Brit Bennett, Author

Born and raised in Southern California, Brit Bennett graduated from Stanford University and later earned her MFA in fiction at the University of Michigan. Her debut novel The Mothers was a New York Times bestseller, and her second novel The Vanishing Half was an instant #1 New York Times bestseller. She is a National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honoree and in 2021, she was chosen as one of Time’s Next 100 Influential People. Her essays have been featured in The New Yorker, the New York Times Magazine, The Paris Review, and Jezebel.

Vogue Robinson, Poet

Vogue M. Robinson – a poet, mentor, teaching artist, and program director – has an appreciation for human beings who find ways to put truth and heart into words. She was named Clark County Nevada’s second poet laureate in 2017. While traditional classrooms proved a challenge, Vogue remains passionate about sharing what she has learned with others. She serves as a teaching artist in local schools and nonprofits across the Vegas Valley. Robinson’s writing is known to be largely narrative and conversational. Her work has been published in Vogue 3:16 Selected Poems, Clark, Red Rock Review, and Legs of Tumbleweeds, Wings of Lace: An Anthology of Literature by Nevada Women. In 2019, Robinson was named a Rising Star by Nevada Humanities, this award recognizes a person who has made contributions to the humanities in Nevada and has demonstrated the potential for leadership and continuing service in creating a state where people thrive in just and healthy communities, where connection and participation are part of everyday life, and where diverse perspectives are welcomed and valued.

Berenice Badillo, Visual Artist

Berenice Badillo, PhD LMFT ATR-BC (Pronouns: she/ella)is a Spanish speaking Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Board Certified Art Therapist, community muralist, and multimedia artist. She is an immigrant from La Piedad, Michoacán, Mexico and has found herself straddling the many worlds of intertwined cultural and subcultural identities throughout her life. Berenice has worked in communities of socioeconomic need and strives to document and encourage the creation of communal cultural wealth through murals, sculpture, pop up art galleries and in the co-creation of counter stories. Berenice has extensive experience in working with people on issues of depression, complex trauma, bereavement, drug and alcohol use and severe mental health issues. She is certified in (EMDR) Eye Movement and Desensitization Reprocessing, (TFT) Thought Field Therapy, Brainspotting, and trained in short term therapies that include but are not limited to (MI) Motivational Interviewing, DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy) and CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy). Berenice utilizes art therapy and community art to co-create collective platforms where inequalities can be identified and explored, in creating dialogue and validating other cultural perspectives not belonging to the dominant society. In utilizing art as a form of deep psychological healing, art becomes a vehicle of change that can be a powerful tool to not only heal oneself but also a catalyst to heal a community one at a time..

Duane E. Bennett, Attorney at Law

​Duane Bennett is the former City Attorney for the city of Oceanside and retired General
Counsel for the Port of San Diego. He also served as an Assistant City Attorney, Police Legal Advisor and criminal prosecutor with broad based legal experience in civil rights, civil litigation, contracts, employment, environmental, public liability and real property.
 
Since retiring from the Port of San Diego in 2012, he has expanded his private law practice
and is an experienced arbitrator, mediator and litigator handling employment and commercial disputes involving governmental agencies, financial institutions, hotels, restaurants, resorts and retailers. He has served as a mediator for the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, Orange County Superior Court and as Judge Pro Tem for the
San Diego Superior Court.

Mr. Bennett has litigated several matters related to civil rights, due process and equal
protection. He has been involved in several civil rights actions involving police departments and public safety agencies. His work has included constitutional claims for violations of the Fourth, Fifth, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments.
 
He served as an adjunct professor for California Western School of Law from 2009-2016,
and has also served on teaching faculties for the National College of District Attorneys and
National Association of Attorneys General.​

Mercedes Tiggs, EOPS Counselor at Palomar College

Mercedes is currently a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and EOPS Counselor with Foster Youth Retention Success and Transition Program (FYRST) and Umoja Co-Coordinator at Palomar College. She also serves as Part-Time Counseling Faculty with the CalWORKs Program at San Diego City College. Mercedes received her B.S in Criminal Justice from San Diego State, and Master of Social Work with a concentration in Community Organizing, Planning, and Administration from the University of Southern California. Mercedes has provided academic services in the education sector for 5 years now. Previously, Mercedes spent 5 ½ years in nonprofit, advocating, mentoring, and providing therapeutic services to marginalized youth.  As a counselor, her role is to encourage students while providing high-quality support services that enable students to complete their educational goals, find meaningful employment, and successfully transition into the workforce. Mercedes's advising philosophy includes intentional conversations, student/counselor partnership, and commitment to helping students navigate successfully through their academic careers while exploring their educational and career options.  Last fall, Mercedes launched Eight16 Culinary Therapy, Eight16 is a Culinary Therapy Program that provides individual and group therapy sessions while cooking a therapeutic meal in the kitchen. Mercedes enjoys participating in social justice activities, cooking, and trying new recipes, traveling, watching documentaries, community service, listening to music, spending time with family and friends, reading, and playing fetch at the dog park with her Labradoodle. ​
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