Dr. Muhammad is an Associate Professor of Literacy, Language, and Culture at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and she has previously served as a classroom teacher, literacy specialist, school district administrator, curriculum director, and school board president. She studies Black historical excellence in education, intending to reframe curriculum and instruction today. Dr. Muhammad’s scholarship has appeared in leading academic journals and books. She has also received numerous national awards and is the author of the best-selling book, Cultivating Genius: An Equity Model for Culturally and Historically Responsive Literacy. She also co-authored Black girls’ literacies: An Edited Volume. Her newest book, Unearthing Joy, is the sequel to Cultivating Genius and provides a practical guide for putting culturally and historically responsive education into curricular practice.

Dr. Muhammad is interviewed by Stacey Joy, a National Board Certified Teacher, Google Certified Educator, and 2013 L.A. County Teacher of the Year. Stacey has taught elementary school for 38 years in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Currently, she teaches 5th grade at Baldwin Hills Pilot and Gifted Magnet School. In addition to cultivating the genius and joy in her Joyteam scholars, she also mentors novice teachers and is a teacher-leader in her school district. Stacey is a UCLA Writing Project fellow and a dedicated writer with Dr. Sarah Donovan’s community of teacher-poets at Ethical ELA. Stacey is a self-published poet and she has poems published in various anthologies: Out of Anonymity, Savant Poetry Anthologies, Teacher Poets: Writing to Bridge the Distance, and Rhythm and Rhyme: Poems for Student Athletes. Stacey is a proud mom of two adults, Kenneth and Noelle.