Connecting to Community Business Leaders through Storytelling

As a part of Montclair State University’s mission, deepening our understanding of shared experiences is an important part of our work. This Spring Session, Bloomfield Campus Library provided the space for an open discussion about leadership for Black and Latina women.

Bloomfield Campus Library invited a panel of speakers to reflect on their journeys as Black and Latina leaders. The panel included Daytime Emmy® Award-winning writer and former HBO media executive Elaine Brown, CEO and policy strategist Catherine Sackey, and Hispanic Chamber of Congress business owner Gladys Vonglahn. They discussed ways that our students can advocate for themselves as they begin their careers, value their own voices, and successfully navigate micro-aggressions and other challenges that may present themselves in the workplace.

To build on this storytelling theme; memoirs, essays, personal narratives and historical narratives are on display for the rest of this spring at Bloomfield Campus Library to connect students to the lived experiences of Black and Latina women and to be inspired by their journeys. However, what’s more is that we encourage students and other members of the Bloomfield College community to add their unique voices into the conversation, through more storytelling events such as this. Approximately thirty-five attendees which included students, faculty, staff, and administrators took part in this spring’s discussion and approximately twenty additional members of the Bloomfield College community were able to view the recording that was available in the weeks following.