Herstory: Womxns Inclusivity Panel

Dr. Vanessa Lopez-Littleton

 Dr. Vanessa Lopez-Littleton is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health, Human Services, and Public Policy at California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB) where she teaches public administration, research methods, and capstone courses. Dr. Lopez-Littleton’s teaching and research interests include health inequities, the social determinants of health, and social equity. Dr. Lopez-Littleton graduated from the University of Central Florida with a Ph. D in Public Affairs with an emphasis in health services management. She is a U.S. Army veteran and registered nurse who enjoys dancing, comedy, and traveling.

Nizhoni Chow-Garcia

Nizhoni Chow-Garcia, Ph.D., is Diné, born to the Tódích’íi’nii (Bitter Water People) and To’tsohnii (Big Water People) clans. She earned her undergraduate degree from UCLA and her Ph.D. from the University of Rochester and now serves as the Director of Inclusive Excellence at CSU Monterey Bay. Her work, broadly supporting Natives in STEM and critical Indigenous frameworks, has been recognized as the 2017 NASPA and ACPA's respective Dissertation of the Year Awards. Nizhoni can usually be found running with and after her two boys, beading, and learning the ukulele.

Linda Schaedle

Currently a Human Resource Management subject matter expert at California State University, Monterey Bay, in ADA, Workers Compensation, and Leaves management since 2012, and a local National Alliance on Mental Health Family to Family volunteer training facilitator. A recent former Chair of the California State Independent Living Council serving two terms under the appointment of the Governor. Served on several Employment Advisory and speaking panels in Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo County, and Monterey County. My life pathway celebrates diversity across the rich tapestry of diversity including disability, ethnic, religious and cultural traditions within my own family,professional, and volunteer roles in my community.

Prior professional experience includes recruitment, Project Development, ADA and return-to-work case management at Bank of America, and EEOC Mediation case preparation at Loyola Law School’s Disability Legal Rights Center. Serving diverse populations in Southern California under the umbrella of Workforce Investment Systems in Long Beach and San Luis Obispo County as a Disability Navigator subject matter expert in a change management role, I facilitated the integration of services for youth and adults with disabilities within job seeking services for the Employment Development Department, Department of Labor, Veteran initiatives, Social Service organizations and others patterns within these collaboratives. ADA

consultancy work was provided for the Interwork Institute at California State

University, San Diego.

B.A. in Graphic Communications at California State University, Northridge.

Rachelle Escamilla

Rachelle Escamilla is the author of three collections of poetry, the winner of a number of literary awards, the former producer and host of the longest running poetry radio show in the U.S., was a visiting scholar at the Library of Congress, and is the founder of numerous poetry and creative writing programs in the United States as well as in China. Rachelle has been a food columnist and a fashion editor whose work has been published internationally. Escamilla is the daughter of farm workers from the Central Coast of California and currently sits as the Poet Laureate for Monterey County. 

Link to my website: www.poetita.com

Rachelle Escamilla is a Chicana poet from the Central Coast of California. She has three collections of poetry; is the founder of a number of poetry programs in the US and China; was the producer and host of the longest running poetry radio show in the US; and was a visiting scholar at the Library of Congress, Hispanic Division where her poetry was recorded for Palabra the library’s audio archive. Her article, Searching for my Family, about her grandfather’s testimony to Congress in 1969 about the working conditions for migrant workers was published by the Library of Congress. Rachelle looks forward to shifting into Non-fiction in the coming years and has been accepted to Château d'Orquevaux Artists & Writers Residency in Champagne-Ardenne, France “one of the top ten most beautiful residencies in the world” and has been awarded The Denis Diderot Grant for 2024.