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Jaycee ColemanFounding Partner
A native of Seattle’s Central District, Jaycee is a Community Educator, Mentor, Teaching Artist, and Youth Advocate. Jaycee is the Youth Engagement Specialist serving the Yesler Terrace and High Point communities with Seattle Housing Authority. Jaycee is an entrepreneur, former owner of a vintage clothing store and art gallery. Read More
For the last decade, he’s partnered with Seattle Public Schools and Seattle Housing Authority as a RecTech Digital Equity Coordinator, Center Supervisor for the Youth Tutoring Program, and K-5 School Site Manager through Seattle University’s Youth Initiative to create safe spaces for scholars to thrive, using the arts, education, and entrepreneurship as a vehicle for Black liberation. He has extensive experience developing culturally responsive and affirming programming, connecting families to vital resources, and convening community-based organizations in the service of Black children and youth. He is currently pursuing his Master’s in Education Administration at Seattle University and homeschooling his 4 children with his wife in West Seattle. Jaycee holds a BA from University of Washington’s Foster School of Business, with a major in Business Administration. |
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Dr. Ayanna GorePartner
Ayanna L. Gore was born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. With a long line of baptist ministers, Sunday school teachers and teacher aides in her family, education has always been the focus despite the fact that she earned a college degree before any siblings or her parents... Read More
She earned her Bachelors of Science degree in Biology with a minor in Psychology of Crime and Justice from Loyola University—Chicago. She entered education after joining Teach For America as a high school science instructor and continued her work in education for the last 10 years. Her passions lie within mindset coaching, classroom management, curriculum/instructional development and diversity, equity and inclusion within the school system. She is completing her doctorate in Educational Leadership at DePaul University where she is studying the impacts of novice Black teachers within Urban Schools. She focuses on providing support to educators with a cultural competency lens. Her motto is, “Where teachers learn, students learn!” Currently, she is the School Director for CICS ChicagoQuest. Here, she led turnaround efforts in 2016 which successfully moved the school from off of the Chicago Public Schools warning list. In her free time, she enjoys teaching bootcamp fitness classes and coaching weight loss challenges. |
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Fa’Izah BradfordPartner
Fa’izah Bradford is an educator and experienced racial equity leader and facilitator. As a leader working across private, public, and non-profit sectors, she promotes, and guides systems change and mission fidelity through the evaluation, implementation, and execution of policies and procedures. She brings knowledge and perspective on building foundations and systems coherence within the K-12 education space. Read More
Fa’izah has extensive experience in authentic community engagement and coaching adults in the utility of decision-making, with the intent to expose and eliminate inequities, structural disparities, and the practice of antiracism in organizations and institutions. Her unique and generative ability to hold space for courageous and potentially divisive conversations, has often led to organizations having increased awareness and understanding, and greater conviction for goal alignment and strategy development. Fa’izah received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration from Northwest University and has a Master of Education degree from Washington State University. She also holds a Certificate in Education Finance from Georgetown University; and is a current Nexus Fellow through the Equity Lab She currently works for Community Center for Education Results (CCER) as the Senior Director for Strategy for Racial Equity Impact and is fulfilling her elected term as School Board Director for Highline Public Schools. |
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Pranati KumarAdvisor
Pranati “Pranoo” Kumar (aka School Mom) is a career changer from medicine to education. She began her journey in youth advocacy while working for a nonprofit in Jacksonville, FL. It was there that she found her passion for equity in education and move to NYC to learn about school systems that were implementing innovative teaching and practice. Read More
She joined a fellowship geared at career changers and began working at Success Academy Charter Network in 2012. While here, she founded, taught, labsite and coached in grades PreK-4th Special Education (including ICT and 12-1-1) in the South Bronx (BX2) and Harlem (H1). Her love for Early Childhood Education led her to create SA’s founding PreK curriculum. She also led the Assistant Teacher Development Program while at H1 (with a 95% retention rate) and was a two-time recipient of the SA Teacher Excellence Award in the network. From there, she moved across the country in 2017 and continued to work with Success- creating and piloting their 2018 Summer Internship Program for college students, between their junior and senior years, who were interested in teaching and advocacy, yet not currently studying education. In 2018, she became a Founding Instructional Leader and Coach at Impact Public Schools- the first elementary charter in the Greater Seattle Area. While at Impact, she created a culturally relevant Kindergarten PBL curriculum that emphasized student identity and activism. She worked alongside Administration in creating a school design that ensured joyful rigor was at the forefront of learning. She also held the roles of New Teacher Coach, School Leadership Coach, and Kindergarten Grade Team Leader. During this time, Pranoo had the opportunity to serve as a panelist at The Gates |
