{"id":107686,"date":"2026-02-07T05:47:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T05:47:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/107686\/"},"modified":"2026-02-07T05:47:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T05:47:11","slug":"alvernia-university-to-host-equal-justice-initiative-speaker-for-public-discussion-reading-area","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/107686\/","title":{"rendered":"Alvernia University to host Equal Justice Initiative speaker for public discussion | Reading Area"},"content":{"rendered":"

READING, Pa. \u2013 VOiCEup Berks, in partnership with Alvernia University\u2019s Office of Justice, Equity, and Inclusion, announced in a press release that they will host Tad Roach of the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) for a community-wide presentation and discussion.<\/p>\n

Officials say the discussion will take place on Wednesday, February 18, from 6 p.m.\u20138 p.m. at Francis Hall, Alvernia University (401 Zygmunta Lane).<\/p>\n

The release says the event is open to the public and intended for community members, educators, students, and anyone interested in justice, equity, and civic engagement. For more information or to sign up, please visit www.voiceupberks.org\/calendar<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In addition to the upcoming community event, VOiCEup Berks says they are sponsoring two student-focused presentations by Roach earlier that day, one at Conrad Weiser High School in the morning and another at Wilson High School in the afternoon, extending the reach of EJI\u2019s work to local students and educators.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis visit came out of a deep belief in the power of education to move people toward justice,\u201d said Andrea Floyd, teacher at Conrad Weiser High School and advisor to VOiCEup\u2019s Youth Volunteer Corps STAR (Stand Together Against Racism) Club. \u201cOur students are hungry for honest conversations about history, equity, and their role in shaping the future. Bringing the Equal Justice Initiative to our schools and community creates a rare and meaningful opportunity for learning that doesn\u2019t end when the bell rings.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Tad<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

EJI speaker Tad Roach<\/p>\n

Courtesy of VOiCEup Berks<\/p>\n

\u201cThis collaboration would not have happened without Andrea\u2019s vision and persistence,\u201d said Christi Terefenko Executive Director at VOiCEup Berks. \u201cShe brings extraordinary awareness and passion for this work to VOiCEup, to her students, and to our broader community, and we are proud to support and amplify that leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n

About Equal Justice Initiative (EJI)<\/p>\n

EJI<\/a> is a nationally recognized nonprofit organization founded by Bryan Stevenson, author of Just Mercy, and is dedicated to challenging racial and economic injustice, addressing mass incarceration, and protecting the rights of vulnerable communities. Tad Roach serves as EJI\u2019s Learning Engagement Specialist and works closely with Stevenson to expand education and outreach efforts nationwide, according to the release.<\/p>\n

Roach joined EJI in 2022 after a distinguished 24-year career as Head of School at St. Andrew\u2019s School in Delaware. A former English teacher and nationally recognized leader in school culture and learning, he brings more than four decades of experience in education to EJI\u2019s outreach and engagement work. He holds a B.A. from Williams College and an M.A. in English from Middlebury College.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"READING, Pa. \u2013 VOiCEup Berks, in partnership with Alvernia University\u2019s Office of Justice, Equity, and Inclusion, announced in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":107687,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[2961,40360,733,227,51778,2307,740,41229,128,130,129,51780,51779],"class_list":{"0":"post-107686","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-reading","8":"tag-alvernia-university","9":"tag-civic-engagement","10":"tag-community-event","11":"tag-education","12":"tag-equal-justice-initiative","13":"tag-equity","14":"tag-justice","15":"tag-racial-justice","16":"tag-reading-city","17":"tag-reading-city-headlines","18":"tag-reading-city-news","19":"tag-tad-roach","20":"tag-voiceup-berks"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107686","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107686"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107686\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/107687"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107686"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}