Radical Math Talk

In this final episode of 2022, I'm honored to close out the calendar year with Dr. Francis Su as he opens up about his personal math journey, his book "Mathematics for Human Flourishing", and his desire for schools and teachers to adopt an inclusive vision for mathematics.  To learn more about Dr. Su's work, you can visit his website at francissu.com or you can follow him on Twitter (@mathyawp).   

BIO: Francis Su is the Benediktsson-Karwa Professor of Mathematics at Harvey Mudd College, and former president of the Mathematical Association of America.  He received his B.S. in Mathematics from the University of Texas at Austin and his Ph.D. from Harvard University. His research is in topological and geometric combinatorics and applications to the sciences, including game theory, voting theory, and the mathematics of fair decisions. He has co-authored numerous papers with undergraduates. He also has a passion for teaching and popularizing mathematics through writing and public engagement.  His work has been featured in Quanta Magazine, Wired, and the New York Times.  From the Mathematical Association of America, he received the 2018 Halmos-Ford award for mathematical writing, and the 2013 Haimo Award for distinguished teaching of college-level mathematics. Three of his articles have been featured in Princeton Press' Best Writing on Mathematics in 2011, 2014, and 2018. He authors the popular Math Fun Facts website and is creator of “MathFeed,” the math news app. His book Mathematics for Human Flourishing, published by Yale University Press, won the 2021 Euler Book Prize. It offers an inclusive vision of what math is, who it’s for, and why anyone should learn it.

In this episode, I had the honor of welcoming Dr. Nickolaus Ortiz to the podcast to share his personal math journey, the ways in which anti-Blackness manifests itself in the math classroom, and so much more!  To learn more about Nickolaus, you can follow him on Twitter (@ProfessuhNAO) and LinkedIn.  

BIO: Nickolaus Ortiz earned his doctorate in curriculum and instruction with a focus on mathematics education from Texas A&M University in 2018. Following graduate work, he served as a post-doctoral research associate at Michigan State University and is currently a tenure track assistant professor in the College of Education & Human Development’s Department of Middle and Secondary Education.  Ortiz is a mathematics teacher educator and researcher whose research interests deal with Black/African-American students and the impact that teachers have on these students’ performance and appreciation for mathematics. He is very much interested in how ontological Blackness is manifested and/or stifled during high-quality mathematics instruction that involves, for example, teaching for conceptual understanding and utilizing mathematics discourse, as well as identifying new and innovative ways for Black children to demonstrate the mathematics proficiency that already exists within. His scholarship deals with these issues, centering the brilliance of Black children in mathematics as an irrefutable reality. Ortiz is also a musician and loves everything from Gladys Knight to J. Cole, and utilizes music and Black vernacular in his approach to culturally relevant mathematics pedagogy.

In this episode, I had the honor of interviewing Transformative Justice practioner and educator Neha Sobti for a second time!  In this conversation, Neha shares about her personal math journey, the need to decolonize restorative justice practice in the Math classroom, and so much more!  To learn more about Neha's work, you can follow her on Instagram and Twitter (@nehajoya).  

BIO: Neha Sobti is a Transformative Justice practitioner, anti-racist school leader, scholar and poet. She supports educators in creating school communities grounded in relationships, healing, care, and culturally sustaining practices. She dreams and leads conversations about dismantling systems of racism in schools while supporting you on your journey to adopt anti-racist and transformative practices. Neha is currently a Doctoral Student at New York University in the Department of Administration, Leadership and Technology. She writes on topics of school discipline and transformative/restorative justice in education.

In this episode, I had the pleasure of having Dr. Kari Kokka on the podcast to talk about her personal math journey, and the intersection of social justice and the study of mathematics.  To learn more about Kari's journey, you can visit her website at karikokka.com or follow her on Instagram and Twitter (@karikokka).

BIO: Dr. Kari Kokka (she/her) is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics Education in the Department of Teaching and Learning at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She studies Social Justice Mathematics, mathematics teacher activism, and critical consciousness development of mathematics teachers. Her current research projects are funded by the National Science Foundation and Spencer Foundation. Prior to her position at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas she was an Assistant Professor of Mathematics Education at the University of Pittsburgh where she was awarded the Dean’s Distinguished Research Award (2022), the Dean’s Distinguished Teaching Award (2021), and the Iris Marion Marion Award for Social Justice (2019). 

She began her career in education as a mathematics teacher and diving coach at Berkeley High School (1999) and was a mathematics teacher activist and mathematics instructional coach at Vanguard High School (2001-2011), a Title I public school in New York City, where she used Complex Instruction and Performance Assessment. She is co-founder of the Creating Balance in an Unjust World Conference on STEAMM Education and Social Justice (co-founded in 2007), former co-chair of the Critical Educators for Social Justice SIG, and has been part of the Radical STEMM Educators of the Bay Area, People’s Education Movement, and the New York Collective of Radical Educators. Dr. Kokka completed her Ed.D. at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (2017), principal certification with the NYC Leadership Academy (2011), and M.A. in Education (2001) and B.S. in Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University (1999). She is a proud product of East San Jose, CA K-12 public schools. You can learn more about her work at www.karikokka.com, and you can follow her on Twitter @karikokka. She can be reached at [email protected].

