DR. TONYA BAILEY
CHIEF DIVERSITY OFFICER
LANSING COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Joining Lansing Community College in 2018, Dr. Bailey has placed student needs above all else, and serves as a tireless advocate for the human need for community connection and belonging. Her ability to advance a chosen name and pronoun initiative from the Academic Senate through to fruition, allowing students and employees the ability to be seen and addressed in the manner authentic to their identity has been lauded by Lansing Community College. She led the redevelopment of the LCC Cesar Chavez Learning Center by building it into a thriving student hub located in the Center of the Campus. “You are welcome here!” is Dr. Bailey’s principle.

Additionally, Dr. Bailey’s accomplishments for both Lansing Community College and the community include:

Girls on a M.I.S.S.I.O.N, a training program that nurtures, empowers, and educates girls, ages 8-18 during a pivotal time in their lives; founder of Women in Power (WIP) initiative, a 2-day empowerment summit for women & teens that attracts over 300 attendees each year; Women Inspiring Scholarship through Empowerment (WISE) dedicated to the education and support of professional career interests of women students at LCC. One on one mentoring with professional women and monthly mentor/mentee sessions utilizing the ATHENA Leadership Model and Job Shadowing are included in this innovative program for LCC students. And, a program created by Dr. Bailey that received the Equity in Education Award in its first year is the Rise Institute (Reframing Inclusion Through Scholarship and Equity) which addresses unconscious bias and critical issues educators face daily. She is the Creator/Host for the Equi-Tea Podcast, designed to provide tips on issues surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion while enhancing everyday life, and the Wymin’s (Women’s) Collective that promotes awareness of the issues and celebrations of individuals who identify as female, and amplifies their voice and diversity at LCC.

Dr. Bailey also remains active in the Flint area where she is a tireless advocate and activist for civil and women’s rights through the Flint Branch of the NAACP, the Flint YWCA, and the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Flint.