The Diversity Lecture Series Presents: A Conversation with Dr. Doreen Harden-Cato
Posted on: Feb, 2, 2022
Join Grays Harbor College on Zoom on Thursday, February 24 at 1:00 pm for the Diversity Lecture Series. This month’s lecture will feature a conversation with Dr. Doreen Harden-Cato, a world-renowned educator, advocate, and leader.
Dr. Harden-Cato will share her life experiences that include growing up during the Jim Crow era, being trapped during the 1967 Detroit Riots, and marching with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as well as her life and work as the founder and executive director of Grays Harbor Youth Works.
This installment of the Diversity Lecture Series is funded through a grant from TwinStar Credit Union and will take place on Zoom. Members of the community are welcome and admission is free.
About Dr. Harden-Cato
Dr. Harden-Cato has 45 years of experience in the fields of education, nonprofit management, fundraising, and organizational and community development. Dr. Harden-Cato received her Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Seattle University and also holds an honorary Ph.D. in Humanities from Saybrook University. She has been recognized locally and internationally for her advocacy in education and housing, as well as her work with children, women, and poverty-stricken families in Detroit, Seattle, Kenya and Ethiopia.
Dr. Harden-Cato has served as a K-12 educator in Inkster and Detroit. She has been a faculty member at the Leadership Institute of Seattle and an adjunct professor at Antioch University Seattle, City University, and Western Washington University. Dr. Harden-Cato was appointed to State and County commissions by three Governors and King County executives. She served as the Executive Director and Principal of First Place, a free private school for homeless and low-income families for 15 years, and helped to establish an Early Learning Center in Meliyu, Ethiopia.
During her retirement, Dr. Harden-Cato relocated to Grays Harbor County where she founded Grays Harbor Youth Works, a nonprofit and internship program for high school students in Grays Harbor County. She was later elected to the North Beach School District Board of Directors and served for three years. In 2019, Dr. Harden-Cato retired from Grays Harbor Youth Works.
While Dr. Harden-Cato has achieved numerous accolades throughout her career, she believes that her greatest accomplishments are her children, Barron and Christina, and her grandchildren, Mya and Benjamin.