Sekile Nzinga is an interdisciplinary scholar and executive leader who prioritizes mental health, healing, well-being, care networks and reproductive justice within Black and other underserved communities.

On Wednesday, March 12, she will present “Closet Change: The Enduring Politics of Fashion,” this year’s Genevieve Staudt Intercultural Lecture at Elmhurst University.

Nzinga has expertise as an executive leader that spans academic, governmental and not-for-profit settings. She is the inaugural vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and served as the chief equity officer for the State of Illinois. Nzinga also established the Feminist in Residence role at Northwestern University’s Women’s Center.

Established in 2002, the Genevieve Staudt Intercultural Lecture is held each spring as part of Elmhurst University’s celebration of Women’s History Month. Genevieve Staudt joined then-Elmhurst College in 1932 as a professor in the education department, and later became the first woman administrator at the University, serving first as dean of women and then dean of students.

This year’s Genevieve Staudt Lecture with Sekile Nzinga begins at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 12, in the Frick Center, Founders Lounge. Admission is free but reservations are encouraged, at elmhurst.edu/Cultural. The intercultural lectures and other diverse cultural programming at Elmhurst University support community engagement and lifelong learning, and prepare students to thrive as adaptive leaders. For more information, email [email protected].