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POSITION: VP for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
DEPARTMENT: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
LOCATION: Main Campus, Harrisonburg | CC 309
PHONE: (540) 432-4398
EMAIL: jackie.font@emu.edu
Pronouns: She/Her/Ella
Dr. Jacqueline N. Font-Guzmán (Jackie) serves as the inaugural vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). She is also a tenured professor of conflict and peacebuilding in EMU's Center for Justice and Peacebuilding. She strives to be a change agent and sees her role as co-creating spaces for relationships to flourish while constructively disrupting systems to advance equity and justice for everyone. Her professional work and activism have been centered around advocating for those easily forgotten: the poor, the marginalized, and the stigmatized.
Jackie has actively participated in the fields of conflict, peacebuilding studies, and DEI through national and international conferences/workshops. As part of her international practice and experience, she has provided mediation, facilitation, and consulting services to organizations including the World Health Organization, U.S. Postal Service, Judicial Academy of the Puerto Rico Supreme Court, Spain Supreme Court Judicial Council for Continuous Education for Judges, Venezuela Supreme Court, Johnson & Johnson, Raytheon Company, Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and the Nebraska Bar Association.
Jackie is a Fulbright scholar and her research interests include the following:
Her scholarship has been recognized at the national and international level. Her book, Experiencing Puerto Rican Citizenship and Cultural Nationalism, was selected as the Puerto Rico Bar Association 2015 Juridical Book of the Year in the category of ‘Essay Promoting Critical Thinking and Analysis of Juridical and Social Issues.’ She was also corecipient of the 2012 Madrid Mediators Association Award for Best Publication in Mediation for Mediación y Resolución de Conflictos: Técnicas y Ámbitos. Jackie’s newest book (with Bernard Mayer), The Neutrality Trap: Disrupting and Connecting for Social Change was published in January 2022.
Jackie received her BA from Coe College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, her Masters in Health Care Administration from Saint Louis University, Missouri, her Law degree summa cum laude from the Interamericana University of Puerto Rico School of Law, and her PhD in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from Nova Southeastern University, Florida.
Jackie is from Puerto Rico. She is passionate about music and sharing with friends her life, passions, vulnerabilities, strengths, and challenges. She loves the beach and the mountains. She also enjoys traveling, reading, and good food.
PHD, Nova Southeastern University (Conflict Analysis and Resolution)
JD, Interamericana University Law School
MHA, Saint Louis University
BA, Coe College
2015 to Present:
FACILITATIONS & WORKSHOPS LED (selected, 2015 to present)
COMMUNITY & PROFESSIONAL PRESENTATIONS (2015 to present)
New York City-Dispute Resolution and CUNY Dispute Resolution Breakfast Roundtable (May 5, 2022 – New York, New York [via Zoom]). The Neutrality Trap: Disrupting and Connecting for Social Change (Co-presenter with Dr. Bernard Mayer) Invited.
Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC) (April 7, 2022 – Madison, WI) [via Zoom]). DE&I Clients and “-Isms”: Recognizing and Addressing Discriminatory Behavior. (Co-panelist with Dr. Chioma Ajoku, Kelly Browe Olson, JD, and Hon. Linda Fidnick. Invited.
Ontario Association Family Mediators, Speakers Corner (February 23, 2022 - Ontario, Canada [via Zoom]. The Neutrality Trap: Disrupting and Connecting for Social Change (Co-Presenter with Dr. Bernard Mayer) Invited.
Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, Pepperdine Caruso School of Law, Beyond the Dialogue Straus Speaker Series (February 22, 2022 - Malibu, California [via Zoom]). The Neutrality Trap: Disrupting and Connecting for Social Change (Presenter) Invited.
PODCAST, INTERVIEWS & WEBINARS
EXTERNAL PROFESSIONAL APPOINTMENTS & COMMITTEES (Selected, 2015 - to present)
INTERNATIONAL & NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEES / CONSULTING (Selected, 2015 - to present)
REVIEWER & REFEREE
Honors and Awards (selected)
Awarded Grants (selected)