De Pere, Wis.: Sherrilyn Ifill will present the Spring 2023 Norman and Louis Miller Lecture in Public Understanding on Tuesday, April 4, at 7 p.m. in the Abbot Pennings Hall of Fine Art’s Walter Theatre, 315 Third St., De Pere. The lecture, “A Conversation with Sherrilyn Ifill,” is free and open to the public. The conversation-style interview will feature Thomas Kunkel, St. Norbert College interim president, and Robyn Y. Davis, president and CEO of Brown County United Way.
Sherrilyn Ifill served as the seventh president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF) from 2013 to 2022, and currently serves as president and director-counsel emeritus. Ifill, the second woman to ever lead LDF, provided visionary and transformational leadership during one of the most consequential and intense moments in our nation’s history. For over 20 years, Ifill taught civil procedure and constitutional law to thousands of law students at the University of Maryland School of Law in Baltimore and pioneered a series of law clinics, including one of the earliest law clinics in the country to be focused on challenging legal barriers to the reentry of ex-offenders. At critical moments during national political and civil rights crises, Ifill’s voice and vision have powerfully influenced our national dialogue. Ifill is a frequent public commentator on racial justice issues, known for her fact-based, richly contextualized analysis of complex racial issues. She is a trusted and valued advisor to civic and community leaders, national civil rights colleagues and business leaders.
Davis is the president and CEO of Brown County United Way a community impact organization that unites people, ideas and resources to create community solutions that strengthen every person and every community throughout Brown County. Robyn began serving in that role in May 2017. Prior to joining Brown County United Way, she led Freedom House Ministries in Green Bay as its president for eight years. Robyn is a member of the Green Bay Packers Board of Directors, the Governor’s Equity and Inclusion Advisory Council, the Donald J. Schneider School of Business and Economics Board of Advisors, the Advisory Board for the Institute for Women’s Leadership, the Weidner Center Board of Directors, and the Northeast Wisconsin Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., a public service sorority. In 2020, Robyn launched The Valiant Leader. She serves as a facilitator, workshop leader, panelist, consultant and keynote speaker to encourage leaders as they embrace new opportunities and navigate leadership challenges.
Thomas Kunkel is serving as interim president of St. Norbert College for the 2022-23 academic year. He was president of the college from 2008 until his retirement in 2017. Kunkel oversaw numerous academic innovations (including a partnership with the Medical College of Wisconsin-Green Bay), increased enrollment and improved student and faculty diversity. He raised more than $150 million, much of which went toward new and renovated campus infrastructure.
The Norman and Louis Miller Lecture in Public Understanding was established in 1993 by the Norman Miller Family Foundation to honor Norman’s brother, Louis Miller, who died in 1989. When Norman died in 2008, his name was added to the lecture series, which promotes unity, communication and tolerance among different cultures, religions, ethnicities and traditions.
For more information, call the Norman Miller Center at 920-403-3881, or visit their website at snc.edu/millercenter/lectureseries/.
