Identity Talk 4 Educators LIVE

In this episode, I’m honored to welcome my good friend Angela Broadus to the podcast to share her personal journey in education, her life as a first-generation Ghanaian immigrant, the need for school districts to emphasize Science education in K-12 schools, and so much more! To learn more about Angela’s work, you can visit her website at sciencewithmrsbroadus.com or follow her on Instagram (@ang.broadus) & Twitter (@angelabroadus6)

BIO:

Outside of her roles within PGCPS, she is also a teacherpreneur who creates interactive, engaging, tech enhanced Science activities/lessons for educators. Through her business and services, she hopes to equip and empower educators to create resources that engage students in Science and increase student achievement. Angela was recently featured in her local ABC 7 News for creating Science video lessons to close the distance learning digital divide for PGCPS students.

In this episode, I'm honored to have Patricia Bebe on the podcast to share her personal journey in education, the inspiration behind the founding of LearninginHues, the actionable steps that teachers can take to engage in activism and civic engagement, and so much more!  To learn more about Patricia's work, you can visit her website at learninginhues.com or you can connect with her on Instagram (@learning_inhues).  

BIO: Patricia Bebe is the founder & CEO of LearninginHues and a 4th grade teacher at Lake Silver Elementary who graduated from the University of Florida with her bachelors in English Literature. She then went on to complete her masters in Elementary Education. Currently she is working on customizing and designing diversified classroom decor and materials that is representative of every student.   Having filled a myriad of educator roles for over 12 years through being a camp counselor, children’s choir director, director of bible studies for children, mentor, tutor, and volunteer; Patricia has gained firsthand insight as to what children require to learn.   

When not in the classroom, she is in her and her student’s communities, partnering with local non-profit organizations which advocate for equal opportunities for minorities, urban youth, anti gun-violence, and social activism; working relentlessly to aide those who are oppressed and disadvantaged to find their voice and power to make changes in their community.    

In her spare time, Patricia travels the world to not only have some fun in the sun, but to conduct service in other countries; and to bring the experiences and knowledge that she has gained back into her classroom and back into the good fight that she is fighting each day to make the world any even better place.

In this episode, I welcome high school history teacher and adjunct professor Ben Bruhn to the podcast to share his personal journey in education, his insights on the current state of social studies education, and the current gaps that exist in teacher education.  To learn more about Ben's work, you can follow him on LinkedIn and on Instagram with the handle @ben.bruhn.  

BIO: Ben Bruhn is a high school social studies, AVID, and credit recovery teacher at St. Helens High School in St. Helens, Oregon. He is also an adjunct instructor at Portland State University where he coteaches the social studies methods courses to future teachers. He grew up in Seattle and did community development work around the USA and overseas before earning his MAT at the University of Washington in 2012 with endorsements in social studies, language arts, and ESOL. He is a National Board Certified Teacher who has worked in a wide range of school settings. He has earned his administrative license and is in the process of completing a Master of Science in Ed. from Portland State University. His desire to help bridge cultural divides and his love for collaboration drives him to engage with all levels of the educational community to foster and advocate for student-centered engagement.  

Currently, he is co-leading a grassroots effort in his district to establish a collective vision and infrastructure for equity with a specific focus on antiracist work. He is also on the national leadership team of Teachers for Good Trouble, which is a group of passionate educators focused on reforming learning environments to build safe, nurturing, and justice driven academic communities, by advocating for legislation, policies, and resources that center the well being of students, teachers, and learning communities. He lives outside of Portland, Oregon with his wife and two kids.

In this episode, I'm honored to welcome Vennieta Grant to the podcast to share her personal journey in education, her thoughts on the current state of teacher education, her role as an AVID coordinator in her school district, and much more!  To learn more about Vennieta's work, you can visit her website at linktr.ee/loveteachrepeat or you can follow her on Instagram with the handle @loveteachrepeat. 

BIO: Vennieta Grant is an 8th grade English teacher at Cesar Chavez Middle School in Lynwood, California. In addition to teaching, she is an AVID coordinator, a curriculum writer, a social justice advocate, and a Lead Teacher for the CSI3 Teacher Education program at California State University Dominguez Hills. Vennieta often vaunts that through her work as an educator, she has truly found her passion and life's purpose. She enjoys spending time with her family and friends, impromptu game nights, brunch, traveling abroad, and ridiculously spoiling her three fur babies; Sam, Rebel, and Leo.

In this episode, I'm honored to have the dynamic father-daughter duo of Eva Jean-Charles and Jamaal Thomas from Black on Black Education come on the podcast to talk about their special relationship as father & daughter, the founding of Black on Black Education, their evolving relationship as business partners, and much more!  To learn more about the work of Black on Black Education, you can visit their website at blackonblackeducation.com or you can follow them on Instagram with the handle @blackonblacked.  

