Ed Gap Evolution

“It’s better just to do it in the moment,” are wise words from kid entrepreneur, Ryann Lucas. She’s a big believer in simply doing the things you don’t want to do “in the moment” instead of allowing nagging tasks to, well, nag you! This is how she maintains her high energy, joy, and success as an entrepreneur.

Throughout this episode, Ryann and her mom, Dr. Tammira Lucas give us the 411 on life as an entrepreneurial family based in Baltimore, MD! Ryann’s dad /Tammira’s husband is an entrepreneur too. 

Dr. Lucas is the co-owner of the largest Black woman-owned coworking space in the United States. She’s also a college professor and co-founded a business called Moms As Entrepreneurs.

If you have children in the Baltimore area, you’ll love hearing about what goes on inside of “Camp Cube” an entrepreneurship camp that Dr. Lucas founded that teaches youth about science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics.

To learn more about Camp Cube visit: https://www.thecubecowork.com/ 

Dr. Lucas Instagram: @thebusinessdr

Ryann’s Instagram: @ryannmlucas

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If you listen to this show on Apple Podcasts, please rate us and leave a review. Your rating and reviews help other people who care about closing America’s education gap find the podcast.

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For advertising inquiries email: Mariah Phillips at  [email protected]

To learn more about the Ed Gap Evolution Podcast visit www.edgapevolution.com

Embrace the evolution, y'all!

According to the CDC, infant mortality rates for 2021 were 541 deaths for every 100,000 births. Now, this may not come off as an eye-brow-raising statistic if we're talking purely math. However, we're talking about human lives. Family members. Our nation's future. 

Up to 42 days after giving birth, more and more Black mamas are losing their lives. Throughout the episode, we take a closer look at startling statistics that inevitably illuminate this crisis. 

These numbers are a call to action, and this episode was created in an effort to stimulate thoughts and conversation in support of solutions.

If you’re a frequent flier here, you know that we normally highlight programs that help children explore that vastness of education beyond the textbook so that we can close America’s education gap together.

Continuing in the spirit of our mission, today’s guest, Ashlee Jaye, is closing the education gap on the birthing process for us adults, and giving you a deeper look into practices and habits around America’s healthcare system for mothers giving birth. 

Ashlee presents food for thought as well as options for creating pregnancy and birthing experiences that are unique to each mother’s personal desires.

To learn more about Birth Class In a Box and to purchase a box, visit: https://birthclassinabox.com/

Instagram: @birthclassinabox 

In this episode we discuss:

• What’s inside of the box and why

Rate The Show and Subscribe 

If you listen to this show on Apple Podcasts, please rate us and leave a review. Your rating and reviews help other people who care about closing America’s education gap find the podcast.

Remember to subscribe to the show on your podcast app so that you get notified when new episodes are released!

For advertising inquiries email: Mariah Phillips at  [email protected]

To learn more about the Ed Gap Evolution Podcast visit www.edgapevolution.com

Embrace the evolution, y'all!

Owning financial assets is a major key to building generational wealth. More specifically, commercial real estate is a lucrative, wealth-building industry that continues to thrive in the U.S. Yet, for people of color, only 28% percent are real estate professionals and less than 4% are working specifically in commercial real estate.

To give you a better idea of the magnitude of wealth that’s possible for emerging professionals of color within commercial real estate, get this: In 2020, despite the economic crises the United States faced due to the coronavirus, the commercial real estate industry continued to grow to a $10.5 trillion industry. Yes, trillion with a “T”.

What better way to build generational wealth within the Black and Latino communities than to normalize an interest in commercial real estate among youth, and create pathways for them to make their real estate dreams a reality!

In this episode of the Ed Gap Evolution Podcast, we speak with Osa Bartholomew. Osa is the Chief Program Officer for the Real Estate Executive Council’s Real Estate Exchange Programs, including The REEX JumpStart Scholars Program.

The REEX JumpStart Scholars Program is a 2-week residential program for youth that focuses on developing a pipeline of high achieving, diverse students (current high school juniors) by providing exposure to the following:

• Entrepreneurship & Commercial Real Estate Fundamentals in “Masterclass” Modules as well as Small Group Cohorts

• Experiential Learning through engaged instruction, site visits, case studies, etc. with other diverse students nationwide

• Engage with CEOs, Founders & Executives in Business & Commercial Real Estate

• Participate in Team University Competitions culminating in a National Competition

Sound like a great starting point for your child to shatter generational wealth barriers and soar? Oh, believe me, it is!

During this episode, we discuss:

• Commercial real estate as a generational wealth pathway

Learn more about The REEX Summer Programs for your student here: https://reexprograms.org/ 

Email: [email protected] 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/real-estate-executive-council-inc/ 

Rate The Show and Subscribe 

If you listen to this show on Apple Podcasts, please rate us and leave a review. Your rating and reviews help other people who care about closing America’s education gap find the podcast.

