and the Founder, CEO of COUSIN. For 15 years, he has worked at the intersection of education, technology, and media, co-conspiring with brands, institutions, nonprofits, and start-ups to solve complex social issues.

Bridging the Gap Panel Connecting Voices Across Generations for Equity Moderator: Councilmember Jennifer Rouse

Featured Voices

Viviana Andrade Viviana Andrade is a respected educational entrepreneur with more than 20 years of experience in empowering students and families through personalized learning. She began her journey with the launch of A Plus Academics in Hampton—an initiative that quickly grew through her strong partnerships. Today, Viviana serves as the Director of the Hispanic Resource Center of Coastal Virginia.

Manolita Akiko Holaida Manolita Akiko Holadia is a seasoned civil litigation attorney with over 30 years of experience representing clients in personal injury, wrongful death, and complex tort cases across Virginia’s courts. In addition to her legal practice, she is an adjunct professor at Old Dominion University and an active voice for inclusion, justice, and community empowerment.

Melissa Ramsey

Melissa Ramsey currently works as the Director of Community Relations for Rivers Casino Portsmouth.

Melissa holds a Bachelor of Science in Forestry from Northern Arizona University, graduating with honors.

She has a background in fundraising, non-profit management, event management, marketing, public relations, community organizing, and brand promotion.

Ru Williams

Ru is a 2024 graduate of William and Mary in 2024 with a Bachelor’s in Geology and a minor in Sociology. In college, she focused her studies on environmental injustice, conducting research on the disproportionate effect the historical pollution that plagues the Elizabeth River Watershed has on the Black community. Her passion for social change derives from her strong upbringing and proud Jamaican roots.

Home Helps Everyone.

Learn more at: VirginiaHousing.com

Thank you for joining us and taking a stand for racial and gender equity. Your presence today helps power the mission of YWCA SHR — eliminating racism, empowering women, and promoting peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all!

Let’s keep the momentum going — make a gift, raise your voice, and be part of lasting change.

—Krista Harrell, Board Chair ~ YWCA South Hampton Roads

Congrats, Vivian Oden!

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ROOTED IN PURPOSE SINCE 2018 Named for YWCA’s signature color, the Persimmon Circle is the leadership-giving society of YWCA South Hampton Roads — comprised of our most consistent and generous supporters.

Together, we carry forward a legacy of empowering women and girls, with a bold vision to serve for generations to come.

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