BIO: Evalaurene Jean-Charles is the founder of Black on Black Education, an education consulting firm dedicated to bridging the gap between the education Black students are getting and the one they deserve by providing educators with the tools to become change agents in the lives of their students. Although their content intends to be catered to the Black community, they are calling for allies in their quest to re-imagine and redefine what a high-quality education means for this community. She recently graduated from the CUNY Baccalaureate for Unique and Interdisciplinary Studies program where she studied the sociology of educational inequity and social justice in underserved communities. She also recently started working as a special education teacher in the South Bronx through Teach for America.  

Jamaal Thomas is a serial entrepreneur who has long had a passion for transforming our education system.  A budding futurist who is dedicated to being a part of radical systemic and institutional change in order to create a more fair and sustainable future for all.  He is the proud father to Black on Black  Education’s CEO, Evalaurene Jean-Charles, and looking forward to helping her create an organization that develops and curates the tools that will help offer our communities education outcomes equal to those in communities with significantly more resources.

In this episode, we're going INTERNATIONAL with special guest Dr. Roy Pope. In our conversation, he shares about his personal journey in education, life as an international educator in Dubai, the inspiration behind the founding of EdGuru, and so much more!  To learn more about EdGuru, you can visit the company website at edguru.co or you can follow the company on Facebook & Instagram (@edguruedge).  If you're an international teacher who's currently abroad or an educator who has aspirations of teaching abroad, you don't want to miss this episode!  

BIO:  Dr. Roy Pope has served as a teacher, coach, college professor, and school administrator in the United States and the United Arab Emirates for more than two decades. Dr. Pope is the author of "9 Ways to Increase Student Achievement and School Success."  He is also the founder and CEO of EdGuru, a multilingual one-stop shop for parents, educators, and other professionals.  As a leader in education, Dr. Roy has been honored as Principal of the Year, the City Councils’ Outstanding Citizen, and the City’s Star Principal. He has also received the Martin Luther King, Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award and hosted former FLOTUS Michelle Obama as the guest speaker during her Let’s Move Initiative.  When Dr. Roy is not working on EdGuru, he enjoys traveling with his wife,  reading, and watching documentaries. Dr. Pope is a fervent educator and a lifelong learner with a zeal for motivating others to succeed and achieve their goals!

In this episode, I'm honored to have Dr. Courtney Rose on the podcast to talk about her personal journey in education, the state of black women in academia, the actions that institutions of higher learning can take to decolonize their teacher education programs, and much more!  To learn more about Dr. Rose's work, you can visit her website at ivyroseconsulting.com or you can follow her on Instagram & Twitter with the handle @drcourtneyrose.   

BIO: Dr. Courtney Rose is the Founder of Ivy Rose Consulting. Dr. Rose earned a doctorate in Curriculum & Teaching from Teachers College, Columbia University, a master's in Human Development and Psychology from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a Bachelors in Elementary Education from the University of Florida. Prior to beginning her doctoral studies, Dr. Rose taught Math & Science for three years in the Duval County Public School system in Jacksonville, FL (two years of which were completed during her commitment as a Teach for America corps member). During her years in Jacksonville, she also spent two summers working as a Corps Member Advisor, helping to develop incoming Teach for America Corps members working with a team to prepare and facilitate various professional development experiences.   Currently, her research and work interests include the development and implementation of innovative approaches to social justice-oriented critical and culturally relevant instructional practices and curricular designs, including recent developments in the area of Hip-Hop Education. Her student-centered approach to teacher education and development aims to provide teachers with new tools and understandings on how to incorporate youth culture into curriculum and instruction to better engage students in academic content and facilitate discussions rooted in issues of diversity and social justice.

In this episode, I welcome Rachel Deleveaux to the podcast to talk about her personal journey in education, her doctoral research on the impact that predominantly white schools have on Black identity development and how after school programs can serve as a tool to build self-efficacy in Black children who are in those environments.  If you would like to learn more about Rachel's work, you can visit her website at veauxinitiatives.club or follow her on Instagram at @iamracheldeleveaux.   

BIO: Rachel Deleveaux, a Cambridge native, became passionate about developing clearer and more equitable pathways to college while attending the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. The personal experience of systemic challenges became the catalyst for grassroots organizing, advocacy, and later student government involvement.   Following her tenure at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Ms. Deleveaux obtained her master's degree in Higher Education Administration from Suffolk University.  Currently, she is pursuing a doctorate in Education with a concentration in Curriculum, Teaching Learning and Leadership at Northeastern University.  

Professionally, Rachel has spent over a decade leading high-level operations, strategic planning, and developing sustainable systems that foster successful student outcomes.  Rachel is committed to eliminating systemic barriers that perpetuate gaps in achievement for marginalized students. Ms. Deleveaux has made a significant impact as a leader, consultant, volunteer, and advocate for many organizations and institutions across the United States, leveraging numerous relationships with both academic, and corporate organizations to achieve aggressive growth and development.  Ms. Deleveaux's specialties Include Strategic planning, business expansion, talent management, leadership development, team building, recruiting, training, project management, cultural competency development, grant writing, and public speaking.

