Zack Ritter, MEd, MA, PhD
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About Dr. Zack Ritter
History, DEI, and Restorative Justice Educator
Dr. Zack Ritter has spent more than 16 years in higher education across Southern California with a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusivity. He was Associate Dean of Students at CSU-Dominguez Hills, helping run the Office of Community Standards restorative justice department and Basic Needs housing and food insecurity program. He was also the Associate Dean of the Office of Institutional Diversity at Harvey Mudd College and University of Redlands. He is an Adjunct Professor teaching social justice history and research methods at UCLA and CSU-Dominguez Hills. He has co-edited three books with titles such as Whiteness, Power, and Resistance to Change in Higher Education and Emancipatory Change in Higher Education. He also spent several years in the nonprofit sector, building bridges between Muslim and Jewish communities. Dr. Ritter received his PhD from UCLA, focusing on East Asian international students, racial stereotypes, and American media promulgation of globalized race/class/gender hierarchies.
Sample Workshops
1) Challenging Islamophobia and Antisemitism
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Co-Presenting with Marium Mohiuddin
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Students will gain an understanding of the historic antecedents of misunderstandings and myths directed toward Muslim and Jewish folks. Participants will also gain clarity around not only the histories of anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim hate, but tools and techniques for disrupting Islamophobic and Antisemitic behaviors. Current event topics will be discussed as well as scenarios of how to be an ally and accomplice to challenging systemic inequities related to both of these identities.This workshop can be tailored to a campus going through crisis by weaving in intergroup dialogue and active listening skills to aid students who are moving through generative conflict.
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2) Campus Crisis, Power Sharing, and Talking Across Difference
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Tensions are high on college campuses due to war, social media fragmentation, and ongoing social inequities. Students often feel frustrated in light of administrative policies that may be viewed as constraining. This workshop equips students and administrators with skills to dialogue across differences around controversial issues and build understanding between groups. Utilizing restorative justice models and exercises, students and administrators will gain a deeper understanding of the pressures and desires of various parties. Additionally, the workshop will illuminate how to work through conflict in order to move the needle of equity on campus while also balancing the needs of various constituencies on campus.
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3) Anti-Black Racism and Antisemitism
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Co-Presenting with Dr. Issac Carter
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Over the last decades, the Black-Ashkenazi Jewish alliance has frayed and led to both communities with feelings of distrust and distancing. This workshop explores the historic antecedents to this moment, and offers a pathway forward for college administrators as to how to bridge divides on campuses.
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4) Healing from Trauma
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Our newsfeeds and micro aggressive interactions can lead to racial, gender and class battle fatigue. When we are triggered, how do we respond? When we doom scroll for hours, how does it affect our health? When we have to deal with toxic individuals, how do we not sink into being gaslit and depressed? Borrowing from social justice thinkers such as Mariame Kaba and Adrienne Maree Brown, this workshop equips folks with techniques to start on the pathway toward repair and healing.
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5) Let's Create Something Together!
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Reach Out to Connect!
