The Academy's standing panel on social equity in governance discusses challenges and solutions for today's social equity issues.
Mohamad G. Alkadry serves as a Professor and Head of the Department of Public Policy at the University of Connecticut. His current research is focused on social justice and social equity in public policy and administration including gender, race and ethnic disparities in policy and administrative outcomes. Until this year, he co-chaired the NASPAA Diversity and Social Equity Committee since 2014. Dr. Alkadry has over 50 peer-reviewed articles and he is also co-author of Women and Public Service: Barriers, Challenges and Opportunities (2013, 2014) and These Things Happen: Stories from the Public Sector (2002). Dr. Alkadry’s practitioner experience includes service as a senior research associate at the Center for Urban Redevelopment and Empowerment (Florida Atlantic University) and as a Value-for-Money (performance) Auditor with the Office of the Auditor General of Canada (Ottawa). Dr. Alkadry has authored in excess of 40 community and professional studies in areas of governance and public management. (LinkedIn)
Dr. Oscar Odom III currently serves as the Vice President of Security for the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation. Dr. Odom has served as a Commissioner on the New York City Districting Commission of New York City. Dr. Odom is the former First Deputy Sheriff Commissioner and Four (4) Star Chief of the New York City Sheriff’s Office. Also, a Retired New York City Police Detective (20 years). Dr. Odom has served several New York City Mayor's. Dr. Odom has held several assignments in the New York City Police Department, Patrol Officer, Police Academy Instructor, Intelligence Division, Career Criminal Investigation Unit and Juvenile Crime Squad (Fugitive Enforcement Division). Also, serve a news commentator on policing, criminal justice and terrorism issues. Additionally, Dr. Odom has an academic career that expands over twenty years and has served as a professor in graduate and undergraduate colleges in criminal justice, law and emergency & disaster management. Dr. Odom is a member of the Oxford Roundtable in the United Kingdom. Dr. Odom earned his B.S. degree in Correction Administration from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Juris Doctorate degree from the City University of New York School of Law, where he was Associate Editor of the Law Review, and earned his Doctorate of Education with a Specialization in Educational Leadership and Management with Distinction /4.00 Grade Point Average at Capella University. Dr. Odom is a Fulbright Scholar Criminal Justice Peer Reviewer. (LinkedIn)
Rev. Nelson Jerome Pierce, Jr is the senior pastor of Beloved Community Church, and is the Faith and Race Program Director in the Center for Faith and Justice at Xavier University. Rev. Pierce is a graduate of Eden Theological Seminary where he earned his Masters of Divinity. Rev. Pierce has worked to strengthen the justice ministries of churches all around the country. As the lead trainer for the Black Church Institute, Rev. Pierce led workshops and national conventions to equip pastors and churches with the tools they need to address, in a holistic way, the issues of sex and sexuality. While in Ohio, Rev. Pierce has organized clergy from around the state to fight attacks on voting rights and on workers rights, and fought to keep Ohioans safe from Stand Your Ground legislation and police brutality. In the late Summer and Fall of 2014, Rev. Pierce played a critical role in organizing clergy and young people in the aftermath of the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO for which he is recognized in a video tribute in the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture in Washington DC. In the fall 2018, Rev. Pierce led an effort to organize the voting power of the Black Church, an effort that engaged over 50 churches and over 3,000 people. Rev. Pierce received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from Washington University in St. Louis.(LinkedIn)