The North Star

JeffriAnne Wilder, Ph.D.
  • 5.0 (3)
  • Education

Welcome to The North Star—a podcast produced by the Oberlin Center for DEI Innovation and Leadership, and a space for candid conversations on leadership, legacy, and navigating complexity.In each episode, we’ll talk with changemakers, scholars, and disruptors who are asking bold questions and reimagining what leadership looks like—in education, in community, and in the world we’re building next.Whether you’re leading a team, building a movement, or just trying to make sense of today’s challenges, The North Star is your companion for reflection, insight, and action.

  1. Oct 1

    Is AI Holding Women Back at Work? The Hidden Gender Bias in Artificial Intelligence

    In this Season 4 episode of The North Star: Intersectional Equity in the Age of AI, Dr. JeffriAnne Wilder sits down with Dr. Amy Diehl, Chief Information Officer at Wilson College, gender equity researcher, and co-author of Glass Walls: Shattering the Six Gender Bias Barriers Still Holding Women Back at Work. They discuss why women and people of color are missing from the AI conversation, and why the most immediate harms of AI are not doomsday scenarios. Those harms are already here: AI-generated deepfakes that overwhelmingly target women, the loss of entry-level jobs largely held by women, and a "competence penalty" that judges women more harshly than men for using the same tools.  Amy shares:  How all six Glass Walls barriers show up in AI, from male privilege in tech design to the invisible emotional labor front-line workers perform to clean up after chatbots. Practical steps leaders can take right now: holistic AI training, clear transparency policies, holding vendors accountable, and her simple "flip it to test it" check for bias. THer vision for 2036: government safeguards, privacy by design, and sociologists, philosophers, and humanities scholars working alongside technologists to build AI that serves everyone.Find out more:  Amy Diehl’s Book: Glass Walls: https://amy-diehl.com/glass-walls-shattering-the-six-gender-bias-barriers-still-holding-women-back-at-work/ Fast Company — “Women Are Sounding the Alarm on AI. Leaders Should Listen”: https://www.fastcompany.com/91584377/women-are-sounding-the-alarm-on-ai-leaders-should-listen-ai-dangers-women-technology 🔗 Find out more about Dr. JeffriAnne Wilder. 🌐 Follow the Center on social media: LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram 🌎 Visit Oberlin College's website. Podcast Produced by: Paradigm Media Group

  2. May 8

    Beyond the Byline: Student Journalism, Solidarity, and the Fight for Structural Equity

    In this bonus episode of The North Star, guest host Chloe Caldwell sits down with Isaiah Johnson, Oberlin College & Conservatory Center for DEI Innovation & Leadership Changemakers fellow, Opinions Editor of the Oberlin Review, and co-founder of Oberlin's chapter of the Young Democratic Socialists of America. Isaiah reflects on what it means to be an agent of change from the inside — navigating the tensions between conviction and compromise, platforming community voices through student journalism, and building solidarity in spaces like the Third World Social Justice Co-op (TWIC). From the ethics of what to publish to the lessons of the 2024 election cycle, Isaiah offers a candid look at how young leaders learn to hold power responsibly — staying connected to the communities they represent, resisting arrogance, and understanding that lasting change is built on relationships, information, and a willingness to show up even when the path forward is complicated. 🔗 Find out more about Dr. JeffriAnne Wilder. 🌐 Follow the Center on social media: LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram 🌎 Visit Oberlin College's website. Podcast Produced by: Paradigm Media Group

  3. Apr 24

    Legacy In Action

    In this special episode of The North Star, the mic gets turned around as Executive Director JeffriAnne Wilder, Ph.D., takes the guest seat, interviewed by Changemakers fellow Chloe Caldwell. JeffriAnne reflects on what it means to carry Oberlin's almost 200-year legacy of inclusion into the present, pushing back on resting on historical laurels and asking what the college is doing right now to honor that legacy. She opens up about the tensions she's navigated between motherhood and academia, the importance of disrupting hierarchy to build true belonging, and why she believes Oberlin's legacy comes most alive through its students. Candid and wide-ranging, the conversation closes with a rallying call to the next generation: trust your gut, don't wait until you feel ready, and know that leadership isn't a title reserved for a certain age. It's something happening all around us, every single day.  🔗 Find out more about Dr. JeffriAnne Wilder. 🌐 Follow the Center on social media: LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram 🌎 Visit Oberlin College's website. Podcast Produced by: Paradigm Media Group

  4. Apr 3

    Leading with Purpose: Libraries, Equity, and Community Power

    In this episode, we speak with Eboni A. Johnson, STEM Librarian and Head of the Science Library at Oberlin College and President of Oberlin City Council, about her unexpected journey from a reluctant prospective student to a leader shaping both campus and community. Eboni reflects on how mentorship, representation, and access to information have defined her path, and how libraries serve as powerful sites for equity and social justice. She also shares her entry into local government, her work advancing housing access and Oberlin’s nationally recognized Social Equity Plan, and what it means to lead with integrity. Grounded in the belief to “do your best and do right by people,” this conversation highlights how leadership can emerge in unexpected ways and how it can create lasting impact. 🔗 Find out more about Dr. JeffriAnne Wilder. 🌎Visit Oberlin College's website. Podcast Produced by: Paradigm Media Group 🔗 Find out more about Dr. JeffriAnne Wilder. 🌐 Follow the Center on social media: LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram 🌎 Visit Oberlin College's website. Podcast Produced by: Paradigm Media Group

