Who is the Director of Student Inclusion?

The Director of Student Inclusion has many roles at Lick-Wilmerding High School, and the job entails many facets of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). Yet, this year started with no singular person to fill the position.

What students may not know is that the role is currently split between three FacStaff with other roles at the school. As the search for a new director resumes, Director of The Center for Civic Engagement Christine Godinez Jackson, Dean of Adult Equity and Inclusion Dee Johnson and Admissions Associate Gabby Perez have stepped in as interim directors to ensure the work of previous director Naomi Fierro-Peña continues.

Along with other roles, Fierro-Peña was heavily involved with the Ethnic Studies working group, served as a faculty advisor for Unity and led the Students of Color Leadership Network (SCLN). She also counseled the Sexual Assault and Harassment walkout, among other student-led initiatives.

While the process for new FacStaff hiring started earlier in the year, the search process for the new Director of Student Inclusion was delayed until last May, extending into the summer. “Part of why the process started in May is because Dee and I, among others, have been pushing for a DEI department at the school. There has been some pause on that request,” said Godinez Jackson. “I also don’t think it was our best interest to do a fourth hire when three other major hires [the Dean of Students, Dean of Faculty and Dean of Teaching and Learning] were happening too.” Hiring over the summer can be challenging, which also limited the search in candidates and interview processes.

“I think it’s important to mention that there were candidates out there at the time, but not the candidate that we wanted. This is an important role, and we want to hire a professional who has done this [DEI] work, not just somebody fresh out of college who wants to try something new,” said Godinez Jackson, referencing the delayed start.

As the search rolled over into the summer, another challenge emerged as well. School was out of session, meaning students couldn’t participate. However, the current student body president and student inclusion chairs were involved. While this didn’t work out with the co-president’s schedules, current Student Inclusion Chairs Nathan Rivera ’24 and Senai Wilks ’24, were able to participate. “We were asked to be a part of various interview processes and ask candidates different questions. It was towards the beginning of summer, and we only did one interview because other candidates dropped out,” Rivera said.

While the initial search included multiple candidates, the search committee chose a final candidate who lived in Portland, Oregon. They declined the position, citing high living costs in San Francisco as the reason. “They were a very powerful DEI practitioner,” said Johnson in describing the person who was picked for the director role. “We felt that it would be remiss to keep pushing to find a candidate in the summer if there was no student voice. Ultimately, this position serves students.”

The hiring committee, composed of nine FacStaff members, intends to restart the search at the end of November. “We want to build on the legacy of the previous director and in honoring the work that she did,” said Godinez Jackson.

“Ms. Peña’s office was always somewhere I could go to after dealing with stuff in class like microaggressions or little racist incidents. I felt like I could actually talk to her and tell her what happened and she’d advocate for me,” said Catalina Mejia ’23, “Sometimes, it’s difficult for me to talk about these things in class. Other times, it will hit me after class has ended, and when Ms. Peña was here, I could go to her office, even if it was days after an incident.”

Not only was the Director of Student Inclusion much needed for more formal issues, but also acted as a resource and mentor for students outside of official meetings. “Ms. Peña was like an older sister on campus. If she was here, I’d probably be in her office right now, talking about whatever,” said Catarina Baldizon ’23.

As the director has not been present as one person, or existed in one office this year, this begs the question of whether the Frosh class even knows these interim Directors of Student Inclusion can be used as a resource to get the support they may need. The lack of a singular person to fill the role may cause underclassmen to be unaware that support is even an option. “To the best of my knowledge, it has not been communicated,” said Chris Yin, Frosh and Sophomore dean, in reference to information about who students could go to this year instead of Fierro-Peña. “With Student Support Services though, we get referrals. So, if a student needs support, we would refer that student to ensure that the Director of Student Inclusion, now interims, are involved,” she said in reference to a program designed to support struggling students who reach out or are referred by FacStaff

Johnson said, “As we relaunch the search, there will be more communication about it to the community.”

While students await the restart of the search, Godinez Jackson and Johnson want students to know that they can come to the interms too. “I’m actually really excited for the opportunity to be engaging with more students. It’s the reason why I’m an educator, so I’ve really relished the past two months. Spending more time with young people supporting and listening to them has been really meaningful for me,” said Johnson.

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Kiana Sezawar Keshavarz

Kiana Sezawar Keshavarz is a Senior and one of this years head editors. Outside of Journalism, Kiana enjoys making jewelry.

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