Tamika L. Butler Esq kicks off the first Hyde Lecture of the Season

The College of Architecture and co-host Bike Walk Nebraska are excited to announce renowned equity, environmental and racial justice advocate Tamika L. Butler Esq., founder and principal of Tamika L. Butler Consulting, LLC, will be giving the first Hyde lecture of the season titled “What Now? Transportation and What It Means Today” at 4 p.m., October 2 via Zoom. https://unl.zoom.us/j/96490232860.

For Butler’s lecture, through personal stories and recent data she will talk about some of the pervasive fears in the Black community. As the transportation industry faces hard truths about its contributions to systemic oppression. Butler will provide concrete tips on taking action towards being anti-racist and call for change at the personal and institutional level.

Butler is a national expert and speaker on issues related to the built environment, equity, anti-racism, diversity and inclusion, organizational behavior and change management. From speaking to training, Butler has worked with a myriad of clients. As the principal and founder of Tamika L. Butler Consulting, she focuses on shining a light on inequality, inequity and social justice. She provides consulting, training, coaching and public speaking for a wide range of organizations in the public and private sectors.

Most recently, she was the California planning director and director of equity and inclusion at Toole Design. Previously, Butler served as the executive director of the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust, a non-profit organization that addresses social and racial equity and wellness issues by building parks and gardens in park-poor communities across greater Los Angeles. Butler has a diverse background in law, community organizing and nonprofit leadership. Recently, she was the executive director of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition (LACBC). Prior to leading LACBC, Butler was the director of Social Change Strategies at Liberty Hill Foundation, and she worked at Young Invincibles as the California director.

She transitioned to policy work after litigating for three years as an employment lawyer at Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center. Butler currently serves as the institute co-director of the New Leaders Council – Los Angeles and is a board member of both Lambda Literary Foundation and T.R.U.S.T. South Los Angeles and advisory board member for the Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center’s Fair Play for Girls in Sports program. Butler previously served as the co-chair of the National Center for Lesbian Rights Board of Directors.

Butler received her J.D. from Stanford Law School and received her B.A. in Psychology and B.S in Sociology from Creighton University.

This presentation is part of the College of Architecture’s 2020-2021 Hyde Lecture Series featuring speakers from across disciplines that are united under the common theme of “Building Justice- Design and Planning for a Just Society.”

The college’s Hyde Lecture Series is a long-standing, endowed, public program. Each year the college hosts compelling speakers in the fields of architecture, interior design, landscape architecture and planning that enrich the ongoing dialog around agendas which are paramount to the design disciplines and our graduates.