Thank You for supporting DPB Consulting over the years. As I predicted at the start of 2021, that year was indeed “the year of the shift”! In 2021, I retired from a 3-decade long career as a public-school educator and consultant. This was a “God surprise” and NOT something “I had planned for many years”. Prior to that year, colleagues would ask me “when are you going to retire?” My response was always, ”…. I don’t know, but I’ll know when the time is right….” I am currently in the “Second Act” of my career and life. I have continued sharing my wisdom with undergraduate students in the field of Education at GVSU. Now that I am retired, I have the flexibility to teach daytime courses and I recently completed my first semester as a “daytime” professor. This is something that would not have been possible due to my full time “day job”. Building Positive Learning Environments for K-12 students is the focus of my college courses & I enjoy teaching future Educators. (see the “About Me” section of this website for more information).
2022 has continued to allow me to share my gifts and ideas with groups and organizations. Most of this work has been in collaboration with GRAAMA (Grand Rapids African American Museum and Archives). GRAAMA recently announced the purchase of a new facility “9x larger than the current location!” The first quarter of the year has been a time of supporting educational efforts with GRAAMA and developing programming for the current and the future museum. Recently, we provided facilitation of a conversation following a tour of the history of race and culture in Grand Rapids at GRAAMA. We also discussed current events that have impacted the GR community. These conversations are necessary to eradicate the cancer of racism. As I discussed in my 2020 essay “Keeping the Conversation Alive”. (Included in an earlier blog post), “…Understand that the way to “make it go away” is not to pretend it doesn’t exist.”
Moving forward, much of my work will continue to center around supporting the educational component of GRAAMA. In reviewing my “2021 - New Year” post, I noted that in 2020, we struggled through 3 pandemics. Sadly, we are still reeling from the effects of these pandemics, as evidenced by the recent death in Grand Rapids of Patrick Lyoya at a traffic stop and the racially motivated Buffalo, New York mass shooting, at a local grocery store. DPB Consulting, along w/ GRAAMA will continue to provide space to speak to the events impacting our communities. When I embarked on this journey in 2018. I did not know exactly where it would lead. I am excited to continue to grow and to use my gifts to encourage and support others. Here are a few ways you can support the efforts of DPB Consulting:
Share this website with others.
If you or someone you know would like consultation services in the areas of education or DEI, contact me via this website.
Like & share our social media pages: DPB Consulting FB page and @consultdeborah2 IG & Twitter pages.
Follow GRAAMA on social media: FB @ Grand Rapids African American Museum and Archives (look for the GRAAMA logo). Also, @graama.gr on IG & @graamagr on Twitter.
Schedule a tour at GRAAMA for your family or organization. Groups with parties of 10 or more are encouraged to schedule a tour to make sure that you receive an exclusive guided tour including rich history and information regarding the impact of African Americans on race and culture in the Grand Rapids community.
Once again, THANK YOU for your continued support of DPB Consulting!
