SLCC Speaker Series
Community Conversation

(formerly the Tanner Forum on Social Ethics)

Featuring Keynote Speaker, Frances Haugen - American Engineer, Data Scientist, Product Manager and Facebook Whistleblower

Frances Haugen is the former Lead Product Manager of Facebook’s Civic Misinformation team. While there, she became alarmed by the choices the company made in prioritizing profit over public safety and made the courageous decision to blow the whistle on Facebook in 2021.

Following the keynote, there will be a 45 minute moderated panel discussion with local experts regarding social media’s impact on teens’ mental health.

Tickets are free and available through The Grand Theatre.

Reserve Your Free Tickets

Moderator

Sarah Reale, Director
SLCC Digital Marketing

Sarah Reale is a Salt Lake native with a passion for advocacy, education, and creating safe and engaging digital spaces for students.

She holds a master’s degree in political science from Utah State University and has spent almost two decades working in higher education, including teaching. Sarah is currently the Director of Digital Marketing at Salt Lake Community College where she manages the digital (web, video, social, email, etc) communications for the institution. She is also an adjunct professor of political science at SLCC.

In addition to representing District 5 on the State Board of Education, Sarah serves on several advisory boards, including the SLC Library Board, SL County Mountainous Planning District Planning Commission, and Chi Omega Advisory Board at the University of Utah.

Panelists

DaSheek Akwenye, Director
SLCC Center for Counseling and Health

DaSheek was born and raised in Windhoek, Namibia and came to the U.S. for college on a track & field scholarship. A first-generation international student, DaSheek received his bachelor’s degree in journalism with a minor in communications from Utah Valley University, as well as a master’s degree in exercise physiology with a minor in corporate wellness from Utah State University.

DaSheek comes to us with experience as an exercise physiologist for Intermountain Health, as well as Senior Director for Recreation & Wellness and Chief Inclusion Officer at Utah Valley University. As SLCC’s Director of the Center for Health & Counseling, DaSheek enjoys helping students find their niche on campus and chase their passions through engaging, life-changing, preventative healthcare programming. Together with his team, he inspires student engagement and success through emotional, psychological, and social well-being. In his spare time, DaSheek loves exercising, meditating, reading, and spending time with his wife, Jocelyn, and their four children Davian, Nyla, Avi, and Tayden. 

Diane Liu, MD MBA FAAP LSS-GB
Associate Professor, Division of General Pediatrics
Chief Value Officer, Department of Pediatrics
Director, Utah Pediatric Partnership to Improve Healthcare Quality

Dr. Diane Liu is a board-certified Pediatrician and Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine. 

She completed her residency training in Pediatrics at Kravis Children’s Hospital of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. While in New York City, Dr. Liu lobbied for school-based health funding at the state level, and served as a health educator for school-based health programs in East Harlem. Dr. Liu provided care to children with special health-care needs throughout the boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx.

As the director of the Utah Pediatric Partnership to Improve Healthcare Quality, Dr. Liu champions improving the quality of care for children and adolescents across the state of Utah. For the past 5 years, Dr Liu has been working with fellow physicians to address mental health care in the primary care setting.

Aimee Winder Newton
Senior Advisor to Governor Cox and Director of the Office of Families
State of Utah

Aimee Winder Newton serves as a senior advisor to Governor Cox and director of the Utah Office of Families. She has championed social media legislation and education, home visiting programs for vulnerable families, and many other upstream policies to strengthen families in Utah so children have better outcomes.

Her previous roles include planning commissioner, city communications director, executive for a biotech company, small business owner, and board member for several organizations, including Prevent Child Abuse Utah. She was a 2020 candidate for Utah governor.

Aimee also serves part-time on the Salt Lake County Council and chairs the Salt Lake County Intergenerational Poverty Task Force. 

Aimee is a graduate of the University of Utah. She and her husband, Matt, have been married for 30 years and have raised four children. They became grandparents this year and love to travel with their growing family.

If you need ADA accommodations, please contact the Disability Resource Center by phone at 801-957-4659 or by TTY at 801-957-4646.