This week’s pod episode kicks off with a discussion between Mac, Lindsay and David in which they discuss Lindsay being in “good COVID company” and dig into memories of negotiating a sense of belonging within new communities. Rhoan Garnett—or “Dr. G” joins Mac and David around 12:00.  

Dr. Rhoan Garnett was most recently the Milwaukee Public Museum’s inaugural Director of Inclusion Diversity, Equity and Accessibility. He has a background in higher education, and recently acted as principal consultant at YXM Consulting, a research-based and higher education-focused consultancy firm. In the conversation, Dr. G shares a poem about his youth, that focuses on experiencing educational choice in the aftermath of witnessing a friend and fellow athlete veering from the path to higher education after an act of violence led to his incarceration.  

In the course of the conversation, Dr. G reflects on how within individuals and communities, a sense of inclusion and belonging are born out of the existence and maintenance of safe spaces where “everyone can be there, and anything can happen.” 

Dr. Garnett cites relationships, and “network mentoring” as crucial to helping young marginalized students today navigate a landscape full of unconscious bias and institutionalized segregation. He finds himself humbled by the youths he engages with, and the ways in which they inspire him and others to “show up listening” and cultivate a “different kind of empathy” towards the end of parsing through the complex layers of social structures to access belonging.

Learn More about Rhoan online at his website 

412 Ephemera 

Luke Matheny’s 2011 Oscar Speech 

Ex Fabula 

The Milwaukee I-Corps Program 

LINK Unlimited Scholars 

Great Questions: The Writings of Judith Snow 

GUEST BIO: 

https://rhoangarnett.com/