This year’s Women’s History Month Lecture at Hope College will present a panel discussion with four female members of the college’s staff and faculty on Tuesday, March 5, at 4 p.m. in the Maas Center auditorium.
The public is invited. Admission is free.
The theme, “HerStory of Hope College,” will highlight and honor the work and contributions of current female staff and faculty who have been connected to Hope’s campus community for 10-plus years. The panelists will share their stories and perspective to illuminate the professional and personal experiences they have encountered on campus and in the Holland community at large. In addition, these female leaders will share their experiences connected to their efforts in creating opportunities for greater inclusion and belonging on Hope College’s campus.
The panelists include Margo Walters, assistant director for the Center for Diversity and Inclusion; Courtney E. Brewster, executive director of Alumni and Family Engagement; Jasmine Lowell, international education coordinator for the Fried Center for Global Engagement; and Dr. Anne Heath, the Howard R. and Margaret E. Sluyter Associate Professor of Art History.
The doors will open at 3:45 p.m. There will also be an opportunity for the audience to participate in a question-and-answer panel discussion following the presentation.
The lecture is being presented by the college’s Center for Diversity and Inclusion (CDI), which is currently celebrating its 40th anniversary and is incorporating the theme throughout the 2024 Diversity Lecture Series. CDI is using the 2024 Diversity Lecture Series to celebrate and honor those who have put their time and effort into creating a diverse and inclusive community at Hope. The celebration will continue through presentations scheduled across 2024, including most immediately the college’s Affirming LGBTQ+ Student Lecture on Thursday, March 21.
“Our theme for this time of celebration and reflection is ‘40 years of Belonging and Growing Together: 1984-2024,’” said Jevon Willis, director of the Center for Diversity and Inclusion. “Utilizing CDI’s distinctive diversity spring and fall lecture series, each lecture is focusing on the legacy of work and personal experiences connected with past and present leaders of CDI at Hope College.”
- Margo Walters
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Margo Walters started at Hope College on June 3, 2013. In her current position as assistant director, she assists with the overall operations of the Center for Diversity and Inclusion, to promote student engagement; retention, sense of belonging, and success. Walters serves on the Campus Life Board, the Staff Advisory Board and the Many Voices Project.
She was a receptionist at St. Francis Catholic Church in Holland from 2009 to 2013. Prior to that, she worked as the general manager for Holland Civic Theatre, in accounts receivable and as a stay-at-home mom.
When not at Hope College, Walters enjoys spending time with her family and cats. It is a big group, as she and her husband have five children between them who are all adults living and learning all over the U.S. In her spare time, she is getting her hands dirty in the garden, putting together a puzzle or doing a home improvement project. She also enjoys the theater, and has been in many productions in the Midwest as an actor, director, prop mistress, costumer, producer and even once as a sound designer. She directed local productions of “A Piece of My Heart,” “Momologues,” “Monster in the Closet,” “Seussical the Musical” and “Schoolhouse Rock Live Jr.,” in addition to directing, performing in and working behind the scenes for many other shows at theatres in Illinois, Ohio, and Michigan.
- Courtney E. Brewster ’04
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Courtney E. Brewster ’04 started working for Hope in January 2022 as part of the Philanthropy and Engagement team. As the inaugural senior philanthropy advisor for culture and inclusive excellence (CIE), she was responsible for partnering with affinity, divisional and institutional leadership throughout the college to advance the Philanthropy and Engagement goals for CIE and Hope Forward, in addition to engaging as an accomplished and proactive leader on the Philanthropy and Engagement Leadership Council and on the college’s External Affairs Committee.
She was appointed executive director of Alumni and Family Engagement this past fall. She continues her cultural leadership in her new role with an intense focus on developing inclusive engagement and philanthropy practices affecting the college’s alumni, families, friends and campus community.
Prior to coming to Hope, Brewster worked at Washington University in St. Louis as the director of the College Prep Program (CPP), a three-year immersive learning experience that serves to successfully prepare high-achieving first-generation college students for college, career and military. Brewster has also worked in higher education roles and supported institutional initiatives at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Iowa State University, and Syracuse University. She earned a Master of Science in Cultural Foundations of Education from Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York and completed a post-master’s certificate program in Parenting and Family Strengthening Approaches to Enhance Child Well-Being at Washington University’s Brown School of Social Work. Currently, Brewster is a doctoral student in the Education Policy, Organization, and Leadership Ed.D. doctoral program with an emphasis in diversity and equity in education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
- Jasmine Lowell
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Jasmine Lowell joined Hope in November 2013 to work as assistant to the dean for international and multicultural education. She transferred to the Fried Center after Dean Alfredo Gonzales retired.
Her responsibilities include coordinating the host family program, short-term programs for visiting students and staff from global partner institutions, programs involving international exchange faculty and visitors., social media, marketing, and providing support and guidance to international and third-culture students at Hope College through various events and programs.
Lowell is originally from Singapore. She loves Singaporean food, k dramas, sports, and music. She and met her husband, Rodd, at Michigan State University. They have two sons and a daughter-in-law. The family enjoys hockey and lacrosse.
- Dr. Anne Heath
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Dr. Anne Heath specializes in Gothic art and architecture and has a particular interest in the material presence of art objects and the holistic sensory impact of medieval spaces. Since joining the Hope faculty in 2007, she has published several essays on the French abbeys of Saint-Germain in Auxerre and La Trinité in Vendôme and the cult of the Holy Tear. She mentors students in her scholarship as collaborative researchers, with their learning opportunities including participating in work on-site in France.
Heath teaches courses in medieval, Islamic, and Renaissance art. She has also held leadership roles as the director of the De Pree Gallery and the Mellon Scholars, and as co-chair of GROW and the Racial Equity Steering Committee.
March is National Women’s History Month. The lecture is being presented by the college’s Center for Diversity and Inclusion in collaboration with the Women of Color United, the Office of Culture and Inclusive Excellence, and the GROW Diversity Council.
To inquire about accessibility or if you need accommodations to fully participate in the event, please email accommodations@hope.edu. Updates related to events are posted when available at hope.edu/calendar in the individual listings.
To inquire about accessibility or if you need accommodations to fully participate in the event, please email accommodations@hope.edu. Updates related to events are posted when available at hope.edu/calendar in the individual listings.
The Maas Center is located at 264 Columbia Ave., between 10th and 13th streets.