Square Pizza

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We are excited to bring you this episode of the #squarepizzapod. This week, Greg is in conversation with Jason B. Allen, Owner, Educational Entities, LLC. One fun fact you will learn about Jason is his immense dedication to equity and equality in education. 

In this episode:

• What keeps him in this line of work 
• Work with Profound Gentlemen 
• Leading the first Charter Commission school for girls in ATL
• Engagement with the school board in ATL 
• His work at Educational Entities 

Bio:

 Jason B. Allen is a 17-year educator currently teaching Special Education in Atlanta. He leads Lillie's Foundation, serving Atlanta grandparents raising school-aged children. Additionally, he runs educational entities, including The Educators Voice blog, Speak Black Man podcast, and Students for Equity group. 

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GIVEAWAY - send us a message and let us know your favorite thing about the Square Pizza Pod. We are giving away SchermCo swag to the first three people that send us a note!

We are excited to bring you this episode of the #squarepizzapod. This week, Greg is in conversation with Reyna Montoya, Founder, CEO, and Board Member, at Aliento. One fun fact you will learn about Reyna is her love for dance. Find out how dancing at a young age turned into a career at Teach For America. 

In this episode:

• Dating advice 
• Why the work of Aliento is personal
• Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
• Community organizing + current campaigns
• Helped get an in-state tuition bill on the ballot for 2022
• How to support the work at Aliento

Bio:

   Reyna Montoya is the founder and CEO of Aliento. She is a social entrepreneur, educator, and dancer. Reyna is a DACA recipient and is an alumna of Arizona State University, Grand Canyon University, and Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.

   Reyna was born in Tijuana, Mexico, 15 minutes from the U.S. and Mexico border, and migrated to Arizona in2003 fleeing violence. Despite the fear, anxiety, and stress of growing up undocumented in Arizona and witnessing her dad go through deportation proceedings, Reyna did not lose hope. That is why she took a leap of faith and decided to create Aliento in 2016 after years of organizing and educating both at the local and national levels.

   Through youth-led arts + healing workshops, leadership development, and community organizing, Aliento transforms trauma into hope and action for those most impacted by the harms associated with lacking an immigration status. In less than five years, Aliento has touched the lives of over 50,000 people, of which over 20,000 are youth through programs and educated 25,000 voters in Arizona 2020 elections.Reyna's contributions towards the well-being of undocumented and mixed-status community earned her recognition by Forbes 30 Under 30, Phoenix Chamber ATHENA Awards, Humanitarian Recipient for Spirituality by the Muhammad Ali Center, 15 Latinas Changing the World by Univisión, among others.

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GIVEAWAY - send us a message and let us know your favorite thing about the Square Pizza Pod. We are giving away SchermCo swag to the first three people that send us a note!

We are excited to bring you this episode of the #squarepizzapod. This week, Greg is in conversation with Lagra Newman, Founder and Head of School at Purpose Prep in Nashville, Tennessee. Purpose Prep opened its doors to an inaugural class of 90 Kindergarteners in fall 2013. 


In this episode:

• Policies revolving around equitable initiatives in education 
• Accountability requirements for Charters' 
• Dynamics between Charter and District Schools 
• TN reward school 
• Why education is important based upon her childhood 
• Advice to aspiring school founders and current school leaders 

Bio:

   Lagra Newman is the Founder and Head of School of Purpose Preparatory Academy, one of the highest performing elementary schools in Tennessee. Purpose Prep, a public, non-selective charter school, educates children predominately within the North Nashville community and focuses on strong literacy acquisition. In 2017, Purpose Prep earned Reward status for being among the top 5% of schools in the state of Tennessee for academic performance. In 2018, Purpose Prep earned Reward School status for the second consecutive year. 
   A staunch advocate for underserved communities, Ms. Newman is deeply committed to ensuring that all children have access to quality education. Lagra began her career as an inner-city teacher for Teach for America where she taught fifth grade at 109th Street Elementary School in the Watts community of Los Angeles, California. She then recruited teachers for Teach For America in Atlanta, GA, and then served as an instructional coach at an elementary school in Washington, DC. 
   Undergoing a competitive fellowship with Boston-based nonprofit Building Excellent Schools in 2011 led Lagra back to Nashville to take on the challenge of opening Purpose Prep, which is her brainchild, as she designed, developed, and currently leads the high-performing model. In her current work as the Head of School for Purpose Prep, Ms. Newman oversees the instructional, operational, and financial aspects of the school, bringing strong leadership to the educational reform movement in Tennessee. 
   In her personal time, Lagra loves to travel and create meaningful experiences with loved ones. Over the past few years, she has traveled to Israel, South Africa, Morocco, Cuba, France, Egypt, Ghana, Spain, Haiti, and the UAE. Lagra is also a published author, creating children’s books with her mother that is focused on educational excellence, pride for one’s identity, and black empowerment. 
   Lagra earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies and Spanish at Vanderbilt University, a Masters in Teaching at Loyola Marymount University, and a Masters in Education Leadership from Teachers College of Columbia University. 