In this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Jessica Sanon about her personal math journey, her advocacy for women of color in the STEM and entrepreneurial space, the founding of her company sySTEMic flow, and so much more!  To learn more about Jessica's work, you can visit her website at jessicasanon.com or you can follow her on LinkedIn.  

BIO:  As an entrepreneur, Jessica Sanon is passionate about supporting and building economic mobility and capacity for marginalized communities. In 2017, Jessica founded sySTEMic flow, a socially driven organization aiming to advance STEM learning for women who identify as Black, Indigenous, and Person of color (BIPOC). Before joining HPN, Jessica was the Youth Employment Coordinator at Waltham Partnership for Youth, where she developed, implemented, and oversaw four career exploration and training programs that provided youth access and opportunity to workforce development and worked with business leaders on their recruitment and retention efforts within their organizations. She also worked at UMass Amherst as an Assistant Manager of Operations, implementing and managing student projects, events, and financial accounts.  

Jessica Sanon joined the Housing partnership network staff in November 2020. As the Associate for Peer Exchange, Policy, and Innovation, Jessica is responsible for working with HPN staff to advance new business and program concepts that strategically address gaps in the affordable housing marketplace. She will work with HPN business line and program leaders and platform service staff to explore, pilot, and incubate new member initiatives and ventures that stem from peer engagement. Jessica will also assist the VP and the EVP of Peer Exchange in HPN's efforts to help members address racial equity in their organizations, the network, and the sector.  Jessica has worked across various disciplines and has experience in client management, program and business development, organizational assessment, and project management. 

Most importantly, Jessica sees the work that she does as a community effort, focusing on addressing members' needs by continuously listening to members' perspectives in an open, safe-space, and collaborative environment.   Jessica earned her MBA at the Heller School with a concentration in Social Entrepreneurship and Impact Management from the Heller School of Social Policy and Impact Management at Brandeis University; she was elected as the 2018 student commencement speaker of her MBA class. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics & Statistics and Economics from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a Gender, Leadership, and Public Policy certificate from the University of Massachusetts Boston.

In this episode, I have the pleasure of welcoming Lisa Wang to the podcast to talk about her personal math journey, her transition from Google into entrepreneurship, the founding of Almost Fun, and the need for teachers to take a culturally responsive approach to building Math joy and confidence in our most marginalized students.  To learn more about Lisa's work, you can visit the Almost Fun website at almostfun.org or you can follow them on Instagram (@almostfunlearning) or Twitter (@fun_almost).   

BIO: Lisa Wang founded Almost Fun to ensure low-income students and BIPOC students have educational resources that empower their learning. Her passion for educational equity is inspired in part by students she has worked with and in part by her parents, who grew up in rural China with scarce access to quality educational resources.   Prior to leading Almost Fun, she was a product manager at Google, leading development of features on Google Classroom and Google Maps. She received her B.A. in Math and Computer Science from Harvard College.

In this episode, I welcomed Dr. Pamela E. Harris to the podcast to share her personal Math journey, life as a Latina in academia, the founding of Lathisms, the importance of increasing Latinx representation in Math education, and so much more!  To learn more about Dr. Harris' work, you can visit her personal website at pamelaeharris.com or her company website at lathisms.org.  You can also follow her on Twitter (@DPeharris).

BIO: Dr. Pamela E. Harris is a Mexican-American mathematician and serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics and Faculty Fellow of the Davis Center and the Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Williams College. She received her B.S. from Marquette University, and M.S. and Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Dr. Pamela E. Harris's research is in algebraic combinatorics and she is the author of over 50 peer-reviewed research articles in internationally recognized journals. An award winning mathematical educator, Dr. Harris was the 2020 recipient of the MAA Northeast Section Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching, the 2019 MAA Henry L. Alder Award for Distinguished Teaching by a Beginning College or University Mathematics Faculty Member, and the 2019 Council on Undergraduate Research Mathematics and Computer Sciences Division Early Career Faculty Mentor Award. 

She was also selected as a 2020 Inaugural Class of Karen Uhlenbeck EDGE Fellows and was one of 50 women featured in the book “Power in Numbers: The Rebel Women of Mathematics.” Her professional mission is to develop learning communities that reinforce students’ self-identity as scientists, in particular for women and underrepresented minorities. In support of this mission, Dr. Harris co-organizes research symposia and professional development sessions for the national conference of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), and is an editor of the e-Mentoring Network blog of the American Mathematical Society. Moreover, in order to provide visibility to and increase the positive impact of the role models within our community, Dr. Harris co-founded Lathisms.org, a platform that features the contributions of Latinx and Hispanic scholars in the Mathematical Sciences. She cohosts the podcast Mathematically Uncensored and has recently coauthored the books Asked And Answered: Dialogues On Advocating For Students of Color in Mathematics and Practices and Policies: Advocating for Students of Color in Mathematics.

