By Becca Taurisano<\/p>\n
Photos by Alice G. Patterson<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Dr. Juhanna Rogers is making her dreams come true in Syracuse.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Rogers is the Director of Community Engagement and Empowerment at CenterState CEO. She is also a motivational speaker, activist, and performer, having appeared in \u201cFor Colored Girls\u201d at Auburn Public Theater and acted as a member of the Harriet Tubman Troupe. Her latest project, \u201cBehind the Woman,\u201d is a television series airing this April on WCNY.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
You might call her the next Oprah.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I can do this work for as long as I can, and empower people along the way, that will make my heart very happy,\u201d Rogers said. \u201cI had no idea how this was going to lead me to becoming the next Oprah. In this small town in Central New York, where I have no other connections, every piece of the dream I\u2019ve been talking about since I was [young] has come together.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Rogers wants to use her own success and her own connections to help others achieve their goals.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody doesn\u2019t get the same chances. Everybody\u2019s skills and talents won\u2019t show up the same way,\u201d she said. \u201cIf we provide spaces for people to come to understand what their purpose is and the way they can operate within the realm of their existence, then my job is done.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Great Eight<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n For Rogers, the path began as an Integrative Arts student at Penn State \u2013 Altoona, when she was named the Central Pennsylvania NAACP Woman of the Year Award for her work in the theater. Rogers thought if her theater work could get her noticed, what else could she achieve?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In May of 2016, she graduated with a PhD in higher education from Indiana University\u2019s School of Education. She garnered national attention at the time as one of eight African-American women to be awarded doctorates at the same time from the same school. Getting eight women, especially women of color, to graduate from one college or program at the same time is a rare occurrence, one Rogers described as \u201cdivine intervention.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s an example of how we will be stronger together than we are apart,\u201d she said. Anyone who has been through [the PhD] process will know it is not pretty, it is not glamorous, and it tears your soul apart. You question everything about who you are and how you are formed as a person.\u201d<\/p>\n Rogers pointed out that the process is much more difficult as a woman of color.<\/p>\n \u201cYou are doing that in a predominantly white space with faculty that don\u2019t look like you, that don\u2019t really understand what [it\u2019s like] growing up in an urban environment, or being a first generation college student,\u201d she said. \u201cFor the women that were in the program, the amount of criticism and ridicule and silencing that happened throughout that process, makes you doubt – can you do this, can you finish?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n But the Great Eight, and Rogers herself, were fortunate to have a strong support system throughout the process.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI had a phenomenal group of black female mentors during that time,\u201d she said. \u201cThey provided opportunities to me that other individuals did not. They reassured me that I could struggle through this, because this is not built for us, but you can do it.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n That support pushed Rogers to finish her degree despite the obstacles.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve continuously been a part of this village of women. We must recognize that we have strength in numbers and sometimes it\u2019s hard to find a tribe and the tribe looks different,\u201d she said. \u201cWe want to be in a position to bring our community forward.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n And Rogers was determined to help her community however she could. During the PhD process, Rogers left campus with the blessing of her mentor and \u201cacademic mom\u201d Dr. Robin Hughes and came to Syracuse. She was hired at Southwest Community Center by then-Executive Director (and former SWM cover woman) Sharon Owens, who now serves as deputy mayor of the city of Syracuse.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIn a community like [Syracuse], I understand what it is going to take to help people grow out of the conditions they are in. I can advocate for that,\u201d she said. \u201cI was not trying to do that in a space that didn\u2019t understand. That helped me get back to my dissertation and be able to finish it.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n That\u2019s when the real work began.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u2018Behind the Woman\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Living and working in Syracuse helped Rogers recover from the grueling PhD process and achieve her dreams.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThe universe has aligned here,\u201d she said. \u201cThere is room for me to grow and blossom, so that\u2019s what I\u2019m doing,\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Rogers\u2019 upcoming WCNY television series, \u201cBehind the Woman,\u201d is a manifestation of that healing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThis is a love-heart project,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is about showcasing that there are some brilliant black and brown women here who have things to say. We are more than just our titles. We experience things and feel things. Getting to where we are is not easy.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Rogers created the project because she said she feels called to advocate and empower the community she comes from.