Leading Equity

Order the Leading Equity Book Today!

About Rhianna Thomas, Ph.D.

Rhianna Thomas, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of early childhood education at New Mexico State University. She studies critical pedagogy in early childhood education using antiracist, culturally sustaining, and critical literacy approaches. Rhianna earned her doctorate at the University of Missouri Kansas City. Her dissertation work explored how her own two white children learned about race and racism as she attempted to implement antiracist curriculum at home. Rhianna also examines child guidance and classroom management practices in early childhood, especially in regard to equity. She often employs arts-based methodologies including poetic inquiry. 

Show Highlights

• What led Dr. Thomas to researching Antiracist teaching
• Transitioning into an Antiracist parent
• A story about colorism and reaffirming a student’s skin color is beautiful
• Can I touch your hair
• The N word
• Antiblackness
• Creating student advocates
• Strategies for White teachers

Connect with Rhianna

Email

Identifying your skin is too dark as a put-down: Enacting whiteness as hidden curriculum through a bullying prevention programme

Pedagogy to Deconstruct Anti-Blackness: Three Conversations With White Children About a Racial Slur

Additional Resources

Book Dr. Eakins

LE 90: But Seriously, How Do I Address Racial Slurs in School Books?

Can I Touch Your Hair?

Watch The Art of Advocacy Show

Learn more about the Advocacy Room

Free Course on Implicit Bias

20 Diversity Equity and Inclusion Activities

Annihilating Racial Injustice in School Course

FREE AUDIO COURSE: Race, Advocacy, and Social Justice Studies

Order the Leading Equity Book Today!

About Diana Bonilla

Diana Bonilla has been a science, and bilingual science, educator in the Chicago area for 6 years now. Her passion and work revolve around creating an equitable science curriculum for racially and linguistically marginalized youth. This passion stems from her own experience as a bilingual, first generation, Mexican-American student and learner navigating the sciences and our educational systems. She is currently working on her dissertation at UIC focusing on transforming the science classroom for emergent bilingual youth.

About Nadia Ruiz Lopez

Nadia Ruiz Lopez is currently in her 21st year at Leyden High School in Northlake Illinois.  She has taught all levels of Algebra and Geometry throughout her career.  In addition to teaching these courses she is also the Head Math Team Coach, a SAT Prep Math Teacher, a Sophomore Advisor and is currently a member of the Equity and Justice Committee.  She received her Bachelors of Science in Mathematics from the University of Illinois-Chicago, a Masters of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction from Olivet University and a Masters of Educational Technology from American College of Education.  She has focused on providing a classroom environment that is positive and encouraging learning, utilizes technology to advance students comprehension all the while making every effort to bring focus on students individuality, strengths and culture. 

Show Highlights

• Equity in STEM
• Making everyone feel included in the lessons
• Student investment in their learning
• Social Justice in math
• Teaching examples

Connect with Diana

Email

Connect with Nadia

Email

Twitter

Additional Resources

Watch The Art of Advocacy Show

Learn more about the Advocacy Room

Free Course on Implicit Bias

20 Diversity Equity and Inclusion Activities

Annihilating Racial Injustice in School Course

FREE AUDIO COURSE: Race, Advocacy, and Social Justice Studies

Order the Leading Equity Book Today!

About Alyssa Campbell

Alyssa Blask Campbell is the founder and CEO of Seed & Sew, an organization committed to giving parents, teachers and caregivers the tools to raise emotionally intelligent humans. An emotional development expert with a master’s degree in early education, Alyssa co-created the Collaborative Emotion Processing (CEP) method with Lauren Stauble and researched it across the United States. She hosts the Voices of Your Village podcast and has been featured as an emotional development expert in publications including The Washington Post, Kids VT, and Family Education. Alyssa is deeply passionate about building emotional intelligence in children and creating a shame-free, judgment-free community of people interested in doing the same at Seed & Sew.

