Duke Sanford Presents the Black Policy Conference – Policy in Living Color
Representation: Black Mobility: What Does It Mean to Shape Black Opportunity?
Hosted by the Committee for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Policy in Living Color
Click HERE to register for the event!
Please email the planning committee at dukemppblackpolicy@gmail.com with any questions regarding the conference.
Location: Duke in D.C, 1201 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004
Cost: FREE
Attire: Business Casual
This conference is an opportunity for diverse minds to come together to share their insights on today’s most pertinent policy issues. Our intention for creating Duke Sanford’s inaugural Black Policy Conference is to create a space for students of color to see policy in living color. For us to be able to envision ourselves in policy areas that do not commonly represent us and to know if one person can make it, we all can make it. Our hope for our time together is to foster community across policy disciplines, provide a space for robust dialogue and discourse, and provide an opportunity to network with future colleagues and mentors.
Black Policy Executive Planning Committee
Aysia Gilbert- MPP ’25
Originally from Jackson, Mississippi, and raised in Jacksonville, Florida, Aysia attended the University of Florida (UF), where she majored in History and minored in African American Studies. At UF, she served on the Presidential Task Force for Honorary Namings, supporting racial equity initiatives in the honorary naming process of campus buildings. After graduation, Aysia returned to Jacksonville as a fifth-grade English Language Arts teacher and community activist. She became Co-Chair of the Jacksonville Community Remembrance Project’s Research Committee, working alongside the Equal Justice Initiative to uncover her community’s history of racial terror and leading a public awareness campaign to educate residents. Aysia is also a board member for 904WARD, a nonprofit dedicated to fostering racial reconciliation and social justice in Northeast Florida, where she influences initiatives like Little Free Diverse Libraries, Race Cards, and research addressing exclusionary and racist policies across the state.
Driven by her passion for equitable policy-making, Aysia aims to reduce barriers to success for marginalized communities. She plans to leverage her Master of Public Policy degree to continue her advocacy work, aspiring to become a policymaker focused on equity and grounded in the lived experiences of diverse communities.
Reylan Cook – MPP ’25
Reylan is a second-year Master of Public Policy student at the Sanford School of Public Policy and a native of Simpsonville, South Carolina. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Public Health and African American Studies with Leadership and Distinction in Diversity and Social Advocacy from the University of South Carolina. She has served as an AmeriCorps VISTA and community advocate, focusing on combating food insecurity and expanding access to basic needs resources for marginalized communities. The basic needs hub framework and programming she has created is being platformed by the White House Healthy Futures Initiative to be recreated at higher education institutions nationwide. With a personal history and a deep passion for environmental justice and agricultural sovereignty, Reylan is dedicated to making a positive interdisciplinary impact on environmental and social policy. She holds leadership positions as Student Council Second Year Representative and Vice President of Policy In Living Color. During the 2023-2024 academic year, Reylan was recognized as Sanford Women in the Policy Emerging Leader award. In her free time, Reylan is an avid reader with a taste for culinary and outdoor adventures.
Zipporah Sewell – MPP ’25
Zipporah is a second-year MPP candidate at Duke University. As a PG County, MD native, she is passionate about elevating and liberating those who look like her and finding solutions to the issues that affect her community the most. Zipporah spent this past summer in South Africa interning at the US embassy in their political section during a historic election. One of her most memorable moments was attending a political rally in Soweto, Nelson Mandela’s hometown, immersing herself in the country’s dynamic political atmosphere. With a focus on social and international development policy, Zipporah is preparing for a career in the foreign service. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with God, reading, trying new restaurants, and going for walks.
De’Omini Daniely – MPP ’25
De’Omini Daniely is a second-year graduate student at the Sanford School of Public Policy. She focuses on international development and environmental policy while focusing on human rights and climate-based migration. Last year, she obtained a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Georgia. During that time, she interned with the Congressional Office of Congressman David Scott. She oversaw office operations, prepared memos, attended policy briefings, and conducted tours throughout the U.S. Capitol. This past year, De’Omini worked with World Relief as a Resettlement Case Aid and helped provide resources for individuals seeking asylum in the research triangle. She hopes to continue working to create a safer transition for victims of war and immigration through her commitment to public service and passion for finding pathways to peace.
