The Perkins Platform

Lisa Feldman Barrett is University Distinguished Professor of psychology at Northeastern University with appointments at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Harvard Medical School. Discussing how our world goes beyond our five senses, Dr. Barrett joins us for an exciting conversation on Wednesday, October 20 @ 6pm EST.  She is among the top 1% most-cited scientists for her revolutionary research in psychology and neuroscience.  She is the recipient of a NIH Director’s Pioneer Award for transformative research, the Mentor Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Association for Psychological Science (APS), and the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award from the American Psychological Association (APA). She is an elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Royal Society of Canada, and a number of other honorific societies. She is also a former president of the APS. She has testified before the US Congress, is the Chief Science Officer for the Center for Law, Brain and Behavior at MGH, and actively engages in informal science education for the public via popular books, articles and public lectures. She has authored two popular science books for the public: How Emotions are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain, and more recently, Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain.

Award-winning journalist at CNN, John Blake, joins us for an informative conversation discussing his recent article, “White Supremacy, With A Tan.” John has been honored by the Associated Press, the Society of Professional Journalists, the American Academy of Religion, the National Association of Black Journalists, the Religion Communicators Council and with the GLAAD Media Award. He was most recently the winner of the 2019 Sigma Delta Chi awards for Excellence in Journalism for his online columns on race and politics. His 2020 essay, “There’s One Epidemic We May Never Find a Cure For: Fear of Black Men in Public Spaces,” was recently selected by Bustle Digital Group as one of the 11 best essays on racism and police violence. The other authors on that list included Ta-Nehisi Coates, Ibram X. Kendi, and Roxane Gay. Blake’s book, “Children of the Movement,” was a finalist for the 2005 NAACP Image Awards in the Outstanding Literary Work Non-Fiction category and a finalist for the Gustavus Myers Outstanding Book Awards. He has spoken at high schools, colleges, symposiums and in documentaries about topics such as race, religion and politics.  Blake is a native of Baltimore, Maryland and a graduate of Howard University. Tune in on Wednesday, October 13th @ 7pm EST!

Associate professor at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute of New York University, Meredith Broussard, joins us for an exciting conversation on Artificial Intelligence and her recent book, Artificial Unintelligence: How Computers Misunderstand the World. Her research focuses on artificial intelligence in investigative reporting, with a particular interest in using data analysis for social good. She is an affiliate faculty member at the Moore Sloan Data Science Environment at the NYU Center for Data Science, a 2019 Reynolds Journalism Institute Fellow, and her work has been supported by the Institute of Museum & Library Services as well as the Tow Center at Columbia Journalism School. A former features editor at the Philadelphia Inquirer, she has also worked as a software developer at AT&T Bell Labs and the MIT Media Lab. Her features and essays have appeared in The Atlantic, Slate, Vox, and other outlets. Tune in on Wednesday, October 6th @ 6pm EST!

Join us on Wednesday, September 29nd @ 6pm EST for an inspiring conversation with Dr. Jamel Adkins-Sharif, discussing his article “Beginning Again with Marginalized Parents” and the work he is doing nationally to highlight issues that have been frequently put on a back burner.  Dr. Sharif is the Director of Eskolta Boston, a high school research and redesign nonprofit committed to culturally sustaining school transformation. Jamel holds an EdD in Urban Education, Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Massachusetts-Boston. His research explores race, social justice, leadership, and equity in schools. Jamel has had a successful career as a special education teacher of history and mathematics in New York, and was founding principal of both an elementary charter and a district middle school in Massachusetts. An alum of Rutgers Law School, Dr. Adkins-Sharif is also Assistant Professor of Practice at Rutgers University Graduate School of  Education.

Join us on Wednesday, September 22nd @ 6pm EST for an informative conversation with Ahtza Dawn Chavez, member of the Diné Nation and born in Kewa Pueblo, to discuss her work as Executive Director of the NAVA Education Project and New Mexico Native Vote.  In her role, she oversees partner organizations tasked with educating and creating an indigenous voting bloc in New Mexico working with key organizations and governance within the state. She is also the small business owner of IndigeLens Media, which focuses on showcasing indigenous voices, enhancing tribal community, promoting social entrepreneurship and increasing visibility of authentic representations of indigenous culture and language. She has worked on various GOTV campaigns in Indian Country (Navajo, Apache and Pueblo) and with Urban populations, heavily invested in the fight for tribal broadband access. Her vision includes focusing on increasing civic engagement within Native American communities, continuing to collaborate and unify voter blocs while strengthening Indigenous sovereignty and control over our sacred lands.

