After living in Omaha, Neb. for 50 years, Jackie Font-Guzmán and her husband made the move to Harrisonburg, Va. On April 1, 2021,  Jackie had her first official day as EMU’s new Executive Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). 

The search for a DEI Director at EMU began soon after the position was created. Second-year and BSA co-president Merry Yirga was a member of the search committee tasked with finding the perfect candidate for the position. “The pressures of the job were being put on CODI…that’s not their job,” she said.

Yirga claimed that the process began with an evaluation of EMU’s needs, both of faculty and of the student body. After a long hiring process, Yirga is certain they chose the right person. Yirga said, “She [Font-Guzmán] already had a plan for EMU before we even told her the problems at EMU, and it was perfect.” Yirga was reassured in the group’s decision after hearing that Font-Guzmán’s first priority was to talk to people, to students.

Yirga stated that the biggest need this position is addressing is the need for “BIPOC students’ voices to be heard not just out here, but up in administration. She will be that direct link to administration for us. She’s fighting for us.”

The position entails co-chairing EMU’s Committee on Diversity and Inclusion (CODI) and serving as a liaison between groups and organizations to promote collaboration at EMU.

When enrolling at Coe College where she obtained her bachelor’s degree, Font-Guzmán had no idea she wanted to work in conflict resolution. In fact, she says she only knew that she didn’t want to be a physician, coming from a family of them. 

She decided to take full advantage of the interdisciplinary degree that Coe offered. Aside from a set of core classes that everyone was required to take, Jackie was free to explore a variety of fields, including literature, biology, and accounting. “I pretty much took a class from every single discipline while I was there,” said Font-Guzman.

Font-Guzmán defines her decision to find a job in diversity, equity, and inclusion as a journey; she attributes it to her experiences in past years as a Caribbean woman. “All of the sudden it was okay to be racist or to attack someone because of their gender identity…there was something in the nation that was shifting,” said Font-Guzman.

Font-Guzmán knew that she wanted to work on DEI in a place of academia because dealing with issues that arise from a lack of diversity, equity, and inclusion makes studying, earning a degree, and enjoying college significantly more difficult. 

Being drawn to EMU as a faith-based institution, Font-Guzmán is firm in her values of community, peace, and service. In addition to her belief in nonviolence, though, Font-Guzmán emphasizes the importance and need for disruption to create change. She references BSA’s “Black Lives Matter” mural as a great example. In terms of addressing needs, she relies heavily on listening and, she says, “listening for what is not being said.”

Font-Guzmán is optimistic about her interactions with students, noting that she hopes to be very available for meetings. The best way to contact her is through her EMU email, which can be found on the EMU Directory.