The Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Department, in partnership with Internal Communications, is pleased to announce the second Leading Toward Equity event for 2024, which will take place via Zoom on Oct. 25, from 1-2 p.m. (PT). The event will feature Catherine Spear, executive director, Systemwide Office of Civil Rights, and Calvin Turner, executive director, UC Path. Junna Ro, managing counsel for strategic legal initiatives, UC Legal, will moderate.

The Leading Toward Equity series presents unscripted conversations with UCOP leaders on EDI and our efforts toward becoming an anti-racist organization. The series’ central premise is that becoming an anti-racist organization is a journey that will take time and continual effort. No single group or office within UCOP is solely responsible for that journey or for advancing a culture of EDI at UCOP.

During these conversations, our leaders will share unvarnished truths about their personal experiences with EDI, their journeys of learning in this space and how they are leading efforts to further EDI and anti-racism efforts at our organization. It is a unique opportunity for staff to hear from our leaders while reflecting on our own experiences of discrimination, bias or privilege based on race, economic class or other dimensions.

We encourage staff to attend with the mindset of engaging with colleagues to think through how we can commit to shared accountability, move toward becoming an anti-racist organization and strengthen a culture of EDI throughout UCOP. Staff can engage directly with leaders by participating in the Zoom chat feature and asking questions during the second half of the session.

Join us

What: Leading Toward Equity

When: Oct. 25, 1 – 2 p.m. (PT)

Where: Online via Zoom: https://UCOP.zoom.us/j/3967131838?omn=99503269453&from=addon

About our panelists

Catherine Spear (she/her/hers) is the inaugural executive director of the UC Office of Systemwide Office of Civil Rights (SOCR), which launched in March, 2024. The SOCR provides centralized oversight for campus functions and helps ensure a consistent approach to how the university responds to allegations of discrimination and harassment. Catherine’s leadership of the SOCR encompasses the Systemwide Title IX Office, Systemwide Anti-Discrimination Office and Systemwide Disability Rights Office.

Catherine has a wealth of experience and expertise as an attorney, established higher education leader and respected civil rights professional. Before UC, she served as vice president of the Office for Equity, Equal Opportunity, and Title IX at the University of Southern California, which responds to thousands of reports each year from students, staff, faculty and visitors in academic and health care settings. Prior to USC, Catherine held positions as associate vice president of the Office for Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights at the University of Virginia, Title IX coordinator at Stanford University, and director at the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights.

Catherine earned a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Dayton and her juris doctor from the Case Western Reserve University School of Law.

Calvin Turner (he/him/his) is the executive director of UCPath, UC’s payroll, HR systems, benefits administration and financial shared services hub. UCPath serves more than 245,000 UC employees and is the largest higher education shared services center in the U.S. Calvin provides strategic leadership and oversight of UCPath operations and partners with UC locations to stabilize and optimize UCPath operations and services.

Calvin is an accomplished leader with expertise in shared services and finance. Prior to UC, he was director of the National Finance Center (NFC), the premier federal shared services provider of payroll, human resources, financial and administrative services. The NFC serves more than 650,000 employees in 172 federal agencies and manages insurance services for the entire federal civilian workforce. Prior to NFC, Calvin gained more than 20 years of banking leadership experience at Hancock Whitney Bank, Hibernia National Bank (now CapitalOne) and the Federal Reserve Bank. He also worked as an associate instructor for the University of Phoenix in New Orleans.

Calvin has a master’s degree in public administration and a bachelor’s degree in business management and communications.

Junna Ro (she/her/hers) is the managing counsel for strategic legal initiatives. She promotes UC’s mission by advancing critical systemwide strategies aimed at increasing UC Legal’s impact and effectiveness. Her work ensures that UC Legal amplifies UCOP’s strategic objectives within UC and the community at large. Prior to UCOP, Junna worked as general counsel and head of people at insurance platform Metromile, as vice president/chief ethics and compliance officer for AAA, and as corporate counsel for Symantec and VERITAS Software.

Junna is passionate about EDI, ethical leadership and building organizational culture. She serves on the boards of the Taproot Foundation, which helps mission-driven organizations amplify their impact by mobilizing skilled volunteers to advance resource equity, and Community Boards, the longest-running nonprofit conflict resolution and restorative justice center in the U.S. She is an advisory council member of the Asian Pacific Fund and a member of the Council of Korean Americans, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, Asian American Bar Association, Bay Area Asian American General Counsel Network, HiPower, and the Women’s General Counsel Network.

Junna earned her juris doctor from Santa Clara University School of Law, and her bachelor’s degree in political science from UCLA.

Previous Leading Toward Equity events

Jun. 7, 2024: June recording | June summary
— Glenda Humiston, vice president, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources
— Jorge Silva, associate vice president, UCOP Communications
— Cathy O’Sullivan, chief of staff for UC Operations (moderator)

Dec. 11, 2023: December recording | December summary
— Nathan Brostrom, executive vice president and chief financial officer for the University of California
— Jenny Kao, chief of staff to President Drake, President’s Executive Office
— Epiphanie Gillette, executive advisor, UC Legal (moderator)

Sept. 15, 2023: September recording | September summary
— Charlie Robinson, general counsel and senior vice president, Legal Affairs
— Marie Hairston, associate vice president of Systemwide HR Strategy and Staff EDIB
— Günter Waibel, associate vice provost and executive director at the California Digital Library (moderator)

May 10, 2023: May recording | May summary
— Rachael Nava, executive vice president and chief operating officer
— Paul Williams, associate vice president and chief procurement officer
— Shirley Bittlingmeier, executive director, IT Client Services, Information Technology Services (moderator)

Feb. 15, 2023: February recording | February summary
— Pamela Brown, vice president, Institutional Research and Academic Planning
— Van Williams, vice president, Information Technology Services, and chief information officer, UC
— Andenet Emiru, director of external partnerships and projects at the Center for Data-driven Insights and Innovation (moderator)

For questions, please contact lalitha.sankaran@ucop.edu or michelle.simms@ucop.edu.

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