Cultural Competency in Independent Schools: What Leaders Need to Know

Rosetta Lee serves Seattle Girls’ School in dual roles. SGS is an innovative school for Junior High School girls, aiming to empower women leaders and change agents and dedicating its energies to a diverse community of students and faculty, an anti-bias mission, and an integrated curriculum. As a faculty member, Rosetta teaches subjects such as science, math, technology, art, ethics, social justice, and more. As a professional outreach specialist, she designs and delivers training for all constituencies of the school community, as well as the local and national educational and nonprofit sectors.

Since 2004, Rosetta has been a diversity speaker and trainer on a variety of topics, including cross-cultural communication, identity development, implicit and unconscious bias, gender and sexuality diversity, facilitation skills, and bullying in schools. Rosetta has presented at numerous conferences and nonprofit organizations such as the White Privilege Conference, Junior League, and City Year. She has also worked with over 200 K-12 public and independent schools throughout the country, as well as a number of colleges and universities. She has served several years on the faculty of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) Diversity Leadership Institute, as well as NAIS' diversity think-tank cadre, Call to Action.

Rosetta has served as President on the Board of Directors of SMARTgirls, a Director on the Board of the Northwest Association for Biomedical Research (NWABR), Chair of the 2006 Seattle Expanding Your Horizons Conference, Co-Chair of the 2006 NAIS People of Color Conference, Think Tank Member of the 2012 NAIS Annual Conference, and as a trainer/facilitator with the National Coalition Building Institute. Rosetta is the recipient of the 2007 Outstanding Partner in Education Award from the Northwest Association for Biomedical Research and recipient of the 2005 Distinguished Teacher Award for the Washington Federation of Independent Schools.