Educational Equity Episodes

Our guest, ⁠Mohammed Elmeski, PhD⁠, is a university professor, senior education advisor, researcher, and international development professional with nearly three decades of experience spanning education policy, higher education, school improvement, and system reform. His career has bridged academia, government, research, and international development, with leadership and advisory roles in Morocco, the United States, Africa, the Middle East, and other international contexts. He has served as a u...

Our guest, Dr. Andy Jacks, is an award-winning principal, speaker, author, and leadership coach dedicated tohelping educators build thriving school communities full of energy, growth, and fun. A former Virginia Principal of the Year and National Distinguished Principal, he shares practical, research-based strategies on leadership, school improvement, student engagement, and creating lasting positive change. He is the author of Discipline Win and speaks nationally to inspire leaders to make the e...

Our Guests, Ed Alvarez and Dr. Cheryl Ingram, are Executive and Executive Deputy Directors, respectively, of the Silicon Valley Equity in Education Institute (SVEEI). Ed’s education experience spans the past 25 years, including roles as President and Board Chair of The National Hispanic University, The Foundation for Hispanic Education, and the Latino Education Advancement Foundation. Currently, he serves on the board of English Together and is President of the San Francisco Bay University Educ...

Our Guest, Prince Johnson, a 26-year veteran educator, is the 2026 New York State Teacher of the Year as well as the 2025 Gilder Lehrman New York History Teacher of the Year. A passionate advocate for career and technical education (CTE) and a leader in sustainability, he teaches social studies at Food and Finance High School in New York City and serves on the NYCPS Climate Education Leadership Team. His drive as an educator was shaped by the injustices he observed while teaching on Rikers Isla...

Our Guest, Dr. Larry J. Walker, is an Associate Professor and Doctoral Program Coordinator at the University of Central Florida. Previously, he held faculty appointments at Howard University and Loyola University Maryland. His research focused on leadership, policy, and racism. In addition, he served as the Legislative Director for former Congressman Major R. Owens and selected as a Congressional Fellow with the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. Dr. Walker is a political commentator who ap...

Our Guest, Dr. Marvin Lynn, Dean of the School of Education & Human Development (SEHD) at the University of Colorado Denver, has enjoyed a robust career as a teacher, scholar, public university administrator, and artist. SEHD is a statewide and national leader for education quality and access across the education and human development lifespan. It is the largest graduate school of its kind in Colorado and is highly regarded for its high-quality academic programs that demonstrate evidence of a st...

Our guest, Nicholas D. Hartlep, Ph.D., holds the Robert Charles Billings Endowed Chair in Education at Berea College wherehe has Chaired the Education Studies Department since 2019. He is currently enjoying a research sabbatical year (2025–2026). A scholar of educational foundations and critical pedagogy, Dr. Hartlep’s research critically interrogates the modelminority stereotype, urban teacher education, racial battle fatigue in higher education, the political economy of student debt, and the ...

Our guest, Xiomara J. Giordano, is Assistant Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer at SUNY Empire. Xiamara holds a Master of Science in Educational Policy and Leadership with a focus on Higher Education from the State University of New York at Albany and received her BA in Spanish and Portuguese Literature from Smith College. Previously, Xiomara worked at Bennington College, where she made significant contributions to the field of Diversity, Equity, and ...

Our guest, Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy, Ph.D., currently serves as the president and CEO of AACTE (American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education). She joined AACTE in January 2025, after serving as a distinguished professor and dean of the Schoolof Education at American University (AU) in Washington, D.C., for over eight years. During her tenure at AU, Holcomb-McCoy implemented various programs that heightened the visibility of the school within the University and on a national stage. Notably...

Xcelerate educational excellence and equity with Dr. Rosa Rivera-McCutchen, author of Radical Care: Leading for Justice in Urban Schools. Sponsor: The 2.0 Conferences. Register for the 20262.0 Conferences in Las Vegas, Nevada and receive a discount courtesy of EDUP Xcelerated Excellence with the code EDUPXE15OFF. Your choice of the 2.0 Conferences include: CXO 2.0, Education 2.0, Health 2.0, Founders 2.0, and the Fueld Conference. Resource: Radical Care: Leading for Justice in Urban Schools (...

Our guest, Dr. Fred A. Bonner, II, is Professor and Endowed Chair in Educational Leadership and Counseling and Founding Executive Director and Chief Scientist of the Minority Achievement, Creativity and High-Ability (MACH-III) Center at PrairieView A&M University. He is formerly the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Endowed Chair in Education in the Graduate School of Education at Rutgers University and an esteemed expert in the field of diversity ineducation. Prior to joining Rutgers, he was Professor of...

Our guest, JAKE Small, is a justice-driven researcher, education equity consultant, and public speaker. He believes that high-quality public education is always a worthwhile pursuit andis passionate about advancing high-quality education for all children. JAKE is a TEDx speaker and the author of FOR EVERY BLACK BOY, a poetry book amplifying his research on the mattering of Black boys as a tool for academic persistenc eand long term professional success. JAKE supports the Massachusetts Departme...

Our guest, Dr. Rosa Rivera-McCutchen, is an educator with over 20 years of experience working in NYC public schools and higher education settings. A first-generation college graduate, Dr. Rivera-McCutchen’s research, teaching, and activism areinformed by her experiences and center on achieving racial equity through what she calls Radical Care. Her book, Radical Care: Leading for Justice in Urban Schools, was published by Teachers College Press in 2021. Her research has appeared in highly respect...

Our guest, Dr. Monika Williams Shealey, is Dean of Temple University's College of Education and Human Development (CEHD). Dr. Shealey has the distinction of being the first female dean in history of the College of Education and Human Development. Monika shares how the CEHD and Temple are committed to impact and working in partnership with the City of Philadelphia and its communities. Monika shares how the CEHD and Temple are committed to impact and working in partnership with the City of Phila...

Our Guest, Sharif El-Mekki, is founder and CEO of the Center for Black Educator Development in Philadelphia, PA. Sharif explains the mission of the center to rebuild theBlack educator pipeline. He stresses the importance of attending to the social-political context of the profession. Three pillars undergird the center’s work steeped in community to build while leading. The pillars arepolicy and advocacy, professional learning, and pathways for entry into the profession. With much national atte...

Our guests are Drs. LaVada Taylor and Nancy Grim are Dean and Professor, respectively, at Chicago State University (CSU). Both are with the School of Education. For this Inspirational Short recorded during the fall 2024 CAEPCon convening in Arlington, VA. Dean Taylor shares that Chicago State University is as a gem and is the only predominantly Black colleges across five states in the Midwest. It was the first teacher’s college in the state of Illinois. Our guests stress that CAEP accreditatio...

Dr. Margaret Terry Orr is Professor at Fordham University and EdD program director and Chair of the Division of Educational Leadership, Administration, and Policy within the Graduate School of Education. She explains that improvement science applies an inquiry approach focusing on both the problem and the solution. A key component requires the engagement and perspectives of stakeholders involved in the problem and its solutions. Dr. Orr outlines how the Plan-Do-Study-Act framework is used to s...

Our guest, Dr. Tyrone Howard, is the Pritzker Family Endowed Chair in the School of Education and Information Studies at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He is also the immediate past-president of the American Educational Research Association. Dr. Howard, profiles the significance of parent and caregiver engagement in educational equity and belonging, as outlined in his new book Equity Now: Justice, Repair, and Belonging in Schools. He stresses the significance of mindsets when add...