Webinars

Tuesday

June 15, 2021

12:00 pm EST

Nurturing Leadership and Bridging the Cultural Chasm through Mentoring

Presented by Dr. Clementine Msengi and Dr. Jen Fong 

The purpose of this presentation is to share our personal and professional experiences on mentoring and the impact mentors have had on our professional growth. Specific challenges we faced during our educational and career journeys will be shared, along with strategies mentors used to support us during the process. Group sharing and active participation will be encouraged.

Dr. Msengi received her doctorate degree in Educational Leadership from Lamar University.  She is currently a visiting assistant professor in the Department of Educational Leadership, Doctoral Studies, at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas.  She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Health Promotion and a Master of Arts degree in Community Health from the University of Northern Iowa where she was recently inducted into the Hall of Excellence. Following her master’s degree education, Dr. Msengi received two prestigious fellowships:  The New Voices Fellowship funded by the Ford Foundation and the Echoing Green Foundation Fellowship.  These awards enabled her to found an organization focused on improving the health and well-being of refugees and immigrants through education and mentoring.

Born and raised in the Bronx, Dr. Jen Fong attended public school until earning a Bachelor’s at Yale (Biology and Teaching), a Master’s at Stanford (Educational Administration) and a Doctorate at UC Berkeley (Education).  Dr. Fong taught in New York City and internationally in Abu Dhabi, before establishing her career in San Francisco. At the White House, President George W. Bush, awarded Dr. Fong the nation’s highest teaching honor: the Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching. Then Dr. Fong became an Assistant Principal turning around California’s 5^th worst underperforming school, doubling the four-year college-going rate for underrepresented students.  As a central office administrator responsible for San Francisco’s English Learners for 5 years and College and Career Readiness for 5 years, Dr. Fong has tripled underrepresented student access to college. As an international leader, Dr. Fong represented the United States in 2015 at a symposium with education leaders in the European Union in Brussels on educating migrant children, and was invited by Japan, China and Korea to discuss education.  Dr. Fong won the inaugural Gates Millennium Scholarship, 2000-2007, awarded to outstanding students of color from low-income backgrounds.  She also won the Echoing Green Public Service Fellowship, 1993-1995, to build community gardens and teach environmental science in the Bronx.