Remember to subscribe to the show on your podcast app so that you get notified when new episodes are released!

For advertising inquiries email: Mariah Phillips at  [email protected]

To learn more about the Ed Gap Evolution Podcast visit www.edgapevolution.com

Embrace the evolution, y'all!

When a young person knows that their voice matters and exercises their right to speak up and create change, more solutions to humanity’s longstanding and unprecedented issues are discovered and implemented. In this episode of the Ed Gap Evolution Podcast, we speak with the Founder and Executive Director of Black Swan Academy, Samantha Davis. 

Black Swan Academy is a non-profit organization in Washington D.C. that concentrates its efforts on empowering Black youth through Civic Leadership and Engagement.

During her interview, Samantha digs deep to share her own feelings and feelings held by the larger Black community upon learning about Trayvon Martin’s murder in 2012. You’ll also discover how that event led to the creation of Black Swan Academy.

We take a trip through Samantha’s childhood and journey from her hometown of Pittsburgh to Washington D.C.

We discuss topics like:

• Is the government spending enough money on initiatives that uplift Black youth?

If you want to bring Black Swan Academy to your child’s school or donate to the organization visit https://www.blackswanacademy.org/ 

Twitter @BlackSwanAcad

Instagram @blackswanacademy

More information on #PoliceFreeSchools: https://policefreeschools.org/ 

If you listen to this show on Apple Podcasts, please rate the show and leave a review. Your positive rating and reviews help other people who care about closing America’s education gap find the podcast.

Remember to subscribe to the show on your podcast app so that you get notified when new episodes are released!

To learn more about the Ed Gap Evolution Podcast visit www.edgapevolution.com

In this episode, we’re talking to the Vice President of Innovation at CityWorks DC, Lateefah Durant. CityWorks DC is a non-profit venture incubated by CityBridge Education that is launching new and amplifying existing initiatives that reshape education-to-employment pathways for young people in Washington D.C. 

During our talk, Lateefah goes in-depth about Modern Youth Apprenticeship and the importance of every child having access to a high-quality education regardless of their zip code because the outcome of a child’s life depends heavily on their education. 

We explore how Lateefah and the team at CityWorks DC catalyze change by mobilizing employers, educators, and city leaders to create a local, equitable talent pipeline that provides high-wage and high-demand jobs that include young people of color in D.C.   

You’ll also hear about Lateefah’s unique educational experience growing up in Philadelphia, as well as her perspective on being a leader and woman of color throughout her very own trailblazing career.

Listen, share, subscribe, and enjoy.

To learn more about CityWorks DC and CareerWiseDC:

Visit: https://citybridge.org/our-portfolio/cityworks-dc/ 

Instagram: @cityworksdc @careerwisedc

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cityworks-dc/about/ 

To learn more about becoming a business partner of CityWorksDC email Lateefah at: [email protected]  

Make sure you go and subscribe to the podcast now so you never miss an episode. 

If you enjoyed this episode and want to support the Ed Gap Evolution Podcast, you can by subscribing to the show on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts. That way, you will get notified when the next episode is released and you'll never miss an episode!

You can support the podcast by leaving a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or sharing this episode on your social media. Reviews and ratings help more people find and listen to the podcast! This means more children get the resources that they need to thrive.

Embrace the evolution, y'all

www.edgapevolution.com 

There are so many ways for children to learn, but too often, conventional education in America confines students to specific eurocentric writing, reading, and arithmetic methodologies that have proven to be largely ineffective for quite some time now, especially when zooming in on educational experiences of Black and brown children in America.

In this episode, we’re speaking with the founder of the Canady Foundation for The Arts, Marjuan Canady. She is an award-winning Caribbean-American artist, entrepreneur, educator, and literacy advocate.

Marjuan carries us through her personal journey as a storyteller and performer from her childhood, as a native Washingtonian, all the way to the present day. 

We discuss the importance of culturally sound literacy for children of color, and how her series of children's books called “Callaloo Kids” contributes to the dire need for more of it.

Marjuan drops boatloads of wisdom on African American theatre history, the importance of creative arts programs in schools, the grand effect that reading to children has on their overall development as influential members of society, and how the creative arts can play a key role in helping Black and brown children discover who they are and act on it with authenticity and freedom, no matter what career path they choose in the future.

Marjuan has fifteen years of arts education experience, instructing youth from pre-school to college levels. Her original work has been seen at The John F. Kennedy Center, Sesame Street, The Smithsonian, and the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute, to name a few.

So if you’ve been wondering:

• How to teach your child to read

Then you’re going to LOVE this episode because it answers all of those questions and so many more.