Join us on September 15 at Noon EST to chat with Principal Mauri Chantel Melander Friestleben, the proud principal of Minneapolis' North High School. Mauri, the former leader of Lucy Craft Community school in Minneapolis was the subject of a featured documentary a the Minneapolis - St. Paul International Film Festival.  She is a member of coalition of local principals united around the purpose of providing the much needed support of students of color. Tune in for an enlightening conversation with Mauri as she leads us through her work and the work of so many other school leaders doing what they can to make a difference where its needed most - focusing on school culture and climate.

Join us for our BACK TO SCHOOL BROADCAST on Wednesday, September 1st @ 6pm EST for an informative conversation with noted scholar, lecturer and author, Dr. Na’im Akbar, discussing his work in Black Psychology. Dr. Akbar’s scholarship in this area has led to numerous honors including the Distinguished Psychologist Award from the National Association of Black Psychologists; Honorary Doctorates of Human Letters from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and Lincoln University as well as commemorative Days named in his honor in a half dozen major American cities and a Development Chief in Ghana, West Africa. Dr. Akbar has served on the Boards of Directors of several important civic and professional organizations, including the Board of the National Association of Black Psychologists to which he was elected president in 1987. In 2008 after twenty-eight years, he retired from the psychology faculty at Florida State University, to devote full time as President of his private consulting and publishing company, Mind Productions and Associates. 

He has received world renown for the important books that he has written, especially his widely read books New Visions for Black Men and Breaking the Chains of Psychological Slavery. He has been sought as an expert on numerous national television talk shows including The Oprah Winfrey Show, Tavis Smiley’s Annual State of Black America, the Geraldo Show and many others. Significant articles about him have appeared in many national and international newspapers and magazines, including The Washington Post, and Essence Magazine. Akbar has been lauded for his eloquence and expertise at Conferences on five continents and he is recognized as one of the great Thinkers and Orators of our time. He identifies himself as most notably, the father of three highly successful adult children and four young grandchildren.

Gabrielle Apollon co-supervises the Global Justice Clinic’s project on Human Rights in Haiti’s Emerging Mining Sector and certain components* of the Clinic’s project on Torture, Rendition, and Detention. Gabrielle previously served as Managing Attorney at The Door: A Center for Alternatives, where she represented young people in immigration and family law matters. While at The Door, Gabrielle expanded services for Francophone immigrants and became a New York Community Trust Leadership Fellow. A 2015 graduate of NYU School of Law, Gabrielle was an AnBryce Scholar and served as a student advocate in the Global Justice and Children’s Rights Clinics. As a student, Gabrielle earned a Ford Foundation Public Interest Law Fellowship to work with Conectas in Brazil for a summer, documenting human rights violations of Haitian migrants en route to Brazil.

 

Prior to law school, Gabrielle worked at the United Nations Office of the Special Envoy to Haiti as a research specialist. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University, where she was awarded the J.W. Saxe Memorial Award for Public Service and Harry J. Carman Fellowship. While studying political science and international development, Gabrielle interned with the Council on Foreign Relations and Haiti’s presidential commission, Groupe de Travail sur l’Education et la Formation (GTEF). Gabrielle speaks French and Haitian Creole. She serves as the Vice President of the Board of Directors of St. Hope Leadership Academy.

Founder and CEO of the Center for Black Educator Development, Sharif El-Mekki, joins us for an informative discussion on the expectations held by educators for young black people. The Center for Black Educator Development exists to ensure there will be equity in the recruiting, training, hiring, and retention of quality educators that reflect the cultural backgrounds and share common socio-political interests of the students they serve. Prior to founding the Center, Sharif served as a nationally recognized principal and U.S. Department of Education Principal Ambassador Fellow. His school, Mastery Charter Shoemaker, was recognized by President Obama and Oprah Winfrey, and was awarded the prestigious EPIC award for three consecutive years as being amongst the top three schools in the country for accelerating students’ achievement levels. Sharif blogs on Phillys7thWard, is a member of the 8 Black Hands podcast and serves on several boards and committees focused on educational and racial justice. Tune in on Wednesday, August 18th @ 5pm EST to this broadcast!

Join us on Wednesday, August 11th @ 6pm EST for an enlightening conversation about the "voices in our head" with Dr. Ethan Kross, one of the world’s leading experts on controlling the conscious mind. An award-winning professor in the University of Michigan’s top ranked Psychology Department and its Ross School of Business, he is the director of the Emotion & Self Control Laboratory. The Laboratory’s mission is to improve the understanding of how people can adaptively control impulses and emotions that undermine their goals and compromise their health.  Ethan has participated in policy discussion at the White House and has been interviewed about his research on CBS Evening News, Good Morning America, Anderson Cooper Full Circle, and NPR’s Morning Edition. His research has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, The New England Journal of Medicine, and Science.