2023 Symposium Speakers
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​Monica Cox, PhD
Monica F. Cox, Ph.D., is a disruptor, trailblazer, change agent, and leader who believes in living an authentic life even if it makes people uncomfortable. She grew up an only child in a rural southeast Alabama community, where she was raised by her educator parents to persist in the face of personal and professional adversity. As a child, she dreamed of traveling to the places she read about, using science to make life better, and entering politics to change the world. Her inquisitive nature contributes to her passion for educating others and sharing what she has learned via her experiences.

Professionally, Dr. Cox is a 2020 Fellow of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) and is a Distinguished Professor of Engineering in the Department of Engineering Education at The Ohio State University where she served as the Inaugural department chair from 2016-2020. No stranger to conflict, Dr. Cox transformed the fabric of the department and the larger organization as a vocal advocate for people and women of color.

Dr. Cox earned degrees in mathematics (Spelman College), industrial engineering (University of Alabama), and leadership and policy studies (Vanderbilt University) debt-free and interned at NASA as she pursued her mathematics and engineering degrees. In 2011, Dr. Cox became the first African-American female to earn tenure in the College of Engineering at Purdue University. There she was the Inaugural Director of the Purdue College of Engineering's Leadership Minor. She is the Director of the International Institute of Engineering Education Assessment (i2e2a) and CEO of STEMinent LLC, a brand that houses a variety of STEM education offerings. Dr. Cox's research is focused on the infusion of equity in STEM education and on the empirical exploration of women of color in the workplace. She has led and collaborated on multidisciplinary projects totaling approximately $20 million, and she has authored over 130 publications.

Donja Thomas, PhD
​Dr. Donja Thomas is a passionate educator, activist, writer, scholar and Black studies curriculum developer from Columbus, Ohio who is committed to establishing learning spaces of introspection that generate more critical and expansive understandings about cultural consciousness, social justice and equity-focused research, teaching, and service. For over a decade, she has been engaged in creating classroom curriculums that center the use of cultural relevant and sustaining pedagogies, critical conscious literacies and the importance of employing curricular practices rooted in the Black experience (literary, historical & cultural) inside and outside the classroom, in order to advance Black Studies in K-12 schooling. She provides classroom opportunities for students that enhance their knowledge of the various contributions made to the U.S. and beyond by peoples of African descent. She also co-constructs with racially diverse student’s a safe space in which they can be open and vulnerable, honor their beings, and honestly critique constructs of race, class and identity through examination of Black cultural and literary practices.

In 2019, Dr. Thomas gave a TEDx Talk entitled ‘Blackness is a Superpower’ which emphasizes the importance of Black studies as a gateway to critical consciousness development and liberation for all. She is the recipient of the 2022 NCTE High School Teacher of Excellence Award, the 2021 OCTELA Outstanding English Language Arts Educator Award, and the 2016 Dr. Alivia Bozeman Critical Educator Award from The Ohio State University College of Education and Human Ecology. Dr. Thomas’ other honors include the John P. Howard GLHS Renaissance Staff Recognition Award, the 2022 Ohio State University EHE Legacy Spotlight, and the Central Ohio Social Justice Award recipient for the Gahanna Lincoln High School Diaspora program. Dr. Thomas’ academic endeavors have received support from the National Council of Teachers of English, the Pulitzer Center and New York Times 1619 Project Education Network, Pittsburgh Public Schools Leadership Academy, Ohio English Association Educational Foundation, and Ohio Council of Teachers of English and Language Arts, among other notable organizations. She is also an author of several publications centering the role of Black studies, Black culture and literacy in education.
Fueled out of an honorable responsibility toward educating young people about the beauty and brilliance of Blackness, in 2009, she created ‘African American Voice, a revolutionary Black Literature and Black Studies class she continues to teach as a core English course at Gahanna Lincoln High School, where she currently also serves as a creative director and advisor for Gahanna Lincoln High School’s annual Black cultural program ‘Diaspora: Voices of an Ever-Changing America’. She is an avid advocate for young girls and boys throughout the city of Columbus engaged in creating, developing and supporting platforms focused on promoting selflove, resilience, positive thinking, cultural pride and leadership development in youth. She is also a proud wife and mother. 

2022-23 ​ Ballam Symposium Committee:
Rachel Arpin, Committee Co-Chair
Emily Noble, Committee Co-Chair
Lila Andersen
Amber Herron, ASFW President Elect
Erica Johnson 
Allison Jones
Kayla McElroy
Elaine McLouglin-Overholt, ASFW President
Sherry McNary, ASFW Past President
Athena Yiamouyiannis

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About Symposium namesake Deb Ballam
With more than 30 years of dedicated service to The Ohio State University, Dr. Deborah A. Ballam, former associate provost for Women’s Policy Initiatives and director of The Women’s Place, enhanced the lives of countless Buckeyes in the classroom and beyond – leading efforts to improve gender equity and inspiring positive change. ASFW is pleased to sponsor this annual program in her name. 

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