The 1619 Project Education Conference (2023)

IBRAM X. KENDI

Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston University, and the founding director of the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research

Ibram X. Kendi is the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston University, and the founding director of the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research. He is a contributing writer at The Atlantic and a CBS News racial justice contributor.  

Dr. Kendi is the author of many highly acclaimed books including Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, which won the National Book Award for Nonfiction, making him the youngest author to win that award. He had also produced five #1 New York Times bestsellers, including How to Be an Antiracist; Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, co-authored with Jason Reynolds; and Antiracist Baby, illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky. In 2020, Time magazine named Dr. Kendi one of the 100 Most Influential People in the world. He was awarded a 2021 MacArthur Fellowship, popularly known as the Genius Grant. His latest book, co-authored with Nic Stone, is How to Be a (Young) Antiracist.

NIKOLE HANNAH-JONES

Knight Chair in Race and Journalism at the Cathy Hughes School of Communications at Howard University and founder of the Center for Journalism and Democracy

Nikole Hannah-Jones writes for The New York Times Magazine as a domestic correspondent focusing on racial injustice. Her reporting has been honored with a National Magazine Award, a Peabody Award, and a Polk Award. She attended the University of Notre Dame and graduated with degrees in history and African-American studies before moving on to complete her master's in journalism and mass communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

MARTHA S. JONES

Society of Black Alumni Presidential Professor, Professor of History, Professor at the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University

Professor Martha S. Jones is the Society of Black Alumni Presidential Professor, Professor of History, and a Professor at the SNF Agora Institute at The Johns Hopkins University. She is a legal and cultural historian whose work examines how Black Americans have shaped the story of American democracy. Professor Jones is the author of Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All (2020), selected as one of Time's 100 must-read books for 2020. Her 2018 book, Birthright Citizens: A History of Race and Rights in Antebellum America (2018), was the winner of the Organization of American Historians Liberty Legacy Award (best book in civil rights history), the American Historical Association Littleton-Griswold Prize (best book in American legal history), the American Society for Legal History John Phillip Reid book award (best book in Anglo-American legal history) and the Baltimore City Historical Society Scholars honor for 2020.

DONNALIE JAMNAH

Senior Program Manager, K-12 Education, Pulitzer Center

Donnalie Jamnah is a Senior Education Program Manager for the Pulitzer Center’s education team. They manage several programs including the 1619 Educator Network. DJ joined the Pulitzer Center team in 2021 after years working as an instructional coach for teachers in K-12 classrooms. Prior to instructional coaching, DJ taught 10th grade English Language Arts.

DJ has a Masters in Educational Technology from University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and two Bachelors degrees in Psychology and Creative Writing from Columbia University in the City of New York. They are passionate about any work that is creative, purposeful, and committed to the pursuit of equity.

KENDRA GRISSOM

1619 Education Program Intern, Pulitzer Center

Kendra Grissom is the 1619 Education Program Intern on the Pulitzer Center K12 Education team. Kendra earned her B.A. in History from Spelman College in May 2020. She graduated summa cum laude with college-wide honors and as valedictorian. 

Kendra is passionate about making African American history accessible. Toward this end, she serves on her local school system's social studies advisory board. Additionally, through community organizations, she develops and teaches African American history workshops for middle and high school students.

DONNALIE JAMNAH

Senior Program Manager, K-12 Education, Pulitzer Center

Donnalie Jamnah is a Senior Education Program Manager for the Pulitzer Center’s education team. They manage several programs including the 1619 Educator Network. DJ joined the Pulitzer Center team in 2021 after years working as an instructional coach for teachers in K-12 classrooms. Prior to instructional coaching, DJ taught 10th grade English Language Arts.

DJ has a Masters in Educational Technology from University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and two Bachelors degrees in Psychology and Creative Writing from Columbia University in the City of New York. They are passionate about any work that is creative, purposeful, and committed to the pursuit of equity.

FILIBERTO C.

High School History Teacher, 1619 Education Network

Filiberto is a Social Studies educator and the department chair at a high school in Oakland, California, where he teaches World History and AP World History. He has taught middle school, high school, and college for ten years. He is deeply interested in how history is taught and how to engage students using project and maker-based learning.

MARY H.

Elementary Art Teacher, 1619 Education Network

Mary has taught visual and performing art for 24 years in a large urban area. Her work facilitates learning experiences that focus on identity, relationships, and civic engagement.

ROSALYN S.

Elementary School Teacher, 1619 Education Network

My name is Rosalyn and I have 23 years of experience in public education. I am currently a kindergarten teacher and I have also served as a technology teacher.  I am certified to teach grades K thru 8.

ANGELA D.

Elementary School Teacher, 1619 Education Network

My name is Angela and I am an experienced educator of 22 years. My goal is to engage, inspire,  and motivate my students by providing high quality instruction for all learners.

AQUALYN J.

