Leading Equity

About TJ Rumler, MSW, LISW-CP, CCTP

No sane person chooses the field of social work—there’s always pain behind the passion for the profession. TJ Rumler grew up in West Greenville, SC, seeing first-hand the impacts of poverty, addiction, and racism in his community. Two weeks after 9/11, he enlisted in the US Army. Deploying to Iraq allowed TJ to experience how difficult combat is on soldiers and their families, as well as many failures along the military’s journey towards successful treatment of PTSD. With encouragement from friends and family, TJ left a successful sales career and went back to complete a Master’s Degree in Social Work. Since entering the social work field, he has served fellow Veterans with the Department of Veterans Affairs, individuals experiencing chronic homelessness, individuals with HIV/AIDS, children with behavioral and mental health struggles at PRISMA Health, and currently serves the students and families of Greenville County through his role as Trauma Informed Social Worker with Greenville County Schools. He also owns a Trauma Informed Consulting Firm through which he provides telehealth psychotherapy, as well as customized trainings for various organizations and schools. TJ also serves on the Board of Directors for Pendleton Place and holds the position of Education Team Vice Chair for the Hispanic Alliance. When his social work cape is in the closet, TJ enjoys traveling, writing, cycling, yoga, and chasing concerts. He believes in the saying, “life is short—buy the tickets.”

Show Highlights

• Teacher self-care
• The impact of COVID and self-care
• Reducing anxiety during these times
• Developing personal routines
• Zoom protocols and etiquette
• Deep work and creating an end of day checklist
• Procrastination and self-care
• How school leaders can support teachers with their self-care
• Tap In and Tap Out

Connect with TJ

TEDx Greenville talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0__TbZ89N_w

[email protected]

www.tjrumler.com

Connect with me on Instagram: @sheldoneakins

Inquire about the Leading Equity Center’s “Annihilating Racial Injustice in Schools” training

Inquire about the Leading Equity Center’s “Annihilating Racial Injustice in Schools” training

About Victor Small, Jr.

I was born in Hayward, CA and raised in Oakland and Stockton, CA. I graduated from CSU, Sacramento in 2007 with a BA in English Creative Writing and in 2014 with a Masters in Instructional Technology. I am currently working on a Doctorate in Educational Leadership for Social Justice at CSU, East Bay. I taught English in public schools and charters for 7 years and was a substitute teacher 4 years prior to that. I got involved with Restorative Justice while teaching in the classroom, and have continued my practice of it as an administrator for the last two years in Oakland Unified School district as well as San Francisco Unified School District.

Show Highlights

• The end of diversity training?
• A historical standpoint as to why this work must continue
• Strategies for educators to continue the equity work
• Looking ahead for future conversations about DEI

Connect with Victor

Twitter: @MrSmall215

Website: www.therjleague.com

Connect with me on Instagram: @sheldoneakins

Inquire about the Leading Equity Center’s “Annihilating Racial Injustice in Schools” training

About Inger Swimpson, Ed.D.

Passionate about teaching and education, Dr. Inger Swimpson has been an educator for over 25 years with Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS). She has served in a number of capacities including middle school science teacher, team leader, and department chair. Her progressive leadership roles include: instructional specialist, equity specialist, and Director, Certification and Staffing and Director, Talent Acquisition. One of Dr. Swimpson’s most gratifying professional accomplishments lies in the establishment of the BOND (Building Our Network of Diversity) Project, a networking, leadership, mentorship, and empowerment program created for African American and Latino male educators in MCPS.

About Daman Harris, Ph.D.

Dr. Daman Harris is currently a principal in Montgomery County (MD) Public Schools and a BOND Project Leadership Team member. He is a certified reading specialist and special educator with experience in academic support, student discipline, community outreach, technical assistance, and program evaluation. Dr. Harris is also an adjunct instructor for McDaniel College and the University of Maryland at College Park, where he teaches courses related to effective teaching methods, conducting research, and educational equity.

Show Highlights

• The BOND Project
• Wokeness
• Intentionality in hiring practices
• Antiracist interview questions
• Culturally Responsive recruitment

Connect with Inger

Twitter: @DrIngerSwimpson

www.bondeducators.org

From Just Being Woke to Doing the Work of Recruiting Diverse Teachers

Connect with Daman

Twitter: @Daman_Harris @bondeducators

Connect with me on Instagram: @sheldoneakins

About Keitha-Gail Martin-Kerr, Ph.D.

Dr. Keitha-Gail Martin-Kerr identifies as a queer Black scholar. She got her doctorate from the University of Minnesota in Curriculum and Instruction. She has two masters’ degrees, one in literacy acquisition and development, the other in school building and school district leadership. Her research connects to the educational needs of queer-identified students, educational inclusivity, and critical literacy practices in and out of school settings. She teaches literacy content and pedagogy courses to pre-service and in-service teachers. She has published articles and book chapters in her area of study- teaching queerly, anti-oppressive pedagogy, and educational inclusivity.

Show Highlights

• Colonial Consciousness
• Queerness and Queer Pedagogy
• Queerness in Education
• State standards and addressing with homophobia
• District policies for LGBTQ+ students
• Colonial Consciousness and the Pedagogy of the Oppressed

Connect with Keitha-Gail

[email protected]

Fostering Critical Colonial Consciousness Through Queer Pedagogy

Connect with me on Instagram: @sheldoneakins

About Lorea Martinez, Ph.D.

