Diversity: Can We Talk About It?
A series of conversations

• Sam Fulwood III, reporter and former metro columnist for the Plain Dealer
• Judith Rawson, former mayor of Shaker Heights
• Rev. Dr. Otis Moss, Jr., civil rights leader and pastor, Olivet Institutional Baptist Church
• Very Rev. Tracey Lind, Dean of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral
• Dr. Deborah L. Plummer, Executive Director of Diversity for the Cleveland Clinic

Tuesday, October 21, 2008: Deborah L. Plummer, PhD, Executive Director of Diversity for the Cleveland Clinic

Listen to Dr. Plummers' talk and Q&A [1:26:20 | 19.7Mb]

Dr. Deborah L. Plummer is a nationally recognized psychologist specializing in diversity management, who was appointed Executive Director of Diversity for the Cleveland Clinic in January, 2007. Previously, Dr. Plummer served as Professor of Psychology and Director of the Diversity Management Program at Cleveland State University, and she is the Founder of D.L. Plummer and Associates, an organizational development & diversity management consulting firm. As a researcher and author, Deborah has published numerous articles and written several book chapters on managing diversity. She has edited a professional text on the field of diversity management and written a non-fiction book on communicating across racial lines. Deborah is a noted speaker of numerous formal paper presentations and invited presentations to the professional community and a regular guest psychologist for News Channel 5.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008: Rev. Tracey Lind, Dean of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral

Listen to Rev. Linds conversation starter and Q&A [1:05:06 | 14.9Mb]

The Very Rev. Tracey Lind is Dean of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral as well as a city planner and author. Her ministry includes work for environmental justice, interfaith relations, sustainable urban planning, arts and culture, and the diversity of the Episcopal Church.

Tracey Lind began her ordained ministry as associate Rector of Christ Church in Ridgewood, New Jersey. From 1989-2000, she was Rector of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Paterson, New Jersey. In Paterson she led the effort to revitalize a large multi-cultural urban congregation and campus and establish the St. Paul's Community Development Corporation. Prior to entering seminary, Lind worked in nonprofit management and community development. She continues that work as a board member to many nonprofit organizations including the Episcopal Church Publishing Company, Ten Thousand Villages of Cleveland, Hospice and Palliative Health Care Partners of Ohio, Music and Performing Arts at Trinity, and the ACLU. Lind also serves as Greater Cleveland convener of We Believe Ohio, a movement of religious leaders uniting diverse voices of faith for compassion, inclusion and social justice.

Tracey Lind lives with her partner, Emily Ingalls, in Cleveland Heights.

Sunday, March 30, 2008: Rev. Dr. Otis Moss, Jr., civil rights leader and pastor, Olivet Institutional Baptist Church

Listen to our podcast with guest preacher, Dr. Moss [38:41 | 8.85Mb]
Q&A with Dr. Moss following morning worship [28:43 | 6.57Mb]

The Reverend Dr. Otis Moss, Jr., was called to the ministry at the age of 17 during his days as a student at Morehouse College, Atlanta, Georgia.  He served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Morehouse from 1994-2005.  His quest for knowledge and pursuit of educational excellence led him from Morehouse College as a Bachelor of Arts graduate and onward to Morehouse’s School of Religion/Inter-Denominational Theological Center where he received the Master of Divinity degree.   Reverend Moss selected a further course of Special Studies at the Inter-Denominational Theological Center and ultimately achieved his goal of the Doctor of Ministry Degree from United Theological Seminary in 1990.  

During his early days as a minister, Dr. Moss was blessed to sit at the feet within the inner circle of many phenomenal persons such as Dr. Benjamin E. Mays and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Both of these persons provided friendship, leadership and spiritual guidance and helped to shape the thinking and model for leadership Dr. Moss represents today.  He is recognized across the nation and globe as an eloquent spokesperson and spiritually-grounded man of God, carrying the banner for love, justice, equality, and human rights for all. 

As Dr. Moss so aptly states:  “My decision to enter the ministry is a gift…a special calling from God.”  His ministry is truly a gift; held up before the world as shining light  for all to see.  This gift was first discovered in his pastorates at several congregations in the LaGrange and Atlanta areas (including co-pastoring with Dr. Martin Luther King, Sr., at Ebenezer Baptist Church), further developed at Mt. Zion (Cincinnati, Ohio), and reaching full fruition at the Olivet Institutional Baptist Church, Cleveland, Ohio, where he has just celebrated his 32nd Pastoral Anniversary.    

Tuesday, March 11, 2008: Judith Rawson, former Mayor of Shaker Heights.

Listen to Mrs. Rawson's conversation starter [41:05 | 9.40Mb]
Listen to the Q & A session after her talk [20:53 | 4.78Mb]

Elected Mayor of the City of Shaker Heights in 1999, and re-elected in November 2003, Judy Rawson has vigorously addressed issues critical to this City's health and endurance.
Mayor Rawson previously served the Shaker Heights City Council both as Vice Mayor and Member for eight years. Prior to her elected positions, she practiced municipal law for ten years with a private firm and as Assistant Law Director for the City of Cleveland. Prior to moving to the Cleveland area, Mayor Rawson served Senator Birch Bayh of Indiana as a legislative assistant, with primary responsibility for foreign affairs, agriculture and women’s rights, particularly the landmark Title IX legislation.
Educated at Mount Holyoke College, where she majored in Political Science, Mayor Rawson earned her J.D. at Case Western Reserve University Law School from which she graduated with honors. She has served as a Mount Holyoke Trustee and was a Recipient of their Alumnae Medal of Honor. She was a member of the Visiting Committee of CWRU Law School.
She is married to Bob Rawson, partner in charge of the Cleveland office of Jones, Day. Her son Alex is at Harvard Business School and son Greg is a teacher in New York City.

January 15, 2008: Sam Fulwood III, reporter and former metro columnist for the Plain Dealer.

Listen to Mr. Fulwood's conversation starter [47:48 | 10.6Mb]

Sam Fulwood III is a reporter and former metro columnist for the Plain Dealer. Before coming to Cleveland in 2000, he was a Washington, D.C., correspondent for the Los Angeles Times, where he created a national race relations beat; he also contributed to that paper's Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of the Los Angeles riots in 1992. He has served as business editor and state political editor for the Atlanta Journal and Constitution, as assistant city editor, business reporter, and Johannesburg bureau correspondent for the Baltimore Sun, and as a reporter for the Charlotte Observer. He is the author of Waking From the Dream: My Life in the Black Middle Class (Anchor, 1996). Fulwood was an Institute of Politics Fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University (2000) and a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University (1993–1994). He earned a B.A. in Journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has been listed in Who's Who Among Black Americans since 1992.

Watch for other upcoming Diversity Series downloads.