In this episode, I explore the dopeness of Math with Jaliyla Fraser, who shares her personal Math journey, the founding of her company Fraser's Mathematics Solutions, the release of "The Dope Math Notebook", and so much more!  To learn more about Jaliyla's work, you can visit her company's website at fmsolutions.site or follow her on Instagram (@f_m_solutions) and LinkedIn.  

BIO: Jaliyla Fraser is the CEO and founder of Fraser’s Mathematics Solutions (FMS) where they provide comprehensive training around high-quality mathematics teaching and learning for administrators, teachers and parents through onsite and virtual math institutes. Most excitingly, FMS has created “The Dope Math Product Line” of notebooks, pencils, and rulers to honor students as they illuminate in the math classroom.  Her philosophy is grounded in the belief that mathematics can be accessible to all students if there is a clear and meaningful connection to their previous learning and the real-world. Exposure to mathematics should be rich and grounded in concrete experiences that bridge to the abstract. Mathematics is a true passion of hers and she is constantly looking for new ways to inject that same passion into all stakeholders that she supports.  

Jaliyla’s experience as a Math Supervisor for grades K-12 allowed her to work closely with school stakeholders, parents and students to provide ongoing support of math content and pedagogy. She has spent the last 8 years as a Professor of Mathematics at Rutgers University-Newark, sits on the Computer Science Advisory Board for the state of New Jersey, is a mathematics advisor for the Institute for Anti-Racist Education, and served as a math consultant for Student Achievement Partners where she authored the High School Math Priority Standards for Achieve the Core.  Jaliyla earned her Masters of Arts in Mathematics Education from Columbia University in 2009, her Bachelors of Science in Secondary Education/Mathematics from Temple University in 2008, and became certified to teach physics in 2011. Jaliyla is also a chartering member of the Central New Jersey Chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women and on April 8, 2019, she was commemorated with a resolution from the City of East Orange for her accomplishments and dedication to children.

In this episode, I link up with Liesl McConchie for an in-depth conversation about her personal math journey, the power of brain-based science in Math, and rethinking some popular concepts that have been deemed controversial in certain Math circles.   To learn more about Liesl's work, you can visit her website at lieslmcconchie.com or follow her on Twitter (@LieslMcconchie).  

BIO: Liesl [LEE-soul] McConchie is a former math teacher with over 20 years of experience training school leaders and teachers across the globe. She has partnered with over 300 schools to implement the science behind what really improves achievement for all students. Whether she is delivering a live-training, speaking at a conference, or doing high-level classroom coaching, educators leave feeling confident and motivated to improve student learning. Liesl brings you the highest quality of research, professionalism, and strategies to improve the learning experience of your students every day.  Liesl spent over three years in Denmark studying and working within the Scandinavian school system. She helped create a brand-new school founded on the most impactful pedagogical principles. Part of her involvement there has included designing an entire school-year curriculum on social-emotional learning skills that is a required course for all students. Liesl still travels to Denmark several times a year to deliver trainings to the staff, consult with the leadership team, and provide individual classroom coaching to teachers. The school has been named an Ashoka Change Maker School and has drawn attention from education and political leaders across Europe.  Liesl is the co-author (with Dr. Eric Jensen) of the best-selling book, Brain-Based Learning (Corwin Press). She is currently co-authoring Teaching with the Brain in Mind (ASCD), also with Dr. Jensen. This means you get the real science, translated right every time, for better classroom behaviors, greater morale and learning that soars.

In this episode, I had the honor of welcoming Dr. Pamela Seda to the podcast to talk about her personal math journey and her new book, "Choosing to See: A Framework for Equity in the Math Classroom".  To learn more about Dr. Seda's work, you can visit her website at sedaeducationalconsulting.com or follow her on Instagram and Twitter (@pamseda1).

BIO: Dr. Pamela Seda is the owner of Seda Educational Consulting, LLC.  She has over 30 years of educational experience and currently lives in metro Atlanta with her husband and four adult children.  Dr. Seda received a Bachelor’s degree in Math Education from the University of South Florida, a Master’s degree in Math Education from Georgia State University, and a Ph.D. in Teaching and Learning with a concentration in Math Education from Georgia State University.  She also earned a Specialist degree in Educational Leadership from the University of West Georgia.  She has held various positions in mathematics education including high school mathematics teacher, math instructional coach, college math instructor, and K-12 district math supervisor.  Dr. Seda is passionate about changing how students experience mathematics, especially those from marginalized groups, and advocates for mathematics instruction that develops all students as mathematical thinkers and problem-solvers.