The EJT Show

Allecyn Gay Howard is the Founder of Alexander Howard Consulting, a firm focused on developing the effectiveness of mid-level leaders and designing leadership pathways for individuals in mid-level leadership positions. A native of College Park, Georgia, Allecyn began her career as a teacher in South Louisiana before transitioning to a Literacy Integration Specialist in New Orleans, LA. She has served in numerous leadership capacities with Teach for America, including Manager of Intervention and Leadership Development. She also served as the Founding Dean of Instruction at KIPP Delta: Forrest City. In 2018, Allecyn relocated to Washington, DC, where she has worked as an administrator with both charter and public schools. Allecyn holds a Bachelors from Southern University and A&M College and Masters from Teachers College at Columbia University. When she is not leveraging her skills to combat inequities, Allecyn enjoys exploring new recipes, traveling, and reading. Her greatest joy is spending quality time with her wife and children.

Dr. Timisha Barnes-Jones is a 1992 graduate of Davidson College where she earned a bachelor’s degree in music. She earned her Master’s degree in Education Curriculum & Supervision from the University of North Carolina. In 2014 she earned her doctorate degree in Education Leadership from Gardner-Webb University. She has over 25 years in education and has held various roles including teacher, dean of students, assistant principal of instruction, high school principal and principal coach. In 2014 Dr. Barnes-Jones completed the National Principals Academy Fellowship from Relay Graduate School and now serves as a principal advisor for the program. Dr. Timisha Barnes-Jones previously served as principal of West Charlotte High School located in the Charlotte Mecklenburg School district. Under her leadership, West Charlotte’s graduation rate increased by over 31 percentage points. During her tenure, she helped transform the school from a failing school to being named a school of academic high growth. In 2019 Dr. Barnes-Jones was named the Wells Fargo North Carolina Principal of the Year for the Southwest Region. Dr. Barnes-Jones believes in adding value to others and has successfully developed and coached both emerging and veteran leaders. She coaches school leaders to lead with authenticity and excellence. She is also a John Maxwell certified coach, speaker and DISC behavioral analysis trainer. Dr. Barnes-Jones currently serves as the Director of School Improvement for the Savannah-Chatham County School district in Savannah, Georgia. Dr. Barnes-Jones is also excited to soon be launching LiftED Leader, LLC.

DérNecia Phillips prides herself on being an unstoppable champion for education. She has 15 years of experience as a public school educator with service in various roles including teacher, instructional facilitator, and principal. She has leveraged her expertise to create DAL Education & Care Solutions, an education consulting company providing leadership development to schools and organizations with education outcomes. DAL Education & Care Solutions offers a variety of services to increase the efficacy of educational leaders including creative approaches to professional development, strategic planning, and leadership coaching. Developing leaders' gifts ultimately supports her 'heart work' of helping students maximize their own.

Deborah Peart is the lead writer for 2nd grade for the Illustrative Mathematics Elementary Math Curriculum project. Now based in FL, Deborah taught for over 25 years in NY, CT, and GA in the public and private sectors. Deborah is the founder of My Mathematical Mind and speaks on a variety of topics related to math identity and literacy connections to mathematics. She offers professional development for schools and districts, provides coaching support for teachers and school leaders, and offers virtual math sessions to elementary students. Blending her training in yoga and mindfulness with mathematics instruction, Deborah advocates for a mindful approach to teaching mathematics in order to address math anxiety, build confidence, and support the development of positive mathematical identities. She has dedicated her career to helping other educators approach teaching in innovative ways that allow students to see themselves as valued mathematical thinkers.

Joe Lofstedt is the Founder of Lofstedt Coaching, LLC and has been teaching and coaching students and teachers for nearly a decade. Joe has a deep belief that all students can learn rigorous material when empowered to leverage their prior skills and knowledge. He believes that this is possible when educators are supported, have collaborative working relationships and receive coaching. In his experience as a teacher, instructional coach, assistant principal and principal, he has seen how children meet and exceed growth when educators continuously reflect, plan and execute. Joe is a graduate of the University of Scranton and the University of Houston with his B.S. in Early and Primary Education and his M.Ed in Educational Administration and Supervision. He founded two primary schools in Eastern North Carolina with a team of talented and hard working educators serving as a grade-level chair, instructional coach, assistant principal and principal.

