David Stovall, Ph.D. is Professor of African-American Studies and Criminology, Law & Justice at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). His scholarship investigates three areas 1) Critical Race Theory, 2) the relationship between housing and education, and 3) the intersection of race, place and school. In the attempt to bring theory to action, he works with community organizations and schools to develop curriculum that address issues of equity and justice. His work led him to become a member of the design team for the Greater Lawndale/Little Village School for Social Justice (SOJO), which opened in the Fall of 2005. Furthering his work with communities, students, and teachers, his work manifests itself in his involvement with the Peoples Education Movement, a collection of classroom teachers, community members, students and university professors in Chicago, Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area who engage in collaborative community projects centered in creating relevant curriculum. In addition to his duties and responsibilities as a professor at UIC, he also served as a volunteer social studies teacher at the Greater Lawndale/Little Village School for Social Justice from 2005-2018.

Atrayus Goode is the President and CEO of MENTOR North Carolina and founder of Movement of Youth (MOY). Atrayus has vast experiences working within community and youth serving organizations as well as global experience, including consulting in South Africa with Vuleka Schools; leading all-Black delegations to Cuba with Witness for Peace to examine historical and present-day Cuban realities through a lens focused on race, gender, and other aspects of Cuban identity; and traveling to Palestine/Israel with Interfaith Peace Builders to explore Palestinian and Israeli efforts to achieve peace with justice and investigate issues of detention and incarceration, the Israeli military court system, and political prisoners.

He is also co-Chair of My Brother's and Sister's Keeper (MBSK) Orange County, Member of the National Public Policy Committee of the 100 Black Men of America, and Chair of the National Board of Directors of Witness for Peace. 

Follow Atrayus on Social Media:

Twitter: @Atrayus

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/atrayus/

About Tessy: Tessy Ojo is the Chief Executive of the Diana Award – a charity legacy to Diana, Princess of Wales’ belief that young people have the power to change the world. The Diana Award’s mission is to foster, develop and inspire positive change in the lives of young people. The charity benefits from the support of The Royal Highnesses, Prince William and Prince Harry, as well as the UK Prime Minister as a Patron.

Tessy is a passionate and practical campaigner who has gained an international reputation for ‘fostering positive change in the lives of young people’ ‘and the impact it has on communities around them. At the heart of her work is the belief that with the right support and investment, young people are the best instigators for achieving real, sustainable change in their lives, their communities and the lives of their peers.

Tessy has a first degree in Biochemistry, an MBA and a post grad diploma in Counselling. She is married and has two children.

Find her on social media:

Twitter: @Ttall

Instagram: tessyojo

Dr. Bettina L. Love is an award-winning author and the Athletic Association Endowed Professor at the University of Georgia. She is one of the field’s most esteemed educational researchers. Her writing, research, teaching, and activism meet at the intersection of race, education, abolition, and Black joy. Dr. Love is concerned with how educators working with parents and communities can build communal, civically engaged schools rooted in Abolitionist Teaching with the goal of intersectional social justice for equitable classrooms that love and affirm Black and Brown children. In 2020, Dr. Love co-founded the Abolitionist Teaching Network (ATN). ATN’s mission is simple: develop and support teachers and parents to fight injustice within their schools and communities. In 2020, Dr. Love was also named a member of the Old 4th Ward Economic Security Task Force with the Atlanta City Council. 

Check out Dr. Love's work here: https://bettinalove.com/ and check out the Abolitionist Teaching Network here: https://abolitionistteachingnetwork.org/

Follow Dr. Love and the Abolitionist Teaching Network on social

Twitter: @blovesoulpower and @ATN_1863

Instagram: @blovesoulpower and @atn_1863

Sadiq Ali, MBA, is a 5 time author, speaker, professor, mentor consultant, social entrepreneur, coach, trainer and supporter of young people. Through his organizations, Maryland MENTOR and Millionaire Manners Academy, every year he speaks to, trains and works with thousands of students, parents, educators, mentors and program leaders who are determined to get more from their work and life. He can be reached on social media @TheSadiqAliShow.

Website: http://www.sadiqali.com/

Follow Sadiq on social:

Twitter: thesadiqalishow

Instagram: thesadiqalishow

Cade Maldonado is a native Angelino and is dedicated to applying theory to practice in the youth development field. Before joining YMAN and completing his M.Ed., Cade managed the CASA Pitzer Academic Program and Community Space for three years, engaged in both research and organizing work ranging from youth mentoring to immigration to environmental justice. He now maintains and runs all of YMAN’s outreach and training efforts in the Inland Empire and nationally.