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s easy when you have the credentials to climb the ladder. It\u2019s important to me to let the community I come from know that I\u2019m thinking and intentionally working to empower and uplift and advocate for the people who are not sitting around the table,\u201d she said. \u201cIf I can create art to give voice to that experience, or show up to work every day and address the systemic barriers and policies that are keeping people in that place, then that is my job, that is my role. For the women around me that are at the table with me, that is our collective responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Rogers hopes the show will be a spark of inspiration for women who tune in.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to do that in ways that continue to tell stories of people that look like me, of women that look like me,\u201d she said. \u201cI feel like I am called to create spaces to empower disenfranchised people.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Rogers hopes the show will start a conversation about what kind of community Syracuse could be. As a native of Newark, NJ, Rogers sees similarities between her hometown and the city of Syracuse.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhen you come from the urban corners of America as a black person, it\u2019s almost as if there aren\u2019t entrepreneurs, families that have done well, people that are working hard. Where does that narrative continuously come from?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Rogers created Behind the Woman to help shape a different narrative.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Behind the Woman will air in April on WCNY on Tuesday nights at 9 p.m. The series will feature 13 dynamic Central New York women interviewed by Dr. Rogers.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve created a framework for other women to say what they want to say. We will find out what their story is,\u201d she said. \u201cThere is something powerful when humans can sit down and hear someone\u2019s lived experience in a way that is thoughtful and intentional. Regardless of race, color, and gender, we can see the human connectedness.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Committing to yourself<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Rogers\u2019 other important role is as mom to Nile, 14.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHe is such a special being,\u201d Rogers said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Her son was the driving force behind her pursuing graduate school.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHe was my motivation to think about\u2026 my calling,\u201d she said. \u201cI didn\u2019t want him to see me just working. I wanted him to think, \u2018My mom loves her job. I wanted him to know he can pick something that you really love and enjoy doing and pursue it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It was important to her that Nile understand that just because something is expected doesn\u2019t mean that\u2019s the way it\u2019s supposed to be done.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI think to a degree as women, we have these social norms that are chirping at us, this is how it\u2019s supposed to be done,\u201d she said. \u201cThe real source of empowerment, is not to detach from all of them, but we have to take the ones that are really pulling on us and ask ourselves why? Then from there, think about what\u2019s important to you. Some of the things I was able to do was because, during the mothering process, I was in graduate school. [Nile\u2019s] dad has always been there as a supporter. I made this commitment to take time for myself.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n There are many women she has in her life who have empowered her along her journey. These include her mother, Annie Rogers, Deputy Mayor Sharon Owens, her grandmothers Agnes Rogers and Anne Lester, her aunts, The Great Eight, her colleagues at CenterState CEO, Gwen Webber-McLeod of Auburn Public Theater, Nadrea Njoku fellow Great Eight member, and so many more.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cBehind the Woman\u201d is dependent on viewer financial support. If you would like to donate directly to Behind the Woman or nominate a dynamic Central New York woman to be part of Season Two, please visit www.wcny.org\/behindthewoman.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n You can learn more about the ways Dr. Rogers is empowering women at her website juhannarogers.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Becca Taurisano Photos by Alice G. Patterson Dr. Juhanna Rogers is making her dreams come true in Syracuse. Rogers is the Director of Community Engagement and Empowerment at CenterState CEO. She is also a motivational speaker, activist, and performer, having appeared in \u201cFor Colored Girls\u201d at Auburn Public Theater and acted as…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2882,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[100,99],"tags":[1119,1121,1118,1120],"class_list":["post-2881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cover-story","category-featured","tag-behind-the-woman","tag-centerstate-ceo","tag-dr-juhanna-rogers","tag-the-great-eight"],"gutentor_comment":0,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Dr-Juhanna-Rogers-0001-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1709&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3357,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=3357","url_meta":{"origin":2881,"position":0},"title":"Out & About – Coming Soon: Authentic BBQ at Angry Smokehouse","author":"Alyssa Dearborn","date":"October 17, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"By Amisha Kohli Get ready for some un-grill-ievable food \u2014 Jeff Rogers is bringing the flavors of Southern barbecue to the village of Baldwinsville, only a block away from his successful restaurant Angry Garlic. 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