Philonda Johnson is a teacher and coach in her heart. Philonda grew up in San Antonio, Texas and New York City. At a young age, she always thought that she would be a lawyer and fight for justice. Joining the 2005 Houston Teacher for America corps as a Pre-Kindergarten teacher changed her career trajectory. In 2007, KIPP DC as a founding Pre-Kindergarten teacher, she fell in love with teaching, serving and began to (re)imagine what it meant to fight for educational justice. For 8 years, she served as the Founding Principal at KIPP Discover Academy. In 2017, Philonda transitioned to KIPP Northern California, where she serves as a Managing Director of Schools and has the honor of serving school leaders in Oakland, San Francisco and Redwood City. For the past seven years, she has served as a Leadership Coach and specifically loves coaching Black women school leaders. Philonda Johnson is the CEO of Philonda Johnson Consulting, a boutique leadership coaching and development firm for aspiring and current Black Women school and district leaders. She continues to explore and reinforce her commitment to Black Women and Black Girls through her research as a second year doctoral student at San Francisco State University. Currently, her dissertation study is on the experience of Black Women Principals as they implement an Anti-Racist Black Langauge Pedagogy on behalf of Black Girls in their schools. When Philonda is not supporting leaders and doing grad school homework, you can find her enjoying her new passion of reading and journaling poetry from amazing Black female poets.

Sable's journey as an educator began at Swarthmore College, where she first discovered the rage, passion and power of Black history as American history. When she recognized that her access to a remarkable education was an exception, and not the rule, her commitment to transforming and expanding educational opportunities for students of color back home in New York City began. For the past 10 years, Sable has served America's children as a teacher, coach and curriculum designer in Uncommon Schools, Inc., Public Prepatory Network, KIPP, TNTP, Teach for America and InquirED. With an average NPS of 85, she's facilitated and created professional development for Alder Graduate School of Education, EL Education, Achievement Network, Teaching Lab, Eskolta: School Research and Design and TNTP. Nationally, I've built the capacity of teachers, principals and district leadership for high-quality instructional practices and continuous improvement. In every organization, Sable sharpened an equity-minded consciousness that has pushed all stakeholders to fight for change within their spheres of influence. Currently, Sable supports school systems nationally as Founder & CEO of Equitable Outcomes, LLC while living in Sacramento, CA with her wife, Christina, and their dog, Grizzly.

Vanity Jenkins is the founder and principal consultant of ShiftED Consulting. She created the organization with the vision of abolishing racism and anti-blackness from organizations across America. ShiftED’s mission is to provide communities the knowledge and skills to eradicate anti-blackness and white supremacy culture individually, interpersonally, and systemically so that individuals and organizations can build inclusive, productive, and thriving environments. Vanity has over a decade of experience working for and advising nonprofits, district leaders, principals, charter networks, and companies on equitable practices and racial literacy. Vanity has been guided by a lifelong commitment to equity for children, families, and communities. She has designed and facilitated content to over 2000 principals, non-profit employees, and C-Suite leaders across the country. The content that she has designed has always been grounded in culturally relevant leadership and organizational equity. An inclusive, goals-oriented leader, Vanity’s teams consistently scored in the top 10% on the national Great Places to Work Survey. Vanity is bolstered by the hope that the work she does will one day lead to the dismantlement of systems of oppression and that there will exist a world in which all children and communities thrive. Vanity holds certifications in Women’s Leadership, Restorative Justice, and Culturally Relevant Pedagogy.

Rachel Vicente is the CEO and Founder of Rachel Vicente Consulting. She is a DEI Strategist & Trainer, a former non-profit leader and forever educator. Her passion is striving to see equity in action. She spent the first eight years of her career deeply immersed in supporting and leading teachers, coaches and organizations to live into anti-racist practices. Currently, she is working alongside companies to transform and make certain that diversity, equity and inclusion is built into the fabric and being of all that is done. At the helm, she is committed to ensuring that systems, structures and policies allow for all of us to live into a more just, anti-racist society. Rachel is based in Miami - she enjoys running and being a plant mom.

Becca Silver has coached hundreds of teachers and school leaders across the United States since 2016. She is passionate about coaching and supporting educators and school leaders holistically that creates school cultures to support resiliency in teachers, lowering teacher turnover. She has created a 6-week coaching program called The EmpowerED Coach to support all instructional coaches in growing their ability to impact and empower all teachers they work with, even the tough ones! While typical programs for coaches focus on the content, she focuses on how to support the human being teaching that content. Mindsets and motivations matter.