Jalaya Liles Dunn, a thought leader in social and racial justice pedagogy, anti-bias training, advocacy and movement building for over 20 years, is the director of Learning for Justice. Prior to joining Learning for Justice, Jalaya championed child advocacy at the Children’s Defense Fund through her roles as national director of the CDF Freedom Schools® program and director of youth leadership and development. Her leadership led to training 5,000 young leaders of color for action in their home communities, managing national partnerships that provided high quality summer and afterschool programming for 13,000 children annually, and developing cohorts of educators to institute culturally responsive and sustainable teaching models in their local schools.
Jalaya has served as a social justice consultant for the University of Arkansas Academy for Educational Equity. Her work with the Academy for Educational Equity involved providing professional development and train-the-trainer sessions for core instructional staff, training and developing curriculum for up to 100 educators placed in Arkansas schools, and developing curriculum for graduate-level teacher training. Jalaya has translated her experiences in training and development, advocacy, and social and racial justice to the health and wellness of wellness-deprived populations. She created the House of J in rural South Carolina that includes a farm and wellness retreat to address the health disparities of poor communities of color with a specific focus on women. Jalaya is a graduate of Spelman College and the University of North Carolina-Pembroke, with a Bachelor of