Montgomery County Community College (MCCC) will be hosting the 2024 Presidential Symposium on Diversity Feb. 13-16 on the college’s campuses in Blue Bell and Pottstown and online.

This annual capstone event advances and facilitates ongoing public dialogue on diversity and inclusiveness among students, employees and the community. It will include four days of learning and discussion designed to engage our campuses and communities.

“This is a four-day event, themed ‘Transforming Lives: Breaking Barriers and Empowering Change,’ is a nod to our 60th anniversary tagline ‘Transforming Lives and Communities,’” said Dr. Stephanie R. Allen, MCCC Director of Equity, Diversity and Belonging.

“This year’s symposium is a family-friendly event, meaning there are events and activities for all ages and stages of life.”

The keynote speaker for the 2024 Presidential Symposium on Diversity is Dyana Williams, an award-winning on-air personality and a trailblazer in broadcasting, music activism and celebrity media strategy.

She will deliver an empowering and uplifting keynote address on Feb. 13 at 1 PM about her journey in media over the last 50 years in the theater at the Montco Cultural Center.

Williams began her career in broadcasting first in radio in 1973 under the pseudonym Ebony Moonbeams working for stations in New York and Washington, D.C. and later in television. In fact, she was the first Black rock DJ in New York.

She eventually moved to Philadelphia in 1980 working as a DJ for WDAS 105.3-FM, where she continued to pioneer a trail for Black women in broadcasting to follow for decades to come.

Williams is CEO of Influence Entertainment, working as a media consultant with some of the music industry’s biggest stars including pop stars Justin Bieber, Pitbull, Rihanna and Usher.

Outside of her work, Williams has helped found the International Association of African American Music Foundation and the National Museum of African American Music. Dubbed “The Godmother of Black Music” by Ebony Magazine, she also helped to establish June as Black Music Month.

All events during the symposium are free and open to the public, though registration is required for certain presentations. Virtual sessions do not require registration, and links to each session will be available via the Presidential Symposium on Diversity homepage.

In addition, the 2024 Presidential Symposium on Diversity’s service project will be collecting gently used instruments to donate to Girls First, a Norristown based after school program for young people.

For full details about the 2024 Presidential Symposium on Diversity, visit Montgomery County Community College’s website.

Dyana Williams speaks about Frankie Beverly’s music