Please join the Greater Philadelphia Chapter of the Association of Conflict Resolution
for our lunchtime webinar

on Tuesday, April 23rd at 12 noon

Nicole Kenney, M.P.P. is a social entrepreneur and speaker with 15 years of combined experience working on research, policy, programs, and communications, focusing on racial, gender, and economic equity. She is the founder and CEO of It Starts with Me, LLC, a social impact consultancy. In this capacity, her company supports companies in innovating and executing their strategy, communications, and programs to advance social impact and equity in their business, products, and communities they serve. Past clients include the Urban League of Philadelphia, the National Black Women's Justice Institute, the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia, and SHIFT Capital.

Nicole is also the founder of Hey Auntie!, a digital relationship-building service and community connecting Black women across ages and life stages to learn the rules, gain the tools, and deepen the networks to thrive at home, work, and everywhere. Nicole is on a mission to close the racial health and wealth gap by reimagining and leveraging the power of inter-generational relationships to help Black women rise and thrive over the stressors in their daily lives. Nicole was the Grand Prize Winner for Hey Auntie! in the 2021 Well City Challenge, a seven-month-long social-impact competition in Philadelphia.

Before becoming a social entrepreneur, Nicole served as an Economic Program Specialist and Senior Communications Associate at the National NAACP, where she helped lead, shape, and implement the organization's strategic internal and external communication campaigns locally, nationally, and internationally. She has been featured in Fortune.com, Philadelphia Inquirer, and Technical.ly, where she was also awarded Invention of the Year. She delivered the TEDx talk titled "How Aunties Changed My Life: The Power of Connection, Correction, and Collaboration and presented at the D.C. Congressional Briefing: What Makes Black Girls, Blue?: Creating Mental Wellness Climates for Black Women and Girls.

A proud West Philadelphia native, Nicole holds a Master of Arts in public policy from Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor of Arts in government and psychology (double major) from Smith College, where she received the Barbara Jordan Public Policy Award. She is also a 2022 - 2023 Innovation Fellow for CoGenerate (formerly Encore.org). Deeply committed to her community, Nicole serves as president of Smith College's Philadelphia Alumnae Chapter, is an active member of her church, The Church of Christian Compassion, and is a strength-training fitness instructor to a dynamic group of multigenerational women at her childhood YMCA. She is also a filmmaker and a proud auntie to her nephew Edward Gerald McCrae (aka EJ!

On June 16, 2022, Dr. Tony B. Watlington Sr. was appointed superintendent of the School District of Philadelphia, the nation’s 8th largest school district with nearly 200,000 students. A collaborative and results-oriented leader, Dr. Watlington began his tenure by launching an aggressive Entry Plan composed of 3 phases. Phase one included a listening and learning tour with 90 sessions in his first 100 days, phase 2 included a Transition Team composed of 100 diverse Philadelphians and K-12 national experts who issued a formal report with short and long-term recommendations, and phase 3 includes the development of an aggressive 5-year strategic planning process to position the school district to become the fastest improving large, urban school district in the country.

Prior to joining The School District of Philadelphia, Dr. Watlington served as superintendent of the Rowan-Salisbury Schools, North Carolina’s first and only Renewal School District where he launched a new equity-focused strategic plan and accountability model. Under his leadership, the district’s 3rd-grade district literacy ranking among the state’s 115 school districts rose from 96 in 2019 to 74 in 2021, the percentage of schools that met or exceeded state growth targets increased from 55% to 71%, and the percentage of schools that exceeded state growth targets increased from 6% to 29%. Additionally, the district ranked #4 among 115 school districts in the state for career and technical (CTE) concentrator students and Dr. Watlington and his team were featured on the NBC Nightly News for innovative leadership during the COVID-19 Pandemic as a result of efforts to keep schools safe and open to mitigate disruption.

Dr. Watlington previously served as Chief of Schools in Guilford County Schools, the third largest school district in North Carolina and the 47th largest among 14,000 school districts in the United States. He was responsible for improving systems that lead to excellence and equity for all students, which resulted in improved academic outcomes in all subjects, at all grade levels, and for all student groups. In addition to achieving 4 of the 5 top-ranked high schools in the state of North Carolina (according to US News and World Report), the district increased graduation rates and teacher satisfaction while reducing teacher turnover, student absenteeism, and student discipline incidents.
Dr. Watlington began his career as a history teacher in Guilford County, NC in 1994 and was named district Teacher-of-the-Year in 1998. He was honored as the North Carolina PTA Administrator of the Year in 2014 and he received the Communities-in-Schools (CIS) Champion’s Cup and Business Leaders Movers and Shakers Award. He received his undergraduate degree in History Education from N.C. A&T State University, a master’s degree in American political history from The Ohio State University, a Master’s of School Administration and a Doctoral degree in Educational Leadership degree from UNC-Chapel Hill (where he was a NC Principal Fellow). He also holds training certificates from Harvard and Yale Universities and is a member of the National Urban Superintendent’s Academy sponsored by Howard University and the American Association of School Administrators (AASA). Dr. Watlington is also a life member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. He also has three sons, Tony Jr., Aaron, and Caleb.

To join this webinar as well as upcoming ACR webinars, please save and use the following link info:
Zoom link: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/75907724105?pwd=9pm_NcUC37cxQubu57XcBq1hdi1Jv1.1
Meeting ID: 759 0772 4105
Passcode: 634525
Phone only: 929 205 6099

SAVE THE DATES FOR OUR NEW MEDIATION MIXERS

Tuesday, May 21st at 9 am

Trends in Your Mediation Practice”. This is a virtual “BYOB” event (most likely coffee, tea, juice this time of day 😊). We look forward to your participation in what is certain to be a lively exchange of mediation experiences and lessons learned!!    

Facilitated by Deborah R. Pierce, Esq., SPHR, a Corporate in-house employment & labor attorney and an HR professional who has served as a mediator part-time since 2001 and Michael Wolf, a federal agency ADR Director, university adjunct faculty, past section chair of ACR national, and past president of ACR-Phila.