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Marcus HardenAdvisor
Marcus is an educator, mentor, and advocate who has served in K-12 education for 18 years. Marcus is a proud product of South Seattle (but living and loving his new home in the ATL) and has served as a counselor, dean of students, and administrator with Seattle Public Schools. He is the Co-Founder of the Academy for Creating Excellence an org committed to cultivating the innate brilliance in young black men and black males in education. He’s a huge Miami sports fan, loves WWE and UFC, The Golden Girls and SVU and is the self professed Black Bruce Wayne. Tomfoolery and some wisdom abounds. |
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Dr. John ScottAdvisor
John Scott, PhD, is an adjunct faculty member in the Transformative Studies doctoral program. He is an academic, writer, researcher, and change maker who has been providing anti-racism, equity, and inclusion leadership and support to organizations and individuals for over 20 years. Read More
John’s academic inquiry includes but is not limited to: indigenous wisdom related to our human relationship with water and environment, narrative research, theater of the oppressed (Boal), racial equity, and cultural humility. Dr. Scott is currently the Chief Equity Officer with WA Charters Schools Association and before that, served for three years as the director of diversity, equity, and inclusion for Washington State with Seneca Family of Agencies. He has created and facilitated interdisciplinary trainings with corporations, non-profit organizations, colleges and educational systems, providing support surrounding issues of cultural humility, community leadership development, social justice issues, non-violent communication, and community building processes. Currently, John is the principal consultant and founder of Morningstar Consulting, where he provides DEI support, focused on climate and culture transformation, Beloved Community, and strategic planning and visioning. In addition to facilitating this dynamic work in the state of Washington, John has also created and led dynamic trainings internationally in South Africa, Egypt, Japan, and Canada. Through the process of socially conscious, playful inquiry, John provides participants with practical and engaging skills in making positive, sustainable changes in their lives, communities, and organizations. John holds a PhD in Transformative Studies and a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology with a concentration in Drama Therapy from California Institute of Integral Studies. John is passionate about long distance swimming, equity, and peach cobbler. |
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Baionne ColemanFounding Partner
Baionne Coleman is the CEO and Principal of RVLA. She has been an educator for 20 years. Baionne is a community based leader who works with scholars and families to decolonize education systems and provide a safe and inviting environment for scholars and other educators. Read More
Baionne believes anti-racist systems led by Global Majority leaders, educators, families, and scholars will begin to dismantle systems of oppression, closing the opportunity and wealth gaps, respectively. Baionne further believes social-emotional learning for adults is key to doing this work supporting Global Majority and abolitionist educators to support the families farthest from educational justice. Baionne has worked with Committee for Children and Valor Compass, supporting the development of an anti-racist social-emotional curriculum. She has also consulted for the University of Washington on various projects and was a graduate ambassador for Seattle University. Baionne founded Impact Public Schools, creating their social-emotional and educational model with colleague Pranati Kumar. Baionne has supported the RVLA community by severing ties with a national charter management company to become the first anti-racist and Black-led charter school in Washington. Baionne attended the prestigious Howard University, completing her Freshman and Sophomore year, to return to Seattle to take care of her late mother and younger siblings, transferring to the University of Washington where she finished her degree. She then went on to earn two Master’s degrees while working full time and supporting her family. She holds certifications for teaching, special education, and administrative leadership with principal endorsements. Baionne has presented at numerous local, national, and international conferences, ASCD, WA Charter Association, AMLE, National Principals Conference. She has also been on multiple panels and supports other organizations and schools to decolonize their systems and start their path to becoming anti-racist. Baionne enjoys all things DIY, cooking, and spending time with her husband, four children, and extended family. Baionne holds a BA in Political Science with a minor in Law, Society, Justice from University of Washington, a Master’s in Teaching from City University, and a Master’s in Educational Administration from Seattle University. |
Partners
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Funding
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