The University of Michigan's GEAR UP Program hosts Saturday Academy for students. This month's theme is "Social Justice," of which Hampton Consulting presented "Education is a Social Justice Issue," which engaged 40 brilliant sophomores from throughout Detroit, Highland Park, and Southfield. 

Our youth are powerful and yearning for elders, knowledge, and progress, in all ways. We must talk to them, teach them, challenge them, encourage them. We have a role as their elders.

Having the opportunity to organize, plan, and execute two internal company identity-based diversity, equity, and inclusion conferences was a powerful experience. Approximately 225 staff members engaged the first year. The second year (in which David's keynote was featured), nearly 500 staff members engaged. 

Both internal and external leaders in the Black community were featured throughout nearly a week of programming to internally support, develop, and further Black staff members within this company. 

Over the course of one academic year, we worked with St. Louis Hillel at Washington University in St. Louis to serve an intimate cohort of student leaders. 

From the vision creation to the application, interview, and selection process through daily operations, this partnership was executed to ensure our cohort of students had a rigorous identity-based student leadership fellowship that fulfilled the Power of Word--as leaders developing themselves and also as leaders serving K-12 students in St. Louis (all via individualized projects crafted by each fellow). 

Amos Harris, a Board Member of the Partnership for Downtown St. Louis and Partner at Spinnaker St. Louis, speaks to top leaders of color from universities throughout Missouri (over dinner at a the Mercantile Exchange Complex in Downtown St. Louis) about his vision for St. Louis, as well as the need to have a diverse, talented force of professionals and citizens leading the charge and living in St. Louis. 

This dinner was part of a three-day local talent recruitment summit for diverse collegiate leaders, which Hampton Consulting has organized since 2010 (and led to be replicated in over 40 regions throughout the country). 

The STARS Forum is a one-day forum which engages Detroit natives who are back at home from college on Winter Break. These students work with K-12 students, as well as hear from community leaders--both paying it forward and further growing as college students and leaders. 

This forum was a great opportunity for Hampton Consulting, as I was able to engage with the K-12 students, as well as moderate a community panel. Behind the scenes, I worked extensively to coach and develop the forum organizers as it relates to organizing, planning, and executing  (before, during, and after the forum).

Observing the professional development and growth of the conference organizers, as well as seeing generations of Detroit students impacted through this forum was quite rewarding.

High School students speak to potential future teachers about their experiences as students, their goals and aspirations, as well as who they need as and what they need from teachers. Adult participants (college students) spent half their day at this local school's library, also giving them direct exposure to a school they might potentially be teaching at in the future. 

This student panel was part of a three-day local talent recruitment summit for diverse collegiate leaders, which Hampton Consulting has organized since 2010 (and led to be replicated in over 40 regions throughout the country). 

Approximately twenty-five Michigan State University juniors and seniors were invited to a dinner and dialogue, in which we discussed what it means to be a leader, how to develop as a leader, and how to engage with and impact one's community. 

This roundtable was part of a series that was replicated at over a dozen Midwest colleges and universities. 

In helping secure a partnership with a respective company and the National Conference on Race & Ethnicity (NCORE), we were able to see this partnership exponentially grow. The first year, five staff members attended NCORE. This then grew to a dozen the next year, twenty-five the next, and nearly fifty the following. 

Soledad O'Brien can be seen here giving a keynote at the conference, which allowed staff members to get external professional development as it relates to their specific roles in the company, as well as their overall personal and professional development.

"Justice is about having those uncomfortable conversations...you have to say what is true...digging into fairness and justice can make everyone uncomfortable. Leadership is about departing from a script because you know it, and taking a critical path toward justice. True leadership is about a blunt conversation. It's not about making change happen overnight or tomorrow, because that won't happen, but it will come. Don't sugarcoat things, have a blunt conversation about the truth." -Soledad O'Brien

It was powerful to see Lead MKE occur in Milwaukee (as part of a diversity, talent, and recruitment initiative I co-founded and oversaw for a national organization). 

Furthermore, I was honored to be able to serve as a guest speaker at this weekend summit. One of the social media posts I saw from my talk included a sentiment I shared with the audience: "I'm not a savior. We're not saviors. I did what was necessary." -Chanel Hampton

We partnered with the Association of Black Students at Washington University in St. Louis to bring John Legend to campus. Not only did Hampton Consulting work with John Legend (and team) to deliver a keynote on education, yet this event also served as a call to leadership and for recruitment purposes as it relates to education. 

This year's Equity Within the Classroom Conference is being hosted by Grand Valley State Univesrity. It's always an honor and privilege to be asked to share experiences in these spaces. Today, I had the opportunity to do so through the lens of a partner with my alma mater and the University of Michigan's GEAR UP Program Staff (full-time staff and student leaders). (GEAR UP is sponsored through Michigan's Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives.)

Our youth are brilliant--it's up to us to nurture, teach, guide, challenge, and encourage them. They can, they are, they will. 

Hampton Consulting created an annual Alternative Spring Break Trip which engaged the University of Michigan's College Democrats, a St. Louis non-profit chapter, as well as schools and additional non-profits throughout the community. This Alternative Spring Break trip exposed college students to diverse communities, allowed these college leaders to contribute to the education of K-12 students (while also furthering their own education), provided a great leadership development opportunity for all involved parties (in multiple manners), required exemplary operations optimization (including fundraising efforts, travel coordination accounting for over 1,000 miles of travel by college students, educators, and community members), and also served as a high-yielding recruitment and talent acquisition effort for the local community. 

The long-term impact of this trip can be seen years after each Alternative Spring Break.