A Reflection by Rhonda Talford Knight ’96, Ph.D.
RHONDA TALFORD KNIGHT ’96, Ph.D. CEO, Knight Consulting Group
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Rhonda Talford Knight ’96 is the president and founder of The Knight Consulting Group, LLC, and has traveled nationally and internationally sharing her work on creating culturally responsive communities that drive change for a positive impact on businesses and those they serve. She previously served as vice president and inclusion manager at Huntington National Bank, where she worked on increasing workforce diversity, workplace inclusion, and community engagement. She was awarded the 2019 Pacesetter Award at the Otterbein Alumni Awards Gala last spring.
OTTERBEIN TOWERS FALL/WINTER 2019
The idea that my alma mater would
have hidden truths to unveil or a storied history is not something I would initially think. At least on the surface and at the heart of Otterbein, I came to understand that the faculty and staff had an unwavering commitment to me as a student while knowing I was a student of color. While I understood my racial identity was a piece of who I was when I walked into the room, during my experience at Otterbein, I never felt hindered by being an AfricanAmerican woman at a predominately white institution (PWI) of higher learning. Furthermore, my narrative was grounded in the understanding that institutional racism and hierarchical systems existed, which meant I walked into spaces with my eyes wide open and the desire to understand and be understood. However, not everyone understands that about themselves or sees the “other” this
