FORT LAUDERDALE — Urging South Florida residents to avoid voting blindly in November, the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center in Fort Lauderdale is recommending that before going to the ballot box voters take a side trip to the library’s fall lecture series titled: Engaged Voters: Making Sure Your Vote Counts.
Each of the eight lectures beginning Sept. 8 will feature a seminar, panel discussion and Q&A, and light refreshments will be served at the free events, the organizers say.
The increasingly heated issue of immigration kicks off the series, 1 – 3 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 8. A panel of immigration attorneys and Nova Southeastern University professors will break down current immigration laws and explain how subtle changes can have a major impact on society.
The moderator of the forum is attorney Sherna G. Spencer, a graduate of the University of Miami School of Law. Through her law office in Fort Lauderdale, she serves clients in the areas of U.S. Immigration and Nationality Law, as well as family law, real estate law and corporate law. She is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the Caribbean Bar Association and the Caribbean American Political Action Committee.
The forum panelist include:
Sharon A. Brown, Esq., founding partner and supervising attorney of Access USA Lawyer. A recipient of the Ford Foundation Fellowship, Brown earned her LL.M., in International Law from the University of Miami Law School, and Juris Doctor from St. Thomas University School of Law in Miami, is licensed to practice in Florida, and in more than 18 years of practice has handled a wide range of immigration law cases. Her current practice is exclusively in the area of U.S. Immigration law. Prior to starting Access USA Lawyer, Brown served as administrator of the Haitian Refugee Center in Miami. Each month Brown travels to Accra, Ghana to work in an affiliated agency, ACCESS USA. In this office she assists clients from all over Africa to prepare the I-601 and I-212 waivers in addition to preparing them for consular processing interviews, and attends embassy interviews with clients in Africa.
Gary Gershman is an associate professor of Legal Studies and History, and current chair of the Legal Studies program at the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences at Nova Southeastern. He holds a law degree from Villanova School of Law and a Masters and Ph.D. in history from Duke University, and teaches classes in American history, government, constitutional law and history, and Genocide and the Holocaust. Gershman has authored two books, Death Penalty on Trial: A Handbook with Cases, Law and Documents, and The Legislative Branch of Federal Government: People, Politics and Process.
E. Gordon Rogers is an immigration attorney with more than 19 years of experience. From Panama, he is both a native Spanish and English speaker and also fluent in French. He is licensed before the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, the U.S. District Courts of the Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas, and the Arkansas State Courts. He has conducted a nationwide immigration practice and has represented clients before more than 12 different immigration courts and many USCIS offices. He has also successfully appealed cases to the Board of Immigration Appeals. His representation has extended to consular representation and representation of clients with the U.S. State Department.
Timothy W. Dixon, associate Professor of History and Legal Studies in the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences at Nova Southeastern, graduated from the University of the Pacific in Stockton, Calif., in 1972, with majors in History and Speech. He obtained a J.D. at Santa Clara University School of Law in 1975. After practicing law for over a decade he returned to school, obtaining an M.A. in History from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala. His fields of study were American history and politics, Asian history, and Middle Eastern history. Professor Dixon has designed courses in Asian history, the history of terrorism, history of American immigration, modern Middle East history, and World history. In the field of legal studies he offers courses in legal practice skills, including legal research and trial technique. His areas of expertise include American government, politics and foreign affairs, as well as global issues. He has co-authored two books, one a history of federal courts in Alabama, the other a history of the Alabama Supreme Court.
For more information contact svinik@broward.org or 954-357-6190.
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