Identity Talk 4 Educators LIVE

In this episode, I had the honor of interviewing Christina Rodriguez to learn about her journey in education, her Nicaraguan upbringing, life as a Latina in academia, the founding of Latinas with Masters, and so much more!  To learn more about Christina's work, you can visit the Latinas with Masters website at latinaswithmasters.com and/or you can follow her on Instagram (@latinaswithmasters) and Twitter (@latinaswmasters).  

BIO: Christina V. Rodriguez is a first-generation Nicaraguan-American Latina with a multi-cultural and equity-minded mindset with a commitment in creating equitable opportunities for Women of Color in Business, Housing and Academia. Christina received her Bachelor's degree in Latino/a Studies from San Francisco State University and went on to receive her Master's degree (MBA) with an emphasis in Marketing at Notre Dame de Namur University.   She is a currently pursuing her doctorate in Educational Leadership and provides 15+ years of marketing experience in the San Francisco Bay Area. When Christina is not working on Latinas with Masters or doing research for her dissertation, she enjoys spending quality time with her husband and two children, including their family dog Frijol.

In this episode, I had the pleasure of welcoming my good friend Lizette Roman to the podcast to share her educator journey, as well as engage in a conversation about engaging our emerging bilingual learners in a culturally responsive manner within the classroom.  She also shares how growing up as a first-generation Cuban-American has shaped her development as an educator.  To learn more about Lizette's work, you can follow her on Instagram (@educating_with_love) and Twitter (@lizetteRoman13).   

BIO: Lizette Roman is a certified bilingual educator in one of the most heavily integrated school districts on Long Island, NY. The need for specialized, actionable teaching methodologies that can be implemented into the classroom became a pressing need, in order to effectively teach & connect with her students.  Her classroom environment has been created so all students feel and know they are respected and that their individual needs will be met. Walking into her bilingual classroom, Lizette finds a variety of flexible seating arrangements, evident Sheltered Instruction Operation Protocol strategies & planning, differentiated instruction, flipped classroom & student lead 21st century lessons infused with technology!  In addition to teaching her students the material necessary to progress through their studies, she also works to equip them with life skills that challenge many children of non-English speaking parents. She teaches them how to set goals for themselves, bring in a financial advisor to teach students about financial awareness, teach students how to handle conflict-resolution & to listen like a diplomat!  Lizette also works to help advocate for parents by regularly meeting with them, speaking with them on the phone, to connect them to community resources for things like legal advice, or helping them communicate with medical professionals on behalf of their children. She strives to help them advocate for their children in the classroom which includes making suggestions on how to better help their children meet their individual needs, how to prioritize goals & setting them up for success with proper study skills & organization skills.  Her main focus as a teacher is to build up her students & teach them self-love, providing them with the social & emotional confidence so they can feel confident in their ability in the classroom. It’s from this place that Educating With Love was born.  Lizette believes, with the right tools, teachers can do the same for their students. As both a speaker & consultant she is available to come to your educational facility or education conference to teach others how to implement these practices and strategies into their classroom. The goal of Educating With Love is to empower teachers to reach & teach their students with new confidence.

In this episode, I had the special honor of interviewing Britt Hawthorne to learn more about her educator journey, life as an antiracist momma, and her new book, "Raising Antiracist Children: A Practical Parenting Guide".  To learn more about Britt's work, you can visit her website at britthawthrone.com or follow her on Facebook & Instagram (@britthawthorne).   

BIO: Britt Hawthorne (she/they) is an antiracist educator, teacher, speaker, visionary, and advocate. She is the current PBS Children’s Media and Education- Educator and Community Engagement: Antiracist and Anti-bias Consultant and Advisor. She also serves on the Association Montessori International/USA Human Rights and Social Justice Committee and works with the Sankofa Learning Center, an African-centered learning ecosystem, in New Haven, Connecticut.  

She is committed to raising a generation of antiracist children by centering families of the global majority and fostering equitable learning environments for students and children of all ages and backgrounds. Britt’s work moves the idea of equity in education from a goal to reality. She partners with action-orientated educators to create classroom environments that are inclusive and equitable for all learners.  Britt was an antiracist educator in the classroom but was pushed out of teaching when her two Black sons experienced educational racism. Now, as an anti-racist facilitator, she creates spaces where the intersection of education and social justice may be explored. Her honest and inspiring journey to create space, documented on Instagram, has since garnered over 100k engaged readers as well as a deeply committed online community.

In this episode, I had the honor of welcoming April Boyce to the podcast for a deep dive into the significant impact of ableism at both the K-12 and higher  education level.  To learn more about April's work, you can visit the Beyond Inclusion website at gobeyondinclusion.org or follow her on Instagram (@gobeyondinclusion) and Tiktok (@ms.april_) 

BIO: April Boyce is a doctoral student and researcher based in Seattle, WA.  She has been in the field of education for over ten years,  serving as an early childhood educator, K-5 accessibility specialist, and adjunct professor for racial equity coursework.  After working with students with disabilities, she became increasingly frustrated with the inequities and injustices my students faced within the education system. She began advocating for anti-racist and anti-ableist education through social media but was distracted by the noise of those not yet ready to engage in this work. April sensed the urgency to continue professional learning at a deeper level, so she created Beyond Inclusion to reach educators that are open to the possibilities of a more equitable education system.  

April's goal for Beyond Inclusion is to engage anti-racist/anti-ableist educators through learning opportunities that enable them with the skills to liberate every child. They welcome all teachers, specialists, and administrators at every stage of the journey to become more anti-racist/anti-ableist professionals.  This is a space for educators to build connection, engage in the process of inquiry, and empower one another to reflect and transform our own practice and school communities. Through our collective work, she knows that meaningful change can be made in education.