Show Highlights

• Alyssa introduces the CEP method
• Emotional Intelligence
• Self-regulation
• Keeping our cool in the moment
• Anxiety and relationships
• Shame and guilt

Connect with Alyssa

Website

Instagram

Additional Resources

Watch The Art of Advocacy Show

Learn more about the Advocacy Room

Free Course on Implicit Bias

20 Diversity Equity and Inclusion Activities

Annihilating Racial Injustice in School Course

FREE AUDIO COURSE: Race, Advocacy, and Social Justice Studies

Order the Leading Equity Book Today!

About Jason Green

Jason Green is the bestselling co-author of Blended Learning in Action and Co-Founder and Co-CEO of LINC (Learning Innovation Catalyst). Inspired by his youth development and nonprofit work as a student at Morehouse College, Jason Green has dedicated his career to creating positive change in education. Jason has helped hundreds of schools and districts reimagine and implement next generation teaching and learning. Through an ongoing research partnership with Stanford University Graduate School of Education’s Dr. Arnetha Ball, Jason develops and implements professional learning experiences designed to help educators build their mindset and practice of 21st century, student-centered learning. Jason holds an MBA from the Wharton School, a M.S.Ed from the University of Pennsylvania, and has spoken at leading universities and conferences around the world.

Show Highlights

• Student-Centered Learning
• Blended Learning
• Multi-tiered systems of support and blended learning
• Myths of blended learning
• Cultural Responsive Blended Learning

Connect with Jason

Website

Twitter

Additional Resources

Learn more about the Advocacy Room

Free Course on Implicit Bias

20 Diversity Equity and Inclusion Activities

Annihilating Racial Injustice in School Course

FREE AUDIO COURSE: Race, Advocacy, and Social Justice Studies

Order the Leading Equity Book Today!

About Carole Collins-Ayanlaja

Dr. Carole Rene’ Collins Ayanlaja, a native of Indianapolis, IN and a Chicagoan for three decades, holds a Ph.D. in Educational Policy Studies from the University of Illinois at Chicago.  She is a parent, teacher, educational leader, and researcher.  A commitment to educational success for k-12 students through effective teaching and authentic equity-driven leadership is the hallmark of her professional career.

She began her educational career as a Chicago Public Schools 6th and 8th grade teacher in the Latinx community.  In 1998 she launched her leadership journey in suburban Cook County, soon thereafter joining Chicago Public Schools.   Prior to joining higher education in 2016, Dr. Collins Ayanlaja served as a public education leader for over 25 years in the capacity of elementary assistant principal and principal; high school assistant principal and principal; district director of curriculum and assessment, chief academic officer, chief assessment officer, and superintendent in Chicago, Suburban Cook County (IL), Ohio, Iowa, and Connecticut.

Currently, Associate Professor of Educational Leadership, College of Education, Eastern Illinois University, Dr. Collins, as she is frequently called, prepares graduate candidates for the principalship and superintendency in the state of Illinois. Her research incorporates intersectionalities of race and gender in educational leadership and schooling experiences.  Carole promotes democratic engagement for diverse children and families in equitable learning environments that propel anti-racist pedagogy and inclusive practices.

Dr. Collins Ayanlaja engages in broader community work by partnering with schools, community organizations, and businesses to strategically plan, develop, and implement culturally responsive practices by building staff capacity to engage with families and propel programming that ensures access and equity.

Her greatest gift and accomplishment are that of being the mother of one young adult son, who recently graduated from Lake Forest College, her alma mater.  Carole is full of gratefulness and gratitude to her Creator for the intellectual capacity and opportunity to be a contributor to our collective field of education.

Show Highlights

• Culturally responsive leadership
• “Who are you?”
• Facing history when leading
• Strategies to deal with challenges
• Critical questions to ask ourselves as leaders
• Public relations and social issues

Connect with Carole

Email

LinkedIn

Additional Resources

Learn more about the Advocacy Room

Free Course on Implicit Bias

20 Diversity Equity and Inclusion Activities

Annihilating Racial Injustice in School Course

FREE AUDIO COURSE: Race, Advocacy, and Social Justice Studies

Order the Leading Equity Book Today!

