ABOUT US
Who We Are
Becca Laroi
Becca is an intentional educator and proud mother of four, currently serving as an Assistant Principal at Ashland High School in her sixth year of administration. With a strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, Becca is dedicated to making a positive impact within her community.
Raised in the Rogue Valley and proud of her Kenyan heritage, Becca is enthusiastic about being a change agent in education. She has a background in high school teaching coaching, serving as Administrator for Equity and Inclusion in the Ashland School District.
Becca has played a pivotal role her community supporting equity, diversity, and inclusion workgroups and has facilitated parent meetings in Southern Oregon as part of the group BSOA and the SOBAASS grant. As a proud member of her community, she is excited to continue building meaningful relationships and advocating for students and families in her various roles.
Carl Thomas:
Carl served Oregon public universities for 27 years as a higher education administrator in enrollment management. He worked on four different campuses (Southern Oregon University, Oregon State University, Eastern Oregon University, and the Oregon Institute of Technology). After serving on the Project Youth Plus Board of Directors (2018-2022), he assumed the role of Executive Director for the Community-Based Organization, starting in January 2023. His Executive Director position allows him to continue serving at-risk youth in Southern Oregon, including the work he does with the Black Southern Oregon Alliance.
Carl is a dynamic and extremely energetic motivational speaker who focuses on youth development. He and his wife Deona co-own De & Co. Salon, LLC in Medford Oregon and share a passion for supporting youth organizations. Together they have six children and four grandchildren. He and Deona enjoy spending time with family, staying physically active and traveling around the U.S. and the world.
Sessceal Reynolds
Sessceal relocated her family from South Georgia to Southern Oregon eight years ago. She has 5 children, and mothering them is one of her many accomplishments. She has worked in the Ashland School District for 6 years in various roles. She currently works as a Speech-Language Pathology Assistant to students with diverse language and social needs. She also proudly serves as the advisor for the Ashland Middle School Black Student Union where diversity, equity, and inclusion are the focus.
Staci Buchwald
Staci is the proud parent of an Ashland HS scholar who has participated in BOSA activities since 2017 when their family moved to the Rogue Valley. She is honored to be a parent representative to BSOA and be able to impact the education, programming, and equity initiatives available to Black and African American youth. Staci currently serves as the Director of Housing at Southern Oregon University.
Staci has been in higher education administration for 30 years and has worked at both public and private institutions. She is a trained mediator and a fierce advocate for equity, diversity, and inclusion in the classroom and in policy development. When she is not working she is perfecting the art of being a well behaved soccer Mom.
D.L. Richardson
D.L. is an Oregon-based educator with 25 plus years of experience in teaching, diversity training, and public speaking. D.L. has taught communication courses at the university and high school levels, including everything from Public Speaking to Media and Civil Rights History, as well as Journalism and Public Relations.
He has served/serves on the Oregon Cares Fund for Black Relief and Resiliency, The Oregon African American/Black Student Success Advisory Committee, The Governor’s (Oregon) Healthy Schools Re-opening Council, the Oregon Racial Justice Council’s Education Recovery Committee, the Jackson County (Oregon) United Way Board of Directors (and co-chairs its Justice-Equity-Diversity-Inclusion-Access Committee), board member of Foundations For A Better Oregon, member of the DEI committee of the Oregon Community Foundation, board member of the Southern Oregon Historical Society, the board of Ashland.News (Local Online News organization), member of the Oregon Association of Black School Educators (ORABSE), and member of the Oregon Black Student Success Network. He also proudly serves on the Ashland (Oregon) Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr Day organizing committee. Co-chaired and helped organized the City of Ashland’s first “Say Hey” event. Was a member of the National Association of Black Journalists and member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.
He continues to works as an Education Specialist, doing advocacy work on behalf of Black and African American students and families. He works with the community-based organization Black Southern Oregon Alliance (BlacksouthernOregonalliance.com), an organization that provides advocacy for students and families who identify as Black and/or African American, as well as organizes the Annual Black Youth Leadership Summit, which brings together 6th-12th grade Black/African American students from across 12 school districts in southern Oregon to connect with one-another, learn about their culture, prepare for their future, and understand they are not alone in the valley. As well as the Black Youth Summer Institute, a week-long summer workshop for Black/African American students that gives students a true college-experience, while also learning about their culture and preparing them for their future.
Marvin Woodard
The oldest of eight children from Lake Charles, LA, Marvin has spent the last 30+ years in the Pacific Northwest supporting students of all backgrounds as a coach, mentor, and professional with various organizations within the state of Oregon. He is a graduate of Oregon Institute of Technology with a BS in Manufacturing Engineering Technology. Marvin’s professional career spans 25+ years as an administrator in higher education. He currently serves as a coordinator within the Office of Student Belonging & Engagement and the Diversity Scholarship administrator at Southern Oregon University where he has been helping students for the past 23 years through multiple leadership roles. As a member of the Southern Oregon University campus, Marvin has dedicated a large amount of his effort to helping others find their place in the work of Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion. He is also a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity.
Through BSOA, Marvin continues to support all students while centering the experiences of Black & African American students. His commitment to building communities that celebrate differences while connecting through similarities is exemplified by his work, relationships, and the ability to facilitate complex dialogues to successful resolutions.
James Brown
Currently, James is the Regional Human Resources Officer for the Department of the Interior – Bureau of Reclamation. He is also a graduate of the Strategic Leadership Development Program taught by George Washington University, Center for Excellence in Public Leadership. James’ has over 20 years of experience in Federal Human Resources, to include being certified in Suitability and Adjudication (background investigations) and Personnel Misconduct Investigations (PMI). He has served as an agency litigator for the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) appeal hearings.
James and his wife of 24 years, Andrea, enjoy international travel and spending time with family. They currently reside in Ashland with their beloved doxie pup Meeko. As a veteran, James annually volunteers and rides with the motorcycle group, Veteran 22, to promote Veteran Suicide Awareness. James enjoys singing with local bands and smoking a good cigar.
Channing Thomas:
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