Day of Dialogue

Avi Dresner is a college professor, documentary filmmaker, screenwriter and journalist whose work has appeared in numerous publications including The New York Times.  He is a three-time winner of the American Jewish Press Association’s Rockower Award, affectionately known as The Jewlitzer Prize. 
 
Avi is also Executive Director of Black-Jewish Reconciliation: (Re)Building The Bridge, a Ford Foundation supported national national lecture tour on the history of the Black-Jewish Alliance and the relevance of that alliance today.  For more information, you can visit blackjewishreconciliation.org 

Dr. Frances Jones-Sneed is a historian, educator, writer, and longtime advocate for racial equity and inclusive education. A native of Mississippi who came of age during the Civil Rights Movement, she brings both lived experience and more than four decades of teaching, scholarship, and community engagement to conversations about diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. 
She is Professor Emeritus of History at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, where her teaching and research focused on African American history, women’s history, and the Black experience in the Berkshires. Her public scholarship has highlighted local figures including Margaret Hart, Ruth Edmonds Hill, W.E.B. Du Bois, Reverend Samuel Harrison, Elizabeth Freeman, Agrippa Hull, and James Van Der Zee. 

Dr. Jones-Sneed has worked extensively with schools, libraries, historical organizations, and the NAACP to develop programs on race, local history, anti-racism, and educational equity. At the center of her work is a commitment to honest history, meaningful dialogue, and creating communities where all people are seen, respected, and able to belong. 

Shirley Ann Session Edgerton is an educator, cultural competence practitioner, and community
activist whose lifelong commitment to equity, inclusion, and youth empowerment has made a
lasting impact in the Berkshires.

She holds a B.A. from Herbert H. Lehman College (CUNY) and an M.Ed. from Massachusetts
College of Liberal Arts, and attended the Atlanta University School of Social Work.

After 21 years with the Massachusetts Department of Developmental Services, including 15 years as Berkshire County Director of State-Operated Homes, she became Pittsfield Public Schools’ first Cultural Proficiency Coach, serving from 2015 to 2022.

In 2010, she founded Rites of Passage and Empowerment (R.O.P.E.), a mentoring initiative
dedicated to empowering young women of color without regard to gender and sexual
orientation. The platforms include leadership development, college preparation and global
learning experiences.

Ms. Edgerton’s distinguished service has earned her two honorary doctorates, including one
from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, as well as the Barrington Stage Legacy Award,
the MassArt Common Good Award, and recognition from Governor Maura Healey and the Black Empowerment Council.

She continues her advocacy through board and leadership service with 18 Degrees, the
Berkshire County NAACP Executive Committee, and the Pine Cobble School Board of Trustees.