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I am the eighth generation of my family to have been born and raised in the Bronx, but the first to obtain a college education. A product of a single mom who worked two jobs, I grew up in the 70s and 80s during a time when the Bronx was one of the most diverse and improvised congressional districts in the nation. As a Jewish boy growing up in a predominantly Dominican, Puerto Rican, African American, Irish, and Chinese neighborhood, my childhood was a balancing act between school, poverty, basketball, and hip hop. I discovered later, growing up in a visibly diverse community does not automatically make one an equity and inclusivity advocate.

As a first-generation student my experiences at Florida Atlantic University, one of the most diverse institutions in the nation, furthered my appreciation and knowledge of other communities through ACCESS. In college I began to explore my ethnicity and faith as a Jewish American, joining the national Jewish fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi as well as assisting my friends with starting the NPHC chapters of Omega Psi Phi and Kappa Alpha Psi. As an upperclassman, I became the chair of our activities board and start to build programs that celebrated our institutional diversity. From stepshows and pride parades to Holi and Diwali festivals to Latin jazz and reggae concerts, I found strength and unity in showcasing our diverse identities. It was at this point in my development that I began to build and understand my personal core values of EDUCATIONAL EXPLORATION AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY.

These values played a significant role in my path as a student affairs educator. Through my many roles in student activities, student unions, and as a Dean of Students I continued to learn what it meant to be an advocate and champion inclusion. My greatest personal, professional, and educational moment came when I accepted my current role at East Carolina University (ECU) in Greenville, NC, returning to the south after a nine-and-a-half-year career as a senior student affairs officer in New York City. This caused me to have to move my family, which now gave me a new point of view. I thought I understood my privilege as a cisgender, white college-educated male but found that the resources and impact of a large research university in a small town made me reflect on myself and my growing family. As we transitioned as a Jewish family to the community and region, I became painfully aware of our identity (ethnicity and religion) as Jews and began to understand the importance of BELONGING. While I understood the concept, I had never personally understood the feeling or lack of. I immediately saw power in my new role as Associate Vice Chancellor at East Carolina University and promised that myself, including my family, would be more intentional in how we use our privilege and position at the institution and within the community to drive positive change.

Over my last seven years, I have utilized my resources to influence engage the community and university through dialogue focused on advocacy and support for the many identities that make up ECU and Greenville. I have been provided with an OPPORTUNITY to continue to learn, grow, and help change our societal narrative around diversity, equity, and inclusion. The construction of a new 220,000 sq. ft. student center allowed for the expansion of our LGBTQ+ Center, the largest in the UNC System; Ledonia Wright Cultural Center, which includes an art gallery and spiritual mediation space; and the creation of a new Women & Gender Office. Working with the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, Dr. Virginia Hardy, we launched the Department of Intercultural Affairs that would house all three centers as well as our Center for Leadership & Civic Engagement and our Student Veterans Services. New programs and services then followed, including the NC Civility Summit, Pledge Purple, LGBTQ+ Coffee House, ALANA Workshops, Diversity Dialogues, and many more. Leading by example is a central leadership principle of mine. I have committed to made resources accessible to support our new DEI Task Force, travel for trainings and certifications, and supporting staff as well as students in presenting and publishing on our efforts. As a family, my son has created and led efforts in support of hurricane relief for the Bahamas and Puerto Rico. He also participates in MLK Day of Service, LGBTQ+ National Coming Out Day, and other campus programs. In addition, my wife has worked in her industry to support DEI education and programming.

As I look towards the future and see how my research interests on team cohesion and civil discourse/free speech has evolved from my professional philosophy of building innovative and inclusive learning communities, I still hold true to my core values of educational exploration and social responsibility. These values and philosophy have set the foundation for myself, my family, and my career. I remain in student affairs because I believe in the power of education as transformational, that provides access and generational opportunity to not only students but to community, faculty, and staff as well. As a first-generation college student from the Bronx, I am a living example of the transformational power of higher education and continue to believe, support, and advance the ideas of ACCESS, BELONGING, and OPPORTUNITY!