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GIVEAWAY - send us a message and let us know your favorite thing about the Square Pizza Pod. We are giving away SchermCo swag to the first three people that send us a note!

To our listeners, thanks for making 2021 another great year. SchermCo wishes you the happiest of holidays, and we look forward to seeing you back next year. We have some fresh slices coming your way in January 2022. 

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GIVEAWAY - send us a message and let us know your favorite thing about the Square Pizza Pod. We are giving away SchermCo swag to the first three people that send us a note!

We are excited to bring you this episode of the #squarepizzapod. This week, Greg is in conversation with Lydia Logan, Vice President for Global Education and Workforce Development, Corporate Social Responsibility at IBM. She serves as the global lead for IBM’s education and workforce development initiatives.

In this episode:

• Family background within education  
• Her vision of effective philanthropy and social-impact work from the corporate side
• Skilling 30M jobs by 2030
• IBM’s apprenticeship program being recognized by the department of labor
• Skills-build Now - program
• Favorite professional failure

Bio:
        Lydia Logan is the Vice President for Education and Workforce Development, CSR. She is responsible for leading the strategy, development, and end-to-end execution of IBM's global education and workforce development initiatives which include P-TECH, IBM SkillsBuild and STEM for Girls. Her portfolio also includes the development of new and innovative education initiatives and strategic global partnerships with IBM's clients, non-profit organizations, governments, and content and curriculum developers. She is an education expert with over 25 years of experience in education, non-profit organization management, policy, and philanthropy.
         Prior to joining IBM, she led the Verizon Innovative Learning Schools initiative. A national digital inclusion initiative providing technology, access and training in over 500 under-resourced public schools. Lydia also served as the vice president of programs for the Kimsey Foundation, where her grant portfolio focused on improving educational outcomes for students in under-resourced public schools and closing the digital divide for low-income families. Lydia holds a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania. To learn more about IBM

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GIVEAWAY - send us a message and let us know your favorite thing about the Square Pizza Pod. We are giving away SchermCo swag to the first three people that send us a note!

We are excited to bring you this episode of the #squarepizzapod. This week, Greg is in conversation with Dr. Monique Perry-Graves, Executive Director at Teach For America NC. Congratulations, on the new role! A fun fact about Dr. Perry-Graves: she worked as a corporate speechwriter before pursuing a career in higher education.
 
In this episode you will learn: 

• How she got the nickname "Master of Analogies"
• Becoming the Executive Director for TFA NC
• The shift to a statewide strategy 
• Specific goals for TFA

Teach For America recruits outstanding and diverse leaders to become TFA “corps members.” Corps members commit to teaching for two years in a low-income community, where they’re employed by local schools and confront both the challenges and joys of expanding opportunities for kids. 

Learn more about Teach For America NC

Support the show

GIVEAWAY - send us a message and let us know your favorite thing about the Square Pizza Pod. We are giving away SchermCo swag to the first three people that send us a note!

We are excited to bring you this episode of the #squarepizzapod. This week, Greg is in conversation with Dr. Daniel Velasco, Chief Operating Officer at Latinos for Education. Latinos for Education's mission is to develop, place and connect essential Latino leaders in the education sector. 

Topics covered in this episode:

• How Latinos for Education came to be
• Why disaggregation needed across all levels to understand disparity
• How charter and district schools can work together or learn from each other
• What social, organizational, and political challenges stand in the way of more equitable representation between Latinx students and educational leaders

We hope you enjoy!

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GIVEAWAY - send us a message and let us know your favorite thing about the Square Pizza Pod. We are giving away SchermCo swag to the first three people that send us a note!

We joined forces with the Tennessee Educators of Color Alliance (TECA)  to bring you a session on strategic planning + implementation. You can learn more about Schermco’s unique approach to strategic planning and how it helped TECA secure a six-figure grant to expand their work across the state of Tennessee. This episode is ideal for executive leaders, funders, and other stakeholders interested in organizational growth and supporting educators of color.

Support the show

GIVEAWAY - send us a message and let us know your favorite thing about the Square Pizza Pod. We are giving away SchermCo swag to the first three people that send us a note!

We are excited to bring you this episode of the #squarepizzapod. This week, Greg is in conversation with Fidel Vargas, President of the Hispanic Scholarship  Fund. One fun fact about Fidel Vargas: In 1992, at age 23, Vargas was elected mayor of Baldwin Park, California becoming the youngest elected mayor in US history.

Topics covered in this episode:

• Centinela Capital Partners - investing and managing nearly $1B in minority owned funds
• Kobe Bryant and the Mamba Mentality 
• The moment Fidel learned he was admitted to Harvard
• His team's work supporting 20,000 HSF scholars 
• HSF receiving a $30M grant to further their technology platform

We hope you enjoy!

Support the show

GIVEAWAY - send us a message and let us know your favorite thing about the Square Pizza Pod. We are giving away SchermCo swag to the first three people that send us a note!

Sending all the love to everyone that has supported SchermCo over the last 7 years.  Thank you for sticking with us. 

More to do. More to come. 

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