In this episode, I had the honor of interviewing the one and only Dr. Nadia Lopez and we discussed everything from her career in education, her personal self-care journey, and everything in between!  THIS episode is one that you definitely want to bring your notebook for!  So many gems dropped throughout this conversation!  To learn more about Dr. Lopez, you can visit her website at thelopezeffect.com or follow her on Instagram & Twitter with the handle @thelopezeffect.   

BIO: Dr. Nadia Lopez is an award-winning, globally recognized thought-leader in education, who opened a school to close a prison. At an early age, she was taught the importance of utilizing education as a tool to solve social issues impacting our society. This served as one of the reasons why, in 2010, she opened Mott Hall Bridges Academy, a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics) focused school, located in Brownsville.  The media often depicts this New York City neighborhood as poor and violent, but rarely do they focus on who and what has caused the inequities directly responsible for the school-to-prison pipeline that exists in this community. Despite its major challenges, Dr. Lopez had the vision to change the narrative by proving that the children of Brownsville are brilliant and have value in this world. 

In 2015, one of her scholars, Vidal Chastenet was asked by Brandon Stanton, the founder of Humans of New York, who was his greatest influence, and he said, “My Principal, Ms. Lopez…” The post went viral, generating $1.4 million in donations to provide scholarships for college, summer enrichment programs, and the opportunity to visit universities that include an annual trip to Harvard University. This led to a meeting with President Barack Obama at the White House, an interview by Ellen Degeneres, and features within the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Essence, Ebony, Black Enterprise, EduWeek, and Glamour Magazine to name a few.   This transformative work has led to Dr. Lopez’s selection as the 2019 LinkedIn Top 10 Voices in Education; 2016 Global Teacher Prize Top 50 Finalists; best selling author of The Bridge to Brilliance and Teaching in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. 

She is an international speaker who has presented keynotes at conferences such as ISTE, ILA, ASCD, and NCEA, in addition to delivering TED Talk on the Education Revolution with over 1 million views. Her most notable awards include the Barnard College Medal of Distinction, Black Girls Rock Change Agent Award received alongside former First Lady Michelle Obama, Ebony Top 100 Award, Nelson Mandela Humanitarian Award, and TV One’s 2019 Education Maverick Award.    Transitioning from the role of a school administrator after recovering from stress-induced illnesses, Dr. Lopez continues to speak internationally, consults with companies to develop strategic partnerships, as well as supporting leaders through 1:1 and group coaching. Through her non-profit organization, The Bridge to Brilliance, she is building bridges between education institutions and private sectors to address issues of inequities that impact Black and Brown children within marginalized communities.   

Her company ElevatED BLK offers online courses, conferences, and activations that support participants to prioritize wellness and develop sustainability practices for their personal development.

To kick off 2021, we're excited to have education advocate Kelisa Wing come on the podcast to share her personal journey in education, discuss her new children's book series "Racial Justice in America", and express her thoughts on the future of education in America with the new administration coming into the White House.  To learn more about Kelisa's work, you can visit her website at kelisawing.com or follow her on Instagram (@kelisa_javon) and Twitter (@kelisa_I2teach).   

BIO: Kelisa Wing has been an educator for 13 years. She taught 8th-grade Language Arts and Reading to military-connected children at Faith Middle School in Fort Benning, Georgia, has been an Elementary School Assistant Principal, and is now a Professional Development Specialist.  Kelisa honorably served in the U.S. Army. She is the author of 'Weeds & Seeds: How To Stay Positive in the Midst of Life's Storms' and 'Promises and Possibilities: Dismantling the School to Prison Pipeline'. She is a 2017 State Teacher of the year, a 2016 Association of Supervision, Curriculum, and Development (ASCD) Emerging Leader, and the 2017 University of Maryland University College (UMUC) Outstanding Alumnus of the Year. She is a member of the Leading Educator Ambassadors for Equity (LEAE) with the Education Civil Rights Alliance(ECRA),a member of the National Network of State Teachers of the Year (NNSTOY), and a member of ASCD. She is also on the Advisory Board for Learner Variability Project & Digital Promise, ASCD Global Advisory Council, and the College Football Playoff Foundation (CFP) Diversifying the Teacher Pipeline Working Group. She speaks both nationally and internationally about discipline reform, equity, student engagement, and many other topics.  Kelisa holds a bachelor's degree in English from UMUC, a Master of Arts in Secondary Education, and an Educational Specialist degree with a concentration in Curriculum, Instruction, and Educational Leadership from the University of Phoenix.