High School English Teacher, 1619 Education Network

Aqualyn is a dedicated high school English teacher with nearly 15 years of classroom experience and an additional 5 years of working with young people. Her work is rooted in the belief that education should be engaging, thought-provoking, and culturally relevant.

SHEA R.

Teacher, 1619 Education Network

SUSY R.

Middle School Social Studies Teacher, 1619 Education Network

Susy teaches English language arts and seminars in restorative agriculture at a project-based middle school. Her work focuses on breaking down stereotypes and lifting up underrepresented voices from our nation's past, most often through story. She is a Fulbright Scholar and frequent speaker at national conferences, including a TEDx on teaching hard history to engage our next generation of citizens and scholars.

MATTHEW R.

High School Social Studies Teacher, 1619 Education Network

Matthew is a Social Studies and Latin educator at Purdue Polytechnic High School in Indianapolis, IN.

THERESA M.

Social Studies Teacher, 1619 Education Network

TIM SEIBLES

National Endowment for the Arts Fellow and Provincetown Fine Arts Center Fellow

Tim Seibles, former Poet Laureate of Virginia, is an NEA fellow as well as a Provincetown Fine Arts Center fellow. He is the author of seven books of poetry including Fast Animal, which was a finalist for the 2012 National Book Award and winner of the Theodore Roethke Memorial Poetry Prize.This was followed by One Turn Around The Sun in 2017. His new and selected collection, Voodoo Libretto, was released by Etruscan Press in 2022.

HANNAH BERK

Senior Program Manager, K-12 Education, Pulitzer Center

Hannah Berk is a senior program manager with the Pulitzer Center's K-12 education team. Previously, they taught English, debate, and creative writing in a rural community through the Chilean Ministry of Education and served as Digital Editor for Asymptote, an online journal for world literature in translation. They hold a masters in Law & Society from the University of California, Irvine, and undergraduate degrees from the College of William & Mary and Tidewater Community College.

Hannah is passionate about education work that builds knowledge into empathy, solidarity, and action.

A. VAN JORDAN

Professor of Creative Writing, Modernist & Contemporary Poetry, and Film at Stanford University

A. Van Jordan is the author of four collections: Rise, which won the PEN/Oakland Josephine Miles Award (Tia Chucha Press, 2001); M-A-C-N-O-L-I-A, (2005), which was listed as one the Best Books of 2005 by The London Times; Quantum Lyrics, (2007); and The Cineaste, (2013), W.W. Norton & Co. Jordan has been awarded a Whiting Writers Award, an Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, and a Pushcart Prize. He is also a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship (2007), a United States Artists Fellowship (2009), and a Lannan Literary Award in Poetry (2015). His forthcoming book, When I Waked, I Cried to Dream Again, will be released in June of 2023 (W.W. Norton & Co). He is a Professor in the Department of English at Stanford University.

CORNELIUS EADY

Professor of English, and Hodges Chair of Excellence at the University of Tenn. Knoxville

Poet/Playwright/Songwriter and Cave Canem Co-Founder Cornelius Eady was born in Rochester, NY in 1954, and is Professor of English, and Hodges Chair of Excellence at the University of Tenn. Knoxville. He is the author of several poetry collections, including Victims of the Latest Dance Craze, winner of the 1985 Lamont Prize; The Gathering of My Name, nominated for the 1992 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry; Brutal Imagination, and Hardheaded Weather. He wrote the libretto to Diedra Murray’s opera Running Man, which was short listed for the Pulitzer Prize in Theatre, and his verse play Brutal Imagination won the Oppenheimer Prize for the best first play from an American Playwright in 2001. His work has been featured on NPR, BBC Radio 4 and the PBS Newshour. His awards include Fellowships from the NEA, the Guggenheim Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation, and was The Miller Family Endowed Chair in Literature and Writing and Professor in English and Theater at The University of Missouri-Columbia. From 2021-2022 he served as Interim Director at Poets House, a poetry library located in New York City.

KIMBERLY ANNECE HENDERSON

Digital Curator, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

Kimberly Annece Henderson is a historical researcher, curator, and author based in New York City. Her work centers genealogy and Black American lineages through archival photography and historical preservation, as seen in her Instagram project, @Emalineandthem. She currently facilitates digital projects for the New York Public Library's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem, and her curatorial work is featured in the 1619 Project book, A New Origin Story. In March 2023, Penguin Random House will publish her first lyrical picture book entitled, Dear Yesteryear.

TIM SEIBLES

National Endowment for the Arts Fellow and Provincetown Fine Arts Center Fellow

Tim Seibles, former Poet Laureate of Virginia, is an NEA fellow as well as a Provincetown Fine Arts Center fellow.  He is the author of seven books of poetry including Fast Animal, which was a finalist for the 2012 National Book Award and winner of the Theodore Roethke Memorial Poetry Prize. This was followed by One Turn Around The Sun in 2017.  His new and selected collection, Voodoo Libretto, was released by Etruscan Press in 2022.

CHARLES S.

