Kikanza J. Nuri

Our values declare who we want to be; Kikanza J. Nuri EdD helps us to close the gap between what we say we are and what we actually do. Whether she is in a corporate boardroom, the fireside room of a retreat center, or a school multipurpose room, Kikanza uses her skills as a compassionate listener and a compelling speaker to help people and organizations that are in transition – or ought to be.

Since 1982, Dr. Nuri has worked as an organization development consultant in a variety of settings including education, health care, criminal justice, and religion. Kikanza helps people and organizations in transition, focusing on leadership development, change management, cultural proficiency and spirituality at work. Although her clients have ranged from businesses like IBM and Baskin-Robbins, to school districts from New York to California, and to not-for-profit organizations such as United Way and YWCA, her passion is working with people who care about the quality of their work and who have compassion for their clients and colleagues. Recent clients include the University of Texas Health Sciences Center San Antonio School of Nursing, the Oxnard Police Department, and Massachusetts Commonwealth Department of Education.

Kikanza is a trustee of the San Francisco Theological Seminary; she is on the board of the Southern California Foster Family and Adoption Agency, and is a member of the Ethics Committee of the UCLA Medical Center. Kikanza is the author of many articles and four books, including: Unspoken Visions; Cultural Proficiency, A Manual for School Leaders; and Culturally Proficient Instruction, A Guide for People Who Teach. She lives in Los Angeles, where she spends her discretionary time as a textile artist.

Randall B. Lindsey, PhD, has a practice centered on educational consulting and issues related to diversity. Currently, he is coordinator of an EdD cohort in Los Angeles for the School of Education, California Lutheran University where he served as Interim Dean for academic year 2004-5. He has served as a teacher, an administrator, executive director of a non-profit corporation, as Distinguished Educator in Residence at Pepperdine University, and as Chair of the Education Department at the University of Redlands. Prior to that he served for seventeen years at California State University, Los Angeles in the Division of Administration and Counseling.

All of Randy’s experiences have been in working with diverse populations and his area of study is the behavior of white people in multicultural settings. It is his belief and experience that too often white people are observers of multicultural issues rather than personally involved with them. To that end he designs and implements interventions that address the roles of all sectors of the society.

Randy serves as a consultant and facilitator on issues related to diversity and equity, as well as on topics of leadership, problem solving, planning, and conflict resolution. Additionally, he publishes regularly and makes presentations to professional organizations.

Randy lives a short distance from the ocean in Escondido, California, with his wife Delores, where they enjoy the unique pleasures of southern California.

As a university professor Delores B. Lindsey, PhD, leads and coaches students and organizations using motivational and inspirational communication skills, “strategic visioning” techniques, team development strategies, and leadership standards for excellence. Drawing from her southern heritage, she invites students of educational leadership to examine and share personal stories in ways to surface assumptions, beliefs, and actions. Graduate students appreciate her refreshing look at life within an organization as reflected in the stories and language of its members.

Using the lens of Cultural Proficiency, Delores helps organizations and groups examine their policies and practices, and as well as individual beliefs and values about cross-cultural communication. Her favorite question is: Are we who we say we are? This and other reflective questions guide leaders in examining their espoused vales and their values-in-action. Delores serves as coach and co-researcher for several local school districts and administrators.

At Cal State University, San Marcos, she is Assistant Professor in Educational Leadership and the Coordinator for the MA and Credential Program in Educational Administration. Delores has served k-12 education as a middle grades and high school teacher, assistant principal, principal, and county office of education administrator. Her focus for research and teaching is developing culturally proficient leadership practices.

Raymond D. Terrell, EdD, is the Assistant Dean, Research and Diversity and a member of the Department of Educational Leadership at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He has served as a high school and junior high school English teacher, an elementary school principal, and an assistant superintendent in public schools in Ohio. He spent one year as a faculty member at Texas A. & M. University in the Department of Educational Administration. He spent 19 years at California State University 14 years in the Department of Educational Administration and for five years he was the Dean of the School of Education. Ray has 35 years of professional experience with diversity and equity issues. He has served school districts in California, Arizona, Nevada, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Indiana. Ray writes about issues of diversity, inclusion and equity.

Ray lives in Woodlawn, Ohio, with his wife Eloise. They have two adult children, Dina and William.