Dr. Lorea Martinez is a social-emotional learning (SEL) consultant, supporting schools and teachers as they integrate SEL in their programs and teaching practices. Her clients include New Schools Venture Fund, Learning Policy Institute, Six Seconds, Nearpod, and public, private, and charter schools. She is a faculty member of the Summer Principals Academy-New Orleans at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her research is focused on school climate, SEL implementation, and principals' emotional intelligence. She is working on her second book for teachers, Teaching with the Heart in Mind, forthcoming in 2020. Previously, she was a special education teacher and administrator. Martinez holds a PhD from the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona.

Show Highlights

• Emotional Intelligence
• SEL with fidelity
• BIPOC and assimilation with SEL
• Equity in SEL
• SEL for school leaders

Connect with Lorea

Twitter: @loreamart

Website: www.loreamartinez.com

Connect with me on Instagram: @sheldoneakins

About Mariana Aguilar

Mariana Aguilar leads the Research team at education technology company, GoGuardian. In her role, she seeks to understand the relationship between the digital learning experience and student outcomes. Mariana began her career in education as a Teach for America corps member teaching 3rd grade in South LA. Since then, she has worked with various education non-profits including Murmuration and Citizens of the World Los Angeles. Mariana earned her B.A. in Social Science with an emphasis in Psychology from USC, and an M.A. in Urban Education with an emphasis in Digital Learning from LMU.

Show Highlights

• Benefits of online learning
• The digital divide continues to grow
• Equitable pedagogy in online learning
• Online instruction in small group settings
• Starting the year building a virtual relationship

Connect with Mariana

Twitter: @MarMarAguilar

Website: GoGuardian

Connect with me on Instagram: @sheldoneakins

About Mona Elleithee

Mona Elleithee has facilitated learning for students, teachers, and leaders across the country for over twenty years. Her craftsmanship as a master teacher has educators leaving Mona’s professional-development sessions asking for more. Modeling best practices as she delicately leads discussions on difficult topics, Mona is celebrated for the compassionate way she assists educators with reflecting on and connecting their own backgrounds to their current beliefs and practices without shame, blame, criticism, or judgment. 

Show Highlights

• DEI titles and positions
• School discipline
• Causes of student behaviors
• Co-dependents
• Dysfunctional families
• The Discipline Triangle
• Recognizing our childhood trauma
• Getting teachers and administrators on the same page with discipline

Connect with Mona

Twitter: @renewedharmony

www.renewedharmony.com

Connect with me on Instagram: @sheldoneakins

About Homa Tavangar

Homa Tavangar is the author of best-selling Growing Up Global: Raising Children to Be At Home in the World (Random House), co-author of five books for educators, and most recently, Global Kids, a colorful activity deck exposing children to world cultures and global mindsets. Homa advises and trains schools and organizations like Disney Channel, the National Education Association Foundation, and the Pulitzer Center on optimizing learning, empathy, innovation, global citizenship and anti-racism. She coaches heads of schools and education leaders around the world around accountability for equity and leading through crisis. She is co-founder of BigQuestions.Institute and OnenessLab.com. She serves on the boards of International Schools Services and the Tahirih Justice Center.

Show Highlights

• Global Kids
• Cultural Appreciation
• What is Global Citizenship?
• Global Citizenship and Antiracism

Connect with Homa

Twitter: @HomaTav

https://linktr.ee/homatav

Connect with me on Instagram: @sheldoneakins

About Geneva A. Stark, Ph.D., CDP

Dr. Geneva A. Stark, servant leader, visionary, educator, achiever, collaborator, and a problem-solver. She is a native of New Orleans, La. that resides in Metro Louisville. She received her BS Degree from Xavier University of New Orleans, Master’s in Education from the University of New Orleans, Rank 1 from Western Kentucky University in Administration (Principal, Instructional Leader and Director of Pupil Personnel).  She received her Doctor of Philosophy Degree as Superintendent and Instructional Leader, from Educational, Leadership, Evaluation, Organization and Development department from the University of Louisville.  Dr. Stark recently obtained a National Professional Certification in Diversity and Inclusion.

Show Highlights

• Doing diversity is a lifelong experience for many people
• Racial Equity Policy
• Checking a box
• Creating a Racial Equity Policy
• Accountability

Connect with Geneva

www.gaspconsultant.com

Email: [email protected]

Connect with me on Instagram: @sheldoneakins

About Stephanie Romero, Ed.D.

Stephanie Romero has 20+ years of experience teaching all levels, from elementary students to adults. She has been a mindfulness meditation practitioner for over 15 years.  To join her mindfulness practice with her professional life, Dr. Romero spent three years researching mindfulness in education for her dissertation, which led her to create the nonprofit Awaken Pittsburgh, bringing mindfulness to youth and the adults who serve them. Dr. Romero completed YogaRoots on Location’s 200-hour antiracism and social justice teacher training and an Examining Whiteness Facilitator Training. She is a member of the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Mindfulness and Consciousness Studies.

Show Highlights

• Modeling mindfulness as teachers
• Mindfulness during a pandemic
• Creating a self-care plan
• Getting kids into the moment with mindfulness
• Reducing test anxiety
• Trauma informed mindfulness practices
• Mindfulness and its relationship to bias

Connect with Stephanie

www.awakenpittsburgh.org

[email protected]

Connect with me on Instagram: @sheldoneakins