In this episode, I welcomed Dr. Qiana O'Leary to the podcast for a conversation about her personal journey in education, the founding of Minty Educational Services, the impact of Black women in educational leadership, and much more!  To learn more about Dr. O'Leary's work, you can visit the Minty Educational Services website at minty-es.org or follow her on Instagram (@mintyes20).    

BIO: Dr. Qiana O'Leary is an Assistant Professor for the Texas A&M University System and the co-founder of Minty Educational Services, a former administrator for charters and public schools, and a Social Justice educator. She co-created and produced a web series highlighting the success of Black Educators teaching unique and creative lessons for students called BlackademX.  Dr. O’Leary is dedicated to transforming schools by mentoring school leaders as they examine issues of equity, inclusion, and racism in their effort of becoming agents of radical school reform.

In this episode, I had the honor of chatting with teacher-librarian extraordinaire Julia E. Torres about her personal journey in education, her evolution in librarianship, the current banned books controversy impacting schools during the pandemic, and so much more!  To learn more about Julia's work, you can visit her website at juliaetorres.com and you can also follow her on Instagram & Twitter (@juliaerin80).  

BIO: Julia E. Torres is a veteran language arts teacher and librarian in Denver Public schools.  She is a teacher/activist committed to education as a practice of freedom. Her practice is grounded in the work of empowering students to use Language Arts to fuel transformative resistance and social progress. Julia has been awarded the 2020 NCTE Colorado Affiliate Teacher of Excellence award chosen as a 2020 Library Journal Mover and Shaker, and serves educators as a member of the ALAN (Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of NCTE) Board of Directors, Educolor Collective Steering Committee member, Book Love Foundation Board Member and Co-founder of #DisruptTexts. Through her work with The Educator Collaborative, and other organizations, Julia facilitates workshops and professional conversations about anti-bias/anti-racist education, social justice, and culturally sustaining pedagogies in Language Arts, as well as digital literacy and librarianship. Her work has been featured in several publications including NCTE’s Council Chronicle, NPR, AlJazeera’s The Stream, PBS Education, KQED’s MindShift, NY Times Learning Network, The Chicago Tribune, ASCD’s Education Update, Rethinking Schools, School Library Journal, and many more. Her forthcoming co-authored title Liven Up Your Library will be published by ISTE in 2022.

LINKS:  

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/identitytalk4educatorslive/  

Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/identity-talk-4-educators-live/id1509599570

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/23k0HRkXxi1OJSahtqS7xO  

Google Podcasts - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy8xMDNjZGQ2Yy9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw?sa=X&ved=0CAMQ4aUDahcKEwiA6NSi6rT1AhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAQ&hl=en

Anchor - https://anchor.fm/identitytalk4educators

In this episode, I had the honor of welcoming long-time education leader Dr. Ian Buchanan to the podcast to share his personal journey in education, his process for developing strong leaders through his company The Nia Education Group, his perspective on the current state of educational leadership during COVID-19, and so much more!  To learn more about Dr. Ian's work, you can visit his company's website at niaeducationgroup.org and/or follow him on Twitter (@docianbuchanan).  

BIO: Dr. Ian Buchanan, President/CEO of Nia Education Group, has committed almost three decades in service of students, organizations, families and communities. “Dr. Ian” has an impressively broad range of leadership, coaching, teaching and professional development experiences. His work has primarily been in the sectors below:  - Traditional Public School District Leadership (St. Louis Region) - Public (Portfolio) Charter District Leadership (Achievement School District-Tennessee) - Informal Science Education Leadership (National Science Foundation, St. Louis Science Center) - Education Nonprofit Leadership (Teach For America-St. Louis, Inspire STL) - Higher Education Administration (Harris-Stowe State University) - Adult Basic Education  (The School of University City – Adult Education Program) - Board Leadership (Jamaa Academy, IamESTL Foundation)  Capacity-building is a skill, passion and gift for Dr. Ian. This commitment to capacity-building is driven by two guiding principles. The first guiding principle is “To whom much is given, much is required.” Ian recognizes his level of access, opportunity and capital. He leverages that and decades of experience, technical skills and passion for change to help individuals and organizations reach their fullest potential.  The second principle that undergirds the work at Nia Education Group is the West African concept, ubuntu. Loosely translated, in means, “I am because we are.” Nia Education Group understands that we can only achieve transformative change if we embrace a commitment to a collective responsibility. We do our work with the belief that our commitment to our clients will translate into structural and systemic change.

In this episode, I had the chance to chat with Jessica Wei Huang and learn about her personal journey in education, her socialization process as an Asian-American, the current state of anti-AAPI racism internationally, the dire need for cross-racial and cross-ethnic solidarity during the pandemic, and so much more.  To learn more about Jessica's work, you can visit her website at jessicaweihuang.com or follow her on Instagram and Twitter (@huangjaz).  

BIO: Jessica Wei Huang has eighteen years of combined teaching and leadership experience. She believes that facilitating cross-cultural and diverse conversations around personal identity, cultural difference, and systemic inequities is a powerful way to build community and understanding in educational settings in order to drive systemic and dynamic change in school settings. She has co-facilitated professional development for school districts and non-profits in creating and sustaining a culture of equity and anti-racism and is also a certified coach for ACSA (Association of CA School Administrators). She is currently based out of Singapore.  

LINKS:  

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/identitytal...  

Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/23k0HRk...  

Google Podcasts - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0...

Anchor - https://anchor.fm/identitytalk4educators