Transformational Leadership & Service Conference
MLK Day, Monday, January 20, 2025, Michael A. Evans Center

Check-in will take place in the Evans Center from 8:15-9:00am. Breakfast is provided.

Following a short prayer, students will travel to service sites for a morning service project. Service opportunities include: 

• St. Vincent de Paul Food Bank
• St. Vincent de Paul Distribution Center
• Aspire House
• On-campus service project

Following morning service projects, students will return to the Evans Center for lunch, and to hear from our keynote speaker.

Our 2024 keynote speaker was Karrah Herring, JD. More information to come about our 2025 keynote speaker.

Karrah Herring, J.D.

Indiana's Inaugural Chief Equity, Inclusion & Opportunity Officer

Karrah (Miller) Herring is a native and resident of South Bend, IN and a proud graduate of the South Bend Community School Corporation. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Communications/Public Relations from Purdue University (’05) and her Juris Doctorate from Valparaiso University School of Law (’11). On November 19, 2020, Indiana governor, Eric Holcomb announced his appointment of Karrah to his cabinet as Indiana’s first-ever Chief Equity, Inclusion and Opportunity Officer for the state. In this role, she works with the governor and his team to improve state government operations as well as remove hurdles in the government workplace and services the state provides. During the foundational phase of the office, Karrah engaged with over 300 stakeholders, built the infrastructure of the office, and in conjunction with other agencies rolled out the State of Indiana's first ever Equity Data Portal. Her team's work focuses on growing statewide access and opportunity in education and economic development and enhancing employee experiences within Indiana state government’s executive branch.

Prior to joining Governor Holcomb's team, Karrah worked for the University of Notre Dame for nearly a decade and served as the Director of Public Affairs in the Office of Public Affairs and Communications. Prior to her role with Public Affairs, she served on the University of Notre Dame’s Office of Human Resources Senior Executive Leadership team as the Director of the Office of Institutional Equity and University Title IX Coordinator.

Karrah has received a number of awards and recognition and serves on various boards and commissions. Most recently, Mayor James Mueller of the City of South Bend, IN, honored Karrah with the “Key to the City.” Karrah’s Alma Mater, Purdue University honored her as a 2022 College of Liberal Arts Distinguished Alumna. She was named to the Indianapolis Business Journal’s prestigious Forty leaders under 40 2022 list and IBJ's inaugural 250 most influential leaders 2022. In 2021, the South Bend Regional Chamber named her their 2021 Woman of Influence. In October of 2021, the chief justice of the Indiana Supreme Court, Justice Rush, asked Karrah to serve as the executive branch’s representative on the Indiana Supreme Court’s Commission on Equity and Access within Indiana Courts. Karrah not only served on the commission but also chaired the subcommittee within the commission which examined pathways to the legal profession’s bench and bar for historically underrepresented groups. She is also a member of the Center for Digital Government’s Digital Equity Advisory Committee, the NASHP Population and Public Health Steering Committee, a member of the Board of Governors for the Indiana Economic Club and she a member of the Board of Directors for Sunz Insurance and Sunz Holdings LLC (Bradenton, Florida).

For the remainder of the afternoon, you'll have the opportunity to participate in three different breakout sessions aligning with this year's conference theme.

These sessions and the conference will conclude around 4:30pm.

Here is a look at our breakout sessions from 2024. As speakers are finalized, we will share information for the 2025 sessions.

Standing on (Your) Business: Navigating the Transformative Journey of Self-Alignment

Angelica J. Smith

This interactive session explores the multifaceted barriers that college students encounter on their journey toward self-alignment. Delving into external pressures, fears, and internal challenges, the session offers insights into the complexities of maintaining authenticity in the face of societal expectations. Attendees will gain a deep understanding of the impact of comparison, competition, and self-esteem on their ability to align personal goals with genuine aspirations. Practical strategies for overcoming these barriers, including self-awareness practices, goal-setting techniques, and boundary establishment, will be discussed. By the end of the session, participants will be equipped with valuable tools to navigate the path to self-alignment, fostering personal growth, and enhancing overall well-being during their college experience.

Confronting Ourselves

Korie Griggs & Sarah Jené

Confronting Ourselves is an interactive session where we will explore how to reach our core truths and how they correlate to how we grieve ourselves. Presenters will be leading participants through an interactive session of the journey of confronting ourselves in four parts: Self Assessment, Confronting Ourselves, Cognitive Reframing and Thought Analysis.

It's Not You, It's Me: The Role of Personal Reflection in Antiracism Work

Charla Yearwood, LCSW

In our pursuit of racial equity, we tend to prioritize white benevolence towards non-white communities, reinforcing existing power structures and failing to challenge harmful societal norms. Achieving true equity requires recognizing that our current ideas of “normal” are harmful and learning how these beliefs shape all aspects of our society. We can combat this by engaging in personal reflection, challenging both internal and external false beliefs, centering marginalized voices, and committing ourselves to discover a new way forward. This presentation emphasizes the importance of personal reflection in our equity efforts.