The certificate requires nine credits (three required courses). Courses are seven weeks and offered in an online format. Required courses for the certificate are:

• DEI 5001 Foundations of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
• DEI 5002 Identifying and Addressing Bias in the Workplace
• DEI 5003 Building Inclusive Organizational Cultures and Leadership Skills

Erin Farmer-Noonan

Erin Farmer-Noonan is the Vice President of Human Resources, Risk Management, Compliance and Title IX Coordinator at Emmanuel College.

Keith Lezama, Jr., Ed.D., '07

Keith Lezama is the Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion/Chief Diversity Officer at Emmanuel College. He is a proud graduate of Emmanuel College where he studied in the School of Education. Dr. Lezama holds a master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Simmons University and Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership from Northeastern University. He recently returned to Emmanuel after serving as the Director of the METCO program for Brookline Public Schools. He is currently an adjunct faculty member in the School of Education at Emmanuel College and is the Co-founder of L&P Educational Services in Boston.

Mindy Paulo

Mindy Paulo is the PK-12 Director of English Language Education with the Public Schools of Brookline where she has worked since 2001. She has served in several advisory roles for the Massachusetts Association of Teachers to Speakers of Other Languages, the Office of Language Acquisition at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and the national Minority Student Achievement Network. Ms. Paulo has been an adjunct professor at the Boston University Wheelock College of Education and Human Development in the Department of Language and Literacy. Ms. Paulo is currently a Doctoral Candidate for Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Boston University. 

Jeffrey Smith, Jr.

Jeff Smith is the Director of DEI at Commonwealth Corporation, a quasi-governmental agency specializing in workforce development. Jeff is the first person to serve in this role at CommCorp and he leads organizational efforts around DEI. Prior to working at CommCorp, Jeff was the Associate Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer at Emmanuel College. At Emmanuel, Jeff worked with students, administrators, staff, and faculty to build a more equitable and accessible campus environment, especially for communities that have been historically excluded from privilege and power.

With nearly 20 years of experience in higher education, he has also worked at a number of nonprofits in the Greater Cleveland, OH area and in the Greater Boston area. Jeff received his BA in Business Management from Hiram College in Hiram, OH and obtained an MBA with a focus on International Business from Baldwin-Wallace University in Berea, OH. He is a 2010 Case Western Reserve University Treu-Mart fellow for Youth Resiliency and Youth Development.

Students completing the certificate will:

1. Learn core definitions, terminology and concepts;
2. Build a foundation to understand DEI in the workplace and beyond;
3. Gain insight into potential barriers to an inclusive workplace and actionable strategies to overcome these barriers;
4. Advance critical analysis and written and oral communications for interrupting unconscious bias and creating a more inclusive environment;
5. Unpack personal biases and integrate the concept of intersectionality into that understanding;
6. Develop a framework for inclusive leadership for themselves and their organizations;

Utilizing the courses listed above, Emmanuel can develop a customized program to meet the unique needs of your environment. Two-day on-site workshops or a three-hour workshop series are available and may be designed to addressed your areas of interest. Specific learning outcomes will be identified for your program, ensuring that your needs will be met. Customized programs will result in PDPs (Professional Development Points) or CEUs (Continuing Education Units).