High School Language Arts and Vocal Justice Teacher, 1619 Education Network

Charles (he/him) continues to evolve as an educator and is a proud participant in The 1619 Education Network, The Pulitzer Center, Vocal Justice, and the Oregon Association of Latino Administrators. He strives to empower his students to use their authentic voices to speak up for issues that matter most to them.

TRACY M.

Education Specialist, 1619 Education Network

Tracy, 20 years as an educator and currently an educational specialist at the state level.

DAVID B.

High School Social Studies Teacher, 1619 Education Network

David is a high school social studies teacher. He has taught for over twenty years in the US and abroad.

LORA S.

Independent School Founder and Director, 1619 Education Network

Lora is a visionary educator with a decade of leadership experience in educational and faith-based organizations. Her career highlights include launching two microschools, giving a TED Talk, hosting a conference uniting progressive educators across the southeast, and coaching dozens of school leaders in Canada, Kenya, New Caledonia, and the U.S.

CARLOS SANTINI

CEO, Mizzen by Mott

As CEO of Mizzen by Mott, Carlos Santini leads and helps grow the Mizzen app as a key resource in elevating the quality of afterschool programs for young people across the United States.

For nearly two decades, Santini has worked closely with school districts, foundations, corporations, and local, state and national leaders to expand the scope and improve the quality of afterschool programming for young people. He previously served as executive vice president of programs for After-School All-Stars, a national nonprofit offering comprehensive afterschool programs for middle school youth in 19 cities across the country. Prior to that, Santini was the associate executive director for After-School All-Stars, Los Angeles, one of California’s most influential expanded learning programs. He serves on the board of the National Afterschool Association and is a featured presenter at national conferences, showcasing best practices in the expanded learning field.

Santini also has had a successful career in marketing and public relations, placing high-tech corporate clients in top-tier media outlets, including Time, Fortune and The Wall Street Journal.

Carlos Santini immigrated to the U.S. from Honduras at age 7 and credits his experience as an English language learner for paving his path towards a career in education. He attended the University of California, Los Angeles, where he first began his work in youth development with UCLA UniCamp. He is married and has two daughters. His wife, Alejandra, has been an elementary school teacher for over 25 years and is a former nonprofit executive leader.

DIAMOND BUTLER

Senior Director of Best Practices & Impact, Global Kids

Diamond is the Senior Director of Best Practice and Impact for Global Kids Inc., an organization which serves students across New York and Washington D.C to take action on critical issues facing our world. Following her participation in the Pulitzer Center’s 1619 Afterschool Partnership Program, she implemented the Global Kids Racial Justice Institute. She is the past recipient of the Peace Corps Franklin H. Williams Award. 

Through her work with partnering organization, Black Birthright, an immersive program that takes high school students from across the United States for travel to Senegal, she is a program facilitator and chaperone. Diamond serves as a board member of Statement Junky, a non-profit organization that gifts girls of color their passports. For National Council of Negro Women Incorporated is a National Board Member and Manhattan Section President. Diamond is a graduate of Cheyney University where she received her Bachelor's degree in Political Science.

ADRIAN KING

School Librarian, DC Public Schools

Adrian King is a school librarian for DC Public Schools in Washington, DC. He is a graduate of Howard University (Washington, DC), Towson University (MD), and the University of Illinois. Adrian has worked in education on multiple levels and in various capacities for more than 25 years—even so, his most memorable experiences were his first: working as an advocate for the African American Male Leadership Project for Bakersfield City School District (CA), immediately followed by his first time in the classroom as a 6th grade teacher for Brent Museum Magnet School (DC Public Schools). He answered the call to librarianship in 2016 and continues his life’s work as an information professional and educator interested in diverse people, places, and ideas. Adrian is committed to elevating stories about and by Black men. For him, reading is essential, and Black lives always have and always will matter.

DR. ALICIA ROBINSON

Program Manager, Discovery: For the Culture

Dr. Alicia Robinson, a native of Dallas, Texas lived in Champaign, Illinois for 11 years throughout her graduate studies and launched her elementary school teaching career. As a newly minted PhD of Education Policy, Organization & Leadership at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, she has honed her skills as a youth advocate, a teacher educator, and a scholarly researcher. Alicia’s belief in the philosophy that “It takes a village to raise a child” fuels her daily efforts to partner with students, parents, and teachers to ensure that all children thrive inside and outside of academic spaces. Her dissertation focused her research on African American student engagement, specifically with the Children’s Defense Fund Freedom Schools program. Alicia’s service with CDF dates back to 2006, when she was hired as a Servant Leader Intern at the Dallas Bethlehem Center to teach youth in the South Dallas sector who were enrolled in the Freedom Schools program. Her matriculation with CDF has afforded her the opportunity to serve as an Ella Baker Trainer, consultant, evaluator, teacher, facilitator, coordinator, organizer, and researcher. As this national organization is connected and committed to serving diverse communities across the country, Alicia has traveled to nearly 10 states offering support for Freedom Schools, including a site she helped to launch in Chicago at Trinity United Church of Christ.