  5. Mar 13

    Gen Z, Activism, and Burnout: How One Student Is Redefining Leadership and Home

    In this special Season 3 episode of The North Star, JeffriAnne Wilder PhD welcomes third-year student and Changemakers Fellow Chloe Caldwell, the first student guest and future host of the new Gen Z Edit, to share how Oberlin College has become her “second home” 2,000 miles from Montana. Chloe reflects on choosing Oberlin College for its conservatory and history of progress, the community she found through music, friendship, and leadership, and how the Changemakers Fellowship reshaped her understanding of leadership from status to service. She also discusses her investigative podcast work on town–gown dynamics, why empathy and genuine dialogue are the most pressing needs in both Oberlin and the broader U.S., and how Gen Z’s political coming-of-age amid social media, polarization, and COVID has fueled both urgency for change and a deep insistence on well-being and balance. 🔗 Find out more about Dr. JeffriAnne Wilder. 🌐 Follow the Center on social media: LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram 🌎 Visit Oberlin College's website. Podcast Produced by: Paradigm Media Group

  6. Feb 27

    Making Human Resources Human: Sinaya Surla on Inclusive Excellence, Firsts, and Future-Ready Workplaces

    In this Season 3 episode of The North Star, Dr. JeffriAnne Wilder talks with Sinaya Surla—Oberlin College’s inaugural Human Resources Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion—about what it means to make HR truly human. Sinaya reflects on her journey from Multicultural Resource Center staff member to policy shaper, sharing how seven-generations thinking, employee resource groups, and clearer conflict-resolution pathways are helping center staff voice, equity, and belonging across campus. She also lifts up her doctoral research on writing retreats for women of color and the power of doing “less” as a strategy for sustaining long-term social justice work at Oberlin and beyond. 🔗 Find out more about Dr. JeffriAnne Wilder. 🌐 Follow the Center on social media: LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram 🌎 Visit Oberlin College's website. Podcast Produced by: Paradigm Media Group

  7. Feb 13

    Dr. Alicia Smith-Tran on Imposter Syndrome, Care, and Inclusive Classrooms

    In this Season 3 premiere of The North Star, JeffriAnne Wilder, PhD talks with Alicia Smith-Tran, PhD—Oberlin College alumna, former varsity basketball player, and associate professor of Sociology and Comparative American Studies. Dr. Smith-Tran traces her path from reluctant campus visitor to faculty member dedicated to building classrooms where first-gen and marginalized students belong. She shares research rooted in lived experience and reflects on balancing student support with her own well-being as a scholar and parent. A conversation about carrying Oberlin's legacy of inclusion forward—one story at a time. 🔗 Find out more about Dr. JeffriAnne Wilder. 🌐 Follow the Center on social media: LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram 🌎 Visit Oberlin College's website. Podcast Produced by: Paradigm Media Group

  8. 12/19/2025

    Rooted in Oberlin: Dr. Johnnetta Cole on Building a Lifelong Legacy

    In the season finale of The North Star, JeffriAnne Wilder, Ph.D. sits down with legendary educator, anthropologist, and social justice activist Johnnetta Betsch Cole, Ph.D., Oberlin alumna, former president of Spelman and Bennett Colleges, and past director of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art—for a powerful conversation about a life shaped by Oberlin, sisterhood, and an unwavering commitment to equity. Dr. Cole shares intimate stories of intergenerational Black excellence, from her great-grandfather A. L. Lewis, Florida’s first Black millionaire, to her own path from Fisk to Oberlin, where she discovered anthropology and learned to follow passion over prescription. She offers candid wisdom for today’s students and emerging leaders about being “intellectually naked,” embracing purpose, and treating self-care as political—noting, in conversation with Audre Lorde’s famous words, that neglecting her own health had lifelong consequences even as she helped transform institutions and movements around the world, making her presence as the closing guest of this season all the more profound. 🔗 Find out more about Dr. JeffriAnne Wilder. 🌐 Follow the Center on social media: LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram 🌎 Visit Oberlin College's website. Podcast Produced by: Paradigm Media Group

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About

Welcome to The North Star—a podcast produced by the Oberlin Center for DEI Innovation and Leadership, and a space for candid conversations on leadership, legacy, and navigating complexity.In each episode, we’ll talk with changemakers, scholars, and disruptors who are asking bold questions and reimagining what leadership looks like—in education, in community, and in the world we’re building next.Whether you’re leading a team, building a movement, or just trying to make sense of today’s challenges, The North Star is your companion for reflection, insight, and action.

Information

  • Creator
    JeffriAnne Wilder, Ph.D.
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    24
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The North Star
  • Show Website
    The North Star