Her passion for research has grown through her participation in numerous projects with the Duke World Food Policy Center. As a research assistant, she focused mainly on consumer behavior in the online grocery market and the impact of free lunch on the performance of K-12 students. She has also volunteered as a Pipeline fellow with the Women of Color Advancing Peace, Security, and Conflict Transformation (WCAPS), where she developed publications on Black Maternal Health & Reproductive Legislation and Femicide against women in Latin America and the Caribbean. Overall, these experiences have allowed her to expand her research skills and network with minority women across the globe.
Eni Owoeye – MPP ’25
B. Eni Owoeye is a first-generation Nigerian-American and second year MPP student in the Sanford School of Public Policy. She graduated from New York University with a dual degree in International Relations and Environmental Science with a minor in Spanish and Portuguese. Eni gained work experience at the United Nations Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Department of State among other nonprofit organizations. Eni enjoys working on ocean-climate-related issues and used her research in the shipping industry to further expand her repertoire of environmental issues while capturing concerns such as public health and labor rights. She serves as the President of Policy in Living Color, Co-President of Sanford’s Africa Policy Group, and member of the Duke Climate Commitment Advisory Council.
Diontre Davis – MPP ’25
Diontre Davis is currently a second-year masters student in Duke University’s Public Policy Program. Diontre is originally from Cincinnati, Ohio and graduated from The Ohio State University in 2019 with a B.A. in African American Studies. His passion lies in creating change in domestic social policy and international advocacy to build safer living environments for marginalized communities across the world to prosper in life.
From 2021-2024, Diontre Davis consulted internationally for The Black Policy Institute (TBPI), a non-profit based in the United Kingdom. During this time Diontre founded TBPI’s youth division, the Young People Advisory Board, as the Joint International Chair. Diontre also worked at Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) between 2021-2023 advancing from an Executive Coordinator to an Administrative and Program Events Specialist. He supported the Organizing and Electoral Campaigns Department of PPFA to help provide abortion access and mobilize supporters of sexual and reproductive healthcare across the U.S. From 2019-2020, he also worked in the U.S. House of Representatives as a member of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and the House Democratic Caucus as an intern.
Black Policy Conference Committee Advisors
Dr. Cassandra Boyd
Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Dr. Jay Pearson
Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Day One: Friday, February 23, 2024
(Location: 201 Science Drive, Durham, NC)
2 PM – 4 PM: Pre-Registration Check-In Sponsored by Career Services (Sanford Lobby)
4 PM – 5:15 PM: Uneven Ground Panel: The Foundation of Housing Inequality in Durham (Fleishman Commons)
5:15 PM – 6:15 PM: Uneven Ground Reception and Art Walk (Rubenstein, First Floor)
Day Two: Saturday, February 24, 2024
(Location: 201 Science Drive, Durham, NC)
9:00 AM – 10:15 AM: Registration Check-In + Light Continental Breakfast (Sanford Building)
10:15 AM – 10:25 AM: Transition
10:25 AM – 10:45 AM: Welcoming Remarks/Opening Address
Dr. Jay Pearson, H.M. Foundation Assoc. Professor of Public Policy/ Assoc. Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
10:45 AM – 11:45 AM: Domestic Policy Panel (Fleishman Commons)
Moderated by Dr. Deondra Rose, Kevin D. Gorter Associate Professor of Public Policy, History, and Political Science, Director of Polis: Center for Politics
11:45 AM – 1:00 PM: Lunch
*Sophisticated Catering
1:00 PM – 1:10 PM: Transition (Raffle Ticket Announcement)
1:10 PM – 2:10 PM: Foreign + International Policy Panel (Fleishman Commons)
Moderated by Stephen Buckley, Eugene C. Patterson Professor of the Practice of Journalism and Public Policy
2:10 PM – 2:30 PM: Afternoon Activity
2:30 – 3:30 PM: Imagining Reparations Panel (Fleishman Commons)
Moderated by Dr. Jay Pearson
Featured Guest: Dr. William A. “Sandy” Darity Jr., Samuel DuBois Cook Professor of Public Policy, African and African American Studies and Economics
4:00 – 4:30 PM: Closing Remarks
6:30 PM – Until: Evening Social (Proximity Brewing Company)
We want to send a huge thank you to all of our co-sponsors, well-wishers, panelists, and attendees!