Please join us in welcoming instructors Deanna Singh and Dr. Justin Ponder to the team! Deanna and Dr. Justin teach four programs in the new Professional Certificate in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Through these programs, they equip leaders with the essential tools and skills needed to create an environment where all employees can thrive.
Meet Deanna Singh
Deanna Singh is a business consultant, speaker, and podcaster who is internationally recognized for her work in leadership, diversity, equity, and inclusion. Deanna helps clients create more equitable and inclusive work environments and engage more authentically within their internal and external communities.
A gifted communicator, she is a champion for marginalized communities through her work. Her podcast, Uplifting Impact, with a focus on looking at the intersection of leadership and diversity, equity, and inclusion, focuses on solutions and is directed at people who want to break the status quo.
Deanna earned her bachelor of arts in urban studies from Fordham University, a Juris Doctorate from Georgetown University, a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, and a certification in diversity, equity, and inclusion from Cornell University.
Deanna has two forthcoming publications (with Penguin Random House and Mattel) focusing on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. She is also releasing a How to Talk about Race conversation card deck in early 2021.
Meet Justin Ponder, Ph.D.
Justin Ponder, Ph.D. is a professor at Marion University in Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin. He teaches courses on ethnic studies, African American studies, and ethnic minority literature. He is published in numerous journals and books on the issue of race and identity politics, exploring the ways to bridge the gap between who we are and who we must become to achieve a more equitable world for others.
Dr. Ponder has helped organizations and leaders consider connections between the historical past, the social present, and a more just future. He knows how to masterfully weave the academic with the practical, the political with the personal so people can better appreciate the complexity of the issues while finding clarity about their responsibilities.
In Dr. Ponder’s work on diversity, equity, and inclusion, he is known for his ability to teach difficult lessons in gentle ways that combine heartbreak and humor to inspire hope.
Dr. Ponder earned his doctor of philosophy at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee.
Welcome to the CPED community, Deanna and Justin! To find out more about the Professional Certificate in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, as well as a list of upcoming programs, please click here.