Dr. Deion Hawkins

Assistant Professor, Argumentation and Advocacy; Director, Forensics, Emerson College

Dr. Deion Hawkins, Ph.D. (George Mason University), M.A. (Marshall University), B.A. (Ohio State University) is an assistant professor of Argumentation & Advocacy and the Director of Forensics at Emerson College. He started competitive public speaking and debating at age 13, and began coaching in 2012. Since 2012, Dr. Hawkins has coached multiple national finalists including 2 national championships in debate. In addition to debate, Dr. Hawkins is a health communication scholar whose research utilizes intercultural theory to mitigate health disparities. Deion has studied a myriad of topics including police violence as a health issue and HIV in the Black MSM community; he is an avid social justice advocate for marginalized communities.

Course: The Basics of Public Speaking

Susan Hackley

Former Managing Director, Program on Negotiation, Harvard Law School

As the former chief administrative and financial officer for Program on Negotiation (PON), Susan Hackley oversaw all operations for spearheading PON's interdisciplinary activities. She also managed the publication of a variety of books and teaching materials, including the monthly Negotiation newsletter and the quarterly Negotiation Journal. Susan has taught negotiation seminars in China, Singapore, Slovakia, Spain and Italy. Before joining PON, she worked in politics as a policy analyst and served as communications director of the Massachusetts Democratic Party. As a writer/photographer, she has had work published in National Geographic Magazine, the Los Angeles Times and many other publications. She also co-founded an Internet company, an e-philanthropy site dedicated to helping people connect to causes they care about. Susan has a masters in public administration from Harvard Kennedy School and served as chair of the board of directors of the Alliance for Peacebuilding.

Course: The Art of Negotiation

Rick Rendon

Founder, Empower Peace

Rick Rendon is the founder of Empower Peace and Senior Partner of The Rendon Group, a Boston-based communications firm that specializes in public affairs campaigns. Throughout his career, Mr. Rendon has taken great pride in creating and developing innovative community-based initiatives and social campaigns. In addition to over thirty years of experience as a senior communications consultant, Mr. Rendon served previously as a Public Information Officer for the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and as a member of United States President Jimmy Carter’s national political staff.

Keri Thompson

Senior Lecturer, Emerson College;
Chair, Cohasset Select Board

Keri Thompson is a Senior Lecturer at Emerson College and specializes in public speaking, politics and social media. She has extensive public speaking experience and has taught, coached and lectured on the subject at various schools and organizations across the country. She specializes in coaching and training political candidates. Her research specialties include nonverbal communication and image, political communication, social media, rhetoric and language. Specifically, her interests are in social media and politics, presidential rhetoric and campaign communication. She has been busy pioneering ways to use Snapchat in both the classroom and the political arena.

Keri was born in Boston and grew up in the suburbs of Acton. After attending Acton-Boxborough public schools, she graduated with a BS in Speech Communication from Bradley University in Peoria, IL. While there she met an obscure State Senator named Barack Obama who convinced her to ditch her Republican roots and become a political activist. She continued her graduate education at Pepperdine University and the University of Texas at Austin, finishing with MAs in Strategic Communication & Rhetoric and Political Communication respectively. Keri lives on the South Shore (in Cohasset) and can often be found near the ocean wearing a Red Sox hat and a "Free Brady Again" hoodie.

Course: The Imposter Syndrome

Mason West

Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School

Mason West III earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Theology at Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama. He later earned his Masters degree in Urban and Regional Planning and Community Development from Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University. Currently he is pursuing his Doctoral Degree in Educational Leadership at the University of Tennessee. For fifteen years Mr. West served as an instructor and administrator. He has educated youth in Georgia, Alabama and Bermuda as an exceptional Religion and Social Studies instructor. Mr. West also served as an associate pastor at the West End Church in Atlanta Georgia and the Madison Mission Church in Madison, Alabama. Currently, Mr. West serves others in several capacities. He is the Director of Community Learning at the Randolph School in Huntsville, Alabama. He is the Director of Ministry for the Buckhead Community Fellowship Ministry in Atlanta, Georgia. He is the founder and CEO of the Mason West Group (MWG), a youth leadership consulting company. His company specializes in the creation of youth leadership programs. In 2003, Mr. West started his Talented Tenth Leadership Program to teach youth how to influence their peers, their government and their economy. Mr. West is also the co-founder and Chief Operations Officer for Engage Youth Empowerment Services, a youth advocacy company based in Wolverhampton, England.

Course: The Leader in You