Isabella Chavez serves as the Youth Mentoring Action Network’s Program Director. As Program Director, Isabella oversees the various programs and events hosted by YMAN. As a protege of Dr. Torie Weiston- Serdan and product of ‘The Network’, Isabella is uniquely situated to speak on the ‘real-life’ effects of a critical mentoring relationship as elaborated in Critical Mentoring: a Practical Guide. Isabella has a BA in Public Policy from UC Riverside as well as a community fellowship with Claremont McKenna College covering research and data collection for social change.

Cade's Instagram: @thirtyfivemillimetercadence

A graduate of the University of Southern California’s prestigious Thornton School of Music, Gayle has a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Jazz Studies with minors in Music Education and Electro Acoustic Media. Equally musician and educator, Gayle's sound spans generations and includes a powerful combination of jazz, funk, soul, blues and hip-hop.

She received her Master’s of Music from the University of Southern California and an undergraduate degree in music from the University of LaVerne after studying at the Dick Grove School of Music. Gayle is a well-respected featured artist and educator. In addition to leading her own jazz duo, trio, and quartet, she has performed with the musical likes of Rosemary Bailey, Joanne Grauer, Joyce Collins, Dr. Reed Gratz, John B. Williams, Jennifer Leitham, Paul T. Smith, Stacy Rowles, Betty O’Hara and the Jazzbirds, Jack DeJohnette, Gilad Atzmon, Yarone Levy, Dion Neuble, Pamella Bowen, Seiler Piano Company, Hammond Organ Company, the world renowned Les Brown Orchestra, and The Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra.

Gayle is a proud Hammond artist and plays frequently in the Southern California area. Her areas of musical interest include; jazz organ, jazz piano, the history of jazz and hip-hop, the art of improvisation and music therapy. She is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda Music Honor Society and has received numerous awards from the National Association of Jazz Educators.

 Follow Gayle on Social Media

Twitter: @drgayleserdan

Instagram: @drgayleserdan

Check out her website and music at: www.drgayleserdan.com

Dr. Elizabeth Santiago is the Chief Program Officer for MENTOR. In this role, she is responsible for and actively involved in the management of programs and services for a wide range of stakeholders. She works with a team to implement a continuous quality improvement process throughout the program and service areas, focusing on systems and process improvement. Prior to MENTOR, Elizabeth gained extensive experience in program management and development, instructional design, curriculum development, training and professional development with organizations such as Jobs for the Future, Simmons College, Babson College, Houghton Mifflin, and World Education. She has specific experience in working with vulnerable or marginalized youth and the systems and people that serve them. She has taught high school equivalency courses within school districts, community-based organizations and through unions, and managed the GED/high school equivalency program at the Harriet Tubman House in Boston, MA. She has also built a professional development service for teachers and principals designing education programs for first generation college goers. Elizabeth earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Writing, Literature and Publishing from Emerson College and a Master’s degree from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education, Technology, Innovation and Education Program. She recently earned her PhD in education studies at Lesley University.

Follow Elizabeth on Social Media

Twitter: @esantiagoMENTOR

Check out MENTOR The National Mentoring Partnership: https://www.mentoring.org/

Jesus Sanchez is an educator, organizer and community activist. He is founder of the Pomona based organization, Gente Organizada, a community-led social action non-profit organization based in Pomona whose mission is to bring together generations to access, build, and wield their collective power to achieve educational, economic, and social justice in our communities.

Jesus has worked closely with lawmakers, education officials, higher education leaders and teachers unions to implement critical programs, policies, and reforms to improve conditions for students, parents, and educators. Jesus has extensive knowledge in grassroots organizing, leadership and strategy development, college and career readiness, and youth development.

Find out more about the work of Gente Organizada: https://www.genteorganizada.org/

Learn about their #defundthepolice win last year: https://www.dailybulletin.com/2019/09/12/pomona-unified-reallocates-2-million-to-programs-for-high-need-students/

And how their recent work: https://www.publicadvocates.org/righttoresources/ is fueling new movements: https://www.aclusocal.org/en/press-releases/massive-neglect-black-and-brown-students-alleged-san-bernardino-precedent-setting

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/genteforgente/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/genteorganizada/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnGqGF4FLxl3xKT2zAhNz1Q

Marcus L. Strother is a father, husband, educator and a youth and community advocate. A 22- year veteran in the education field, spending 17 years in Illinois before relocating to Sacramento, California a little over five years ago, Marcus spent 8 years as a classroom teacher, and 9 years as a high school administrator. Marcus is the Chief Executive Officer of the newly formed MENTOR CA.

