Department of Social Work to host panel on building solidarity to create societal change

The Department of Social Work at The College of Saint Rose will host a panel discussion with community activists and advocates as part of its first annual conference, “Harnessing Our Collective Power to Build Solidarity,” March 30 in Saint Joseph Hall Auditorium. 

The panel, which runs from 4 to 6 p.m. and will be livestreamed on the College’s YouTube channel, will discuss the steps taken to make ideas about community action and social justice a reality. The event is open to Saint Rose undergraduate and graduate students, social work field instructors, and alumni. The entire conference, which includes breakout groups, will be held from 4 to 8 p.m.  

The panelists are: 

The Rev. Paige Convis, program director at Mom Starts Here The Rev. Convis is an ordained minister in the Reformed Church in America. She has been creatively engaging with the community in the Capital Region for seven years. Mom Starts Here, serves Albany, Rensselaer, and Schenectady counties. Mom Starts Here helps women in unplanned pregnancies, young moms, and families in need find and access community resources. The organization also supports families with coaching, parent education, and supplies. The Rev. Convis is passionate about meeting people where they are and thinking systemically about the issues that are contributing to the difficulties we face as a society. She believes that if one person or family feels the stress of their situation, then we all do, and that change only happens when we look at ourselves as a part of the whole.

Christa Grant ’10, assistant dean for intercultural affairs and chief diversity officer for student affairs at Union College 

Grant has experience working in higher education, specifically in DEI and social justice education, for over a decade. Grant is currently a doctoral candidate at Northeastern University, and her research topic focuses on BIPOC students’ experience and sense of belonging at PWI. She is a member of the 518 Asian Alliance Group and had served as a contributing writer and webinar panelist for Insight Into Diversity Magazine on anti-Asian hate in 2021.  

Tracie Killar ’86, founder and director of the South End Children’s Café 

Since opening the South End Children’s Café in Albany, New York, in 2015, to address food insecurity, equity, wellness, and academic achievement for the children in the South End, Killar and a dedicated team of staff and volunteers have served over 160,000 healthy meals and food to children and their families. One-on-one homework help, enrichment programs, and exercise is offered before dinner in a technology-free program for children ages 4 and up. Killar is a proud 1981 graduate of Albany High School, as well as Saint Rose, where her son, Jude, is currently a student. Killar is a member of the 10th Ward in Albany and participates on numerous committees focusing on serving the South End and the city of Albany.  

Gregory Owens, LMSW, deputy commissioner/director of the Office of Youth Justice with the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services 

Owens is retired from the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, where he served as deputy commissioner of the Office of Youth Justice from 2018 to 2021. He worked for the NYS Division for Youth/Office for Children and Family Services for over 30 years with positions including the director of strategic partnerships and collaborations, where he was responsible for the agency’s race equity and cultural competence efforts, and the fatherhood program. In 2015, Owens was appointed to the NYS Board of Regents Workgroup to improve outcomes for boys and males of color. In 2016, he provided implicit bias training to the Albany Police Department, community stakeholders, and participants in the annual training forum for the Unified Court Systems. He has worked as a treating clinician for the National Football League, is a member of the Campaign for Black Male Achievement: Rumble Young Man Rumble, and has served as a member of the Alliance Network of Social Service Administrators Committed to Racial Equity.  

The conference has a capacity of 70, and registration is required via eventbrite.