top of page

Join Us on February 28th at 6:00 pm
Fostering Understanding in Our Community: The
Future of Voting Rights

Our Distinguished Speakers

​

Khalilah Worley Billy

Khalilah Worley Billy serves as Senior Organizer with Greater Cleveland Congregations (GCC) in Cleveland, Ohio. GCC is a non-partisan coalition of faith-based and community institutions throughout Cuyahoga County strategizing together for social justice. GCC train and develop leaders using organizing tools to understand the importance of relational power and acting on issues collectively. Mrs. Billy has led GCC on winnable campaigns over a decade on key issues such as Education, Criminal Justice, Healthcare, and Voter Engagement. 

 

Prior to GCC, Mrs. Billy served as director of Holy Family Lutheran School and Director of Community Building for Bethel New Life, Inc. She’s received several awards and acknowledgements for her work in organizing and education. She currently serves as a board member for Saint Luke’s Foundation, Healthy Lakewood Foundation and Facing History and Ourselves . 

 

Mrs. Billy received her B.A in Political Science/Public Administration (Fisk University) and M.S in Public Administration and Non-Profit Management (DePaul University).

​

Professor Michael Latner

Michael Latner is Professor of Political Science at Cal Poly, and Senior Voting Rights Fellow at the Union of Concerned Scientists’ Center for Science and Democracy. Michael’s research focuses on electoral system design and democratic institutions. His research on partisan gerrymandering has been cited by the Supreme Court of the United States (Gill v Whitford), and he is an active participant in efforts to protect voting rights and improve election performance across the US. He is most recently a co-author of Gerrymandering the States: Partisanship, Race, and the Transformation of American Federalism (Cambridge University Press, 2021)

​

Professor Andrea Benjamin
Andrea Benjamin is an Associate Professor in the Clara Luper Department of African and African American Studies at the University of Oklahoma.  She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 2010. Her research interests include Race and Politics, Local Elections and Voting behavior, and Public Opinion.  Her first book, Racial Coalition Building in Local Elections: Elite Cues and Cross-Ethnic Voting, explores the potential for Black and Latino Coalitions.  Using the Co-Ethnic Elite Cues Theory, the book shows that Blacks and Latinos rely on endorsements from co-ethnic leaders when casting their ballots.  This is especially true when race and ethnicity are salient in the campaign.  This book was published by Cambridge University Press in 2017.  Dr. Benjamin is currently working on a project about coalitions, electoral representation, and policy representation in local politics.  A majority of the data come from Durham, NC.  Dr. Benjamin lives in Oklahoma City and she currently serves on the Boards of Sally’s List, North East Oklahoma City Renaissance, and the Oklahoma ACLU.  She is also a co-chair of the Human Rights Commission Task Force in Oklahoma City.

fostering.png

Diversity Coalition San Luis Obispo County 

P.O. Box 376

Arroyo Grande, CA 93421

​

ed@diversityslo.org |   EIN 82-2075135

bottom of page