If you want to learn more about the Canady Foundation for The Arts visit: www.canadyfoundationarts.org

Instagram: @canadyfoundationarts

Where to access the FREE resources that Marjuan mentions in this episode:

CFA Literacy Guide: https://tinyurl.com/cfaliteracyguide

Artsee Blog: https://www.canadyfoundationarts.org/cfa-blog

If you enjoyed this episode and want to support the podcast, you can!

Simply subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and download your favorite episodes.

If you listen to the show on Apple Podcasts, please rate us and leave a review. Your positive rating and review make it easier for more people to discover the podcast.

Also, when you subscribe, you will get notified when the next episode is released and you'll never miss an episode.

In this episode, we dive into my personal experience with public schools distributing fake grades to students, and what my family did to sound the alarm. It was quite the event.

If you're looking for the resource that I mention in this episode from GreatSchools.org, here it is:

https://www.greatschools.org/gk/common-core-test-guide/

If you enjoyed this episode and want to support the podcast, you can!

Simply subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and download your favorite episodes.

If you listen to the show on Apple Podcasts, please rate us and leave a review. Your positive rating and review make it easier for more people to discover the podcast.

 Also, when you subscribe, you will get notified when the next episode is released and you'll never miss an episode.

To learn more about the Ed Gap Evolution Podcast and to support our work, please visit www.edgapevolution.com 

In this episode of the Ed Gap Evolution Podcast we’re speaking with high school students Sydney McPherson and Kevin Kim about America’s tech gap that continues to prevent so many of America’s children from receiving a quality education, thus widening the Education Gap.

Sydney and Kevin are the perfect people to speak on this topic because not only are they students who currently attend public school in the U.S., but Sydney founded a non-profit called Tech Neutrality.

According to Sydney: Since the coronavirus outbreak, she had an excessive amount of time to be reminded of the severe inequities in the education system. She recognized the tremendous privilege that she had merely because she had access to a computer.

So, she created Tech Neutrality: A nonprofit organization that helps students who need computers in order to successfully finish school, get them.

With the Delta variant looming over the 2021- 2022 school year, there is no better time than now to listen to this episode. We’re talking:

• Why all students need access to working computers and why that’s (surprisingly)  not an easy task to accomplish even if computers are available

• How they thought COVID-19 was going to affect their lives v. how it actually did

• What it takes to start and operate and non-profit as a student

• The many ways in which not having a computer in this day and age can negatively impact the trajectory of a child's entire lives

• And much more

If you want to learn more about Tech Neutrality and donate visit: https://www.techneutralitynow.org/

Instagram: @techneutralitynow

If you enjoyed this episode and want to support the podcast, you can!

Simply subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and download your favorite episodes.

If you listen to the show on Apple Podcasts, please rate us and leave a review. Your positive rating and review make it easier for more people to discover the podcast.

 Also, when you subscribe, you will get notified when the next episode is released and you'll never miss an episode.

To learn more about the Ed Gap Evolution Podcast and to support our work, please visit www.edgapevolution.com 

In this episode of the Ed Gap Evolution podcast, we are speaking with ceramics artist and creative art therapist (LCAT-LP), Nala Turner. And if you’re wondering what a creative art therapist is, then listen to this episode now to find out!

Nala is a Lead Art Therapist working with youth at The Animation Project (TAP). 

The Animation Projects is a non-profit therapeutic workforce development program unlocking the professional and creative door for NYC young people with drive and animation talent. The organization develops New York City youth for the local animation industry through software training and prepares them with personal and professional development.

TAP’s youth have gone on to work with companies like Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Blue Sky Studios, Dreamworks, and HBO, to name a few. 

Throughout the episode, we discuss:

• The four main 3D animation programs that TAP offers

You’ll also learn about Nala’s online ceramics store Carlynne Ceramics, and get the scoop on a FREE, ceramics class that Nala leads at Artshack Brooklyn called “Intro To Wheels for POC Teens”. 

To learn more about The Animation Project, Artshack Brooklyn, and Carlynne Ceramics visit

The Animation Project: 

https://www.theanimationproject.org 

Carlynne Ceramics:

https://carlynneceramics.com 

Artshack Brooklyn:

https://www.artshackbrooklyn.org

To attend “Intro To Wheels for POC Teens” visit: 

https://bit.ly/37bqjfN

If you enjoyed this episode and want to support the podcast, you can!

Simply subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and download your favorite episodes.

If you listen to the show on Apple Podcasts, please rate us and leave a review. Your positive rating and review make it easier for more people to discover the podcast.

 Also, when you subscribe, you will get notified when the next episode is released and you'll never miss an episode.

To learn more about the Ed Gap Evolution Podcast and to support our work, please visit www.edgapevolution.com 

Thank you! :)

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Embrace the evolution, y'all!