Daphne uses books as though they are EpiPens and every student who walks into her room has a mouth full of shrimp. The more books she can get inside of a student the more apt they are to fight the apathetic trap that snares so many of their peers. Daphne spent seventeen years teaching with class sets of Hatchet and Esperanza Rising until 2007 when a friend told her to read The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. 584 pages later she began teaching as though books save lives and has never wavered from her mission.

Ebone Kimber is a licensed Master's level social worker who has been working in child welfare for over 13 years. She received her Bachelor's degree in Social Work at the University of Alabama in Birmingham and her Masters at The University of Alabama. She spent her early years in the field on the front lines offering case management and basic living skills to children in foster care and their foster families. She also provided similar services, including individual counseling to families working to keep their families together through family preservation services. Ebone has also served as a therapist at a residential facility and worked as Program Director for advocacy and education programs for youth in foster care for over 5 years, planning and implementing events for older youth in foster care to educate and prepare them for life after foster care to ensure they avoided the negative statistics of adulthood. Ebone most recently shifted in her career path and is now a School Social Worker and Habits of Success Coach at an elementary school. She teaches SEL to all grades kindergarten through 3rd and provides individual sessions with students as requested by families, teachers and/or administration and provides support to Guides for classroom challenges. She has been the CEO and founder of Professional Development with Ebone Kimber since 2016, where she operates in her gift of educating helping professionals on how to think outside the box in their practices while keeping in the forefront of their minds the important factor of doing no harm to those they serve. She strives to advocate for vulnerable populations and educate others on how to stand up for and assist others in their community. Ebone has created several training series' including Pitfalls of a Petty Professional, Supportive Adult Series and is working on a curriculum to assist professionals in utilizing trauma informed practices to better support at risk youth in all areas, including schools, hospitals, and counselors on the streets of our communities. Ebone lives in Alabama with her husband, John, an audio producer and their son Nehemiah.

Each day this week we are counting down the Top 5 episodes of 2020! #1: Season 2 Ep. 56 - CharacterStrong Co-Founder John Norlin shares a recent experience from a training, and talks about why we can't wait to infuse social emotional learning and character development into the daily fabric of our schools.

Each day this week we are counting down the Top 5 episodes of 2020!

#2: Season 3 Ep. 2 - We talk with Matthew about the work that needs to be done when it comes to changing our educational systems, the deep personal work that needs to happen as we move forward, and the importance of authenticity.

Each day this week we are counting down the Top 5 episodes of 2020! #3: Season 3 Ep. 11 - We talk with Dr. Bikowsky about her work with educators helping students reframe thoughts, feelings and behaviors, and some practical strategies that staff can use while teaching virtually.

Each day this week we are counting down the Top 5 episodes of 2020! #4: Season 3 Ep. 18 - We talk to Angelica Rodriguez about how we can put a focus on taking care of ourselves as teachers, the importance of self care & mental health especially in this season, and she shares some simple strategies that can positively impact our classrooms.

Each day this week we are counting down the Top 5 episodes of 2020! #5: Season 2 Ep. 108 - We talk with Maddie Bogart about virtual student engagement, how she used one of her weekly meetings to focus on relationships, and she shares some of the creative ideas that she did with students.

John talks with new CharacterStrong team member and veteran educator Don Bartel about the topic "The Way Out Is Through", they discuss the new CharacterStrong student leadership conference, and they share why the topics of purpose, influence, and obstacles are so important.

Nationally-recognized speaker, counselor, and author Barbara Gruener thrives on positively influencing character change, passionately helping people create caring connections, and intentionally improving school climate and culture. Her innovative, inspirational ideas are sparked by her 37 years in education growing alongside learners from every age and stage and helping them to find their purpose and pursue their passion. Her 2014 Mom's Choice Gold Award Winner, What's Under Your Cape?, is filled with engaging empowerment strategies to serve all stakeholders stretch and soar. When she's not working, Barbara enjoys spending time with her husband John and their adult children.

Nikolete Nikravan went to UHCL, graduated with her BA in Math and her 7-12 Math Certification in May of 2019. She won New Teacher of The Year for Santa Fe High School last school year, and was featured on the news for delivering gift bags to all 97 of her students during covid/distance learning. Currently, Nikolete is a math teacher at Santa Fe HS, coaches girls basketball, and is in school to get her masters in Educational Leadership.