You can find out more about Marcus' work here: https://www.lifedatamatters.com/

Connect to the emerging MENTOR CA: https://www.mentoring.org/mentor-california/

Follow Marcus on Social Media

Twitter: @MarcusLStrother

Instagram: @marcuslstrother

At the time that we spoke, we were mourning the violent death of Ahmaud Arbery at the hands of white vigilantes. This episode is released as we all mourn the murder of George Floyd at the hands of the police. Dr. Montgomery's call to change the material conditions we do our work in is urgent.

Beronda L. Montgomery, PhD, is a writer, researcher, and scholar who pursues a common theme of understanding how individuals perceive, respond to, and are impacted by the environments in which they exist. Her primary laboratory-based research is focused on the responses of photosynthetic organisms (i.e., plants and cyanobacteria) to external light cues. Additionally, Beronda pursues this theme in the context of effective mentoring and leadership of individuals, and the role of innovative leaders in supporting success.

You can find Dr. Montgomery's mentoring research and "Lessons from Plants here: http://www.berondamontgomery.com/mentoring-philosophy-thoughts/

https://publications.publicphilosophyjournal.org/record/?issue=6-18-22&kid=6-15-173284

Follow Dr. Beronda Montgomery on Social Media

Twitter @BerondaM

Instagram @beronda_m

Looking particularly at the transition from K-12 to Higher Education, we talk about what is needed to get young folks ready for college and through college, the need for bridge programs, and more.

This episode also features a special discussion about utilizing Hip-Hop to teach Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man that is geared toward English Educators.

Stevie “Dr. View” Johnson is a DJ, producer, educator and community organizer from Longview, TX. He currently serves as Manager of Education & Diversity Outreach for the Woody Guthrie Center & Bob Dylan Center. With close to ten years of college student development experience, Dr. View received his PhD in Higher Education Administration from the University of Oklahoma, in May of 2019. His written Hip-Hop & album dissertation, entitled Curriculum of the Mind: A BlackCrit, Narrative Inquiry Hip-Hop Album on Anti-Blackness & Freedom for Black Male Collegians at historically white institutions, received the 2019 Bobby Wright Dissertation of the Year Award for the Association for the Study of Higher Education. Dr. View is also the CEO of The Space Program (TSP), an independent record label hub and hip hop collective, as well as CEO of (IN)VISIBLE records. Dr. View is also the Executive Director of Fire in Little Africa, which is a multimedia Hip-Hop project commemorating Tulsa’s Historic Greenwood District known as Black Wall Street. Dr. View is married to his wife Ariel, and is a father to his three year old son, Amir Sky. His newest drop, (In) Visible Man is available at all streaming outlets: https://smarturl.it/drview1

Follow Dr. View on Social Media.

FB: https://www.facebook.com/djvi3w

Twitter and Instagram: @drview1

Dominique Morgan (They/Them/Theirs) is an award-winning artist, activist, and TEDx speaker. As the Executive Director of Black and Pink, the largest prison abolitionist organization in the United States, They work daily to dismantle the systems that perpetuate violence on LGBTQ/GNC people and individuals living with HIV/AIDS. Partnering their lived experience of incarceration as a youth (which included 18 months in solitary confinement), with a decade of change-making artistry, advocacy, and background in public health, they continue to work in spaces of sex education, radical self-care, and youth development with intentions of dismantling the prison industrial complex and it impacts our community. Dominique is an NAACP Freedom Fighter Award recipient, 2020 Urban League Young Professional of the Year and a 2020 Ten Outstanding Young Omahan Award recipient. In addition to completing their capstone project for studies in the Georgetown University - System Involved LGBTQ Youth Scholar Program, Dominique is a 2019- 2020 National Juvenile Justice Network Youth Leadership Fellow, 2020 Martin Luther King “Living The Dream” Award Recipient and 2020 JM Kaplan Innovation Prize Recipient. His first book “An Introduction to Sexuality Education: A Handbook for Youth System Facing Professionals” will be released in October 2020. Find out more about Dominique Morgan at www.dominiquemorgan.com. Check out his TEDxTalk on Resilience as well.

Follow Dominique Morgan on all social media platforms

FB: https://www.facebook.com/dm56892/

Twitter and Instagram: @dm56892