Reclaiming Narratives - our Black History Month podcast series where we explore and amplify under represented stories, voices and experience within the black community.
Reclaiming Narratives - our Black History Month podcast series where we explore and amplify under represented stories, voices and experience within the black community.
Explore the complexities of black identity in higher education, and how we, as students and academics, can continue to reclaim and amplify our narratives.
Hosted by Dr Kenisha Linton-Williams with guests GSU Officer Sodiq Lawal, UoG EDI Director Oyebanji Adewumi & NUS President Amira Campbell.
Dr Kenisha Linton-Williams, PhD, SFHEA, MCIPD, CMBE
Dr Kenisha Linton-Williams joined the University of Greenwich in 2016 and currently serves as an Associate Professor of Management in the Business School. Kenisha earned her PhD in Management from Royal Holloway, University of London. As a social scientist, her research is primarily focuses on investigating issues related to inclusion, diversity, and equity, in various organisational contexts, including the police services in England and Scotland, the National Health Service (NHS), the Church of England, the British Council, Fire and Rescue Services, various higher education institutions (HEIs) in the UK, and the UK Civil Service. Kenisha is actively engaged in research and intervention programmes pertaining to the experiences and outcomes of minority ethnic students within UK schools and higher education institutions.
Her affiliations include being an Honorary Fellow (Race Equality) at Queen Margaret University, Scotland, a Fellow at the Institute for Educational and Social Equity, a member of the European Academy of Management (EURAM), and an academic member of the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (MCIPD). She has achieved recognition as a Senior Fellow at Advance HE and is also a Certified Management & Business Educator (CMBE), conferred by the Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABS).
Sodiq Ayobami Lawal
Sodiq Ayobami Lawal currently serves as a Student Officer at the University of Greenwich, representing over 27,000 students and actively promoting their interests across the university. A Business Economics graduate, Sodiq uses his strategic insight and data-driven approach to inform student engagement initiatives and support financial decision-making as a GSU Board of Trustees member. Originally from Nigeria, he co-founded the Nigeria Student Society at Greenwich and previously held the role of Social Director at Yaba College of Technology, where he studied Accounting and Finance. It was there that he first developed his leadership skills, fostering community and support for his peers.
Oyebanji Adewumi MBE
Oyebanji Adewumi, known as Banji, is the Director of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at University of Greenwich. She recently joined Greenwich after spending approximately three years at the University of Manchester where she led the development and implementation of the University’s three-year EDI strategy. Prior to joining Higher Education, Banji worked in the NHS where her last position there was as Associate Director for Inclusion at Barts Health NHS Trust, a group of hospitals spread across three London Boroughs. With approximately 30 years’ experience of working in the public sector, she has successfully led projects aimed at embedding inclusive practice, as part of wider culture change programmes. She was recognised in the Queens New Year Honours List in 2022 for services to the NHS. Banji describes herself as a visionary and self-motivated Inclusion practitioner.
Amira Campbell
Amira Campbell (she/her) [Ah-meer-ah Kam-Buhl] is the National Union of Students UK President. Her background in liberation campaigns, notably the black voices campaign during her time as an undergraduate at the University of Birmingham established her as the first remunerated community organiser at the student union and led her to then take up office as Guild President there also. Amira continues her anti-racism work as a board member for BRIG (Birmingham Race Impact Group) and as an executive for Talawa; a collective envisioning the interconnected futures of black feminism, climate justice and liberated education. Amira has hosted multiple roles in arts organisations including the Birmingham Royal Ballet, CBSO (City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra) and Underscore; a community orchestra that celebrates music of the global majority.