About Jessica Nordell

Jessica Nordell is an award-winning author, science writer, and speaker known for blending rigorous science with compassionate humanity. Her first book, The End of Bias: A Beginning, shortlisted for the 2022 Columbia Journalism/Lukas Prize for Excellence in Nonfiction, the 2022 NYPL Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism, and the 2021 Royal Society Science Book Prize, is the culmination of fifteen years of reporting and writing on the subject of bias and discrimination and how to solve it, for publications including the New York Times, the Atlantic, and the New Republic. The End of Bias was named a Best Book of the Year by the World Economic Forum, Greater Good, AARP, and Inc and is currently being used by organizations from newsrooms and startups to universities, healthcare organizations, and faith communities to solve some of their biggest cultural challenges.

Show Highlights

• Implicit Bias training
• What the research says
• The change of behaviors
• A la carte training options
• The end of bias?
• Confronting bias situations

Connect with Jessica

Website

Twitter

Instagram

Additional Resources

Learn more about the Advocacy Room

Free Course on Implicit Bias

20 Diversity Equity and Inclusion Activities

Annihilating Racial Injustice in School Course

FREE AUDIO COURSE: Race, Advocacy, and Social Justice Studies

Order the Leading Equity Book Today!

About Winston Daley

Winston Daley was born in Jamaica and emigrated to Boston at 10 years old. In 2016, Winston decided to leave his career in finance to work with youth. Sports was his first connection point to the US and so that is where he pivoted: coaching, creating leagues for kids, working in schools, and becoming a Lead Facilitator at the Center for Sport in Society, doing workshops on relationship violence, racism and social justice. Winston has also worked in the nonprofit space on youth employment, environmental justice and community empowerment. 

Winston stepped into the startup world with Agogos after seeing his daughter’s school administrators’ struggle to find educators of color and watching the passive hiring practices of school districts. He believed he could create a solution to make hiring easier. Agogos’ goal is to create a hiring platform and community of practice dedicated to the recruitment, development, education and support of educators of color.

Show Highlights

• A LinkedIn for Black and Brown educators
• Job posting options for schools
• Teacher job search options

Connect with Winston

Website

Twitter

Email

LinkedIn

Additional Resources

Learn more about the Advocacy Room

Free Course on Implicit Bias

20 Diversity Equity and Inclusion Activities

Annihilating Racial Injustice in School Course

FREE AUDIO COURSE: Race, Advocacy, and Social Justice Studies

Order the Leading Equity Book Today!

About Dr. Shontoria Walker

Dr. Shontoria Walker is a graduate from the University of Houston in Houston, Texas with a degree in Professional Leadership with an emphasis in Literacy. Her research focuses on using culturally relevant pedagogy to influence literacy achievement for Middle School Black Male Students based on her experiences as a former 8th grade English teacher at an all-boys preparatory academy. She has also served on the Texas Teacher Advisory Board, a Teach Plus Policy Fellow as well as a Senior Policy Fellow with Teach Plus Texas from 2014-2019. During her time and beyond she has advocated for educational policy laws that directly impacted the classroom as well as contributed to policy briefings for the revision of The Every Student Succeeds Act and national policy reports such as If You Listen, We Will Stay: Why Teachers of Color Leave and How To Disrupt Teacher Turnover. She is the co-author of Culture to the Max! Culturally Responsive Teaching and Practice along with David McDonald, M.ED., Danielle Ross, M.ED., and Andre Ross, M.ED.

About Andre Ross

A native of Gary, Indiana, Andre received a Bachelor of Science in Business with a concentration in Management from New York University. His experiences there compelled him to pursue a career in education to help diminish the ways in which identity markers impact educational and career trajectories. Andre served as an 8th Grade Mathematics Teacher at The Dr. Billy Earl Dade Middle School in South Dallas. Following his first year as an educator, Andre was recognized as “Teacher of the Year.” In addition, Andre has increased his students’ academic growth by double digit gains during each year that he served. In June 2018, Andre accepted a role with Teach For America where he serves as Manager, Teacher Leadership Development. Andre is a Co-founder and Partner with the Education PowerED family.

Show Highlights

• Classroom Management
• Shifting to Culture Management
• Setting up your classroom
• The Culture Potluck
• Allowing students to be their authentic self

Connect with Shontoria and Andre

Andre’s LinkedIn

Shontoria’s Twitter

Shontoria’s LinkedIn

Education PowerEd Website

Culture to the Max! Culturally Responsive Teaching and Practice

The Center For Black Educator Development

Additional Resources

Learn more about the Advocacy Room

Free Course on Implicit Bias

20 Diversity Equity and Inclusion Activities

Annihilating Racial Injustice in School Course

FREE AUDIO COURSE: Race, Advocacy, and Social Justice Studies

Pre-Order the Leading Equity Book Today!

About Roberto Germán

Roberto is an award-winning Dominican American educator with over 15 years of educational administrative experience. Since teaching 9th grade English, he has worked in and led schools from Prek to 12th grades in the public, private, and charter sectors. He has brought innovative leadership ideas to revamp school cultures in order to meet student needs and help them improve. His work is characterized by a passion for supporting young people, prioritizing social justice, and a dedication to excellence. Currently, he’s Co-Founder and Executive Director of Multicultural Classroom and lives in Tampa, FL.

About Lorena Germán

Lorena is a two time nationally awarded Dominican American educator focused on anti racist and anti bias education. She’s been featured in the New York Times, NPR, PBS, Rethinking Schools, EdWeek, Learning for Justice Magazine, and more. She published The Anti Racist Teacher: Reading Instruction Workbook, and Textured Teaching: A Framework for Culturally Sustaining Practices about curriculum & lesson development focused on social justice. She’s a co-founder of #DisruptTexts and Multicultural Classroom. Lorena is also the Chair of NCTE’s Committee Against Racism and Bias in the Teaching of English. She lives in Tampa, Florida where she is a mami and wife- two of her most important roles.

Show Highlights

• Culturally Responsive, Relevant, and Sustaining Pedagogy

Connect with Roberto and Lorena

Twitter

Instagram

Facebook

Website

Additional Resources

Learn more about the Advocacy Room

Free Course on Implicit Bias

20 Diversity Equity and Inclusion Activities

Annihilating Racial Injustice in School Course

FREE AUDIO COURSE: Race, Advocacy, and Social Justice Studies

Pre-Order the Leading Equity Book Today!

About Robert Bruce Scott, Ed.D.

Robert Bruce Scott earned an M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction - T.E.S.L. (1984) - at University of Kansas before starting an overseas teaching career that took him to Ecuador, Japan, and Saudi Arabia, eventually settling for 10 years in New York City and returning to his home state of Kansas in 2002, where he has worked as a teacher educator and advocate for students and families from diverse heritages and students with special needs over the past two decades. In 2011, he fulfilled a lifelong dream of completing his doctorate in special education (Ed.D.) at Kansas State University. Robb Scott has four children, who all are bilingual or multilingual, and three grandchildren, two girls and a boy. Dr. Scott is an educational consultant with expertise in TESOL, special education, and educational technology. He has managed ESL MiniConference Online since 2001 and recently started a newsletter called Multilingual Adaptive Systems.

Show Highlights

• Teaching students with English as a second language
• Socializing multilingual learners

Connect with Robb

Twitter

Center for Research on Education, Diversity, and Excellence (2018). Center for Research on Education, Diversity, and Excellence Hawai‘i Project (CREDE). Curriculum Research & Development Group, University of Hawai‘i Mānoa College of Education. The Center for Universal Design (1997). The principles of universal design, version 2.0, 4/1/97. North Carolina State University.  Gusman, J. (July, 2003). Elementary education sheltered instruction. Third Annual CLD Institute, Garden City, KS.  Ortiz, D.L. & Guss, T.O. (1995). Counseling implications for male Hispanic dropouts: Forging a prevention program.  Salva, C. (April, 2022). Supporting newcomers and SLIFE through to graduation (Webinar). Center for Academic Language Development Webinar Series, Seidlitz Education. 

Additional Resources

Learn more about the Advocacy Room

Free Course on Implicit Bias

20 Diversity Equity and Inclusion Activities

Annihilating Racial Injustice in School Course

FREE AUDIO COURSE: Race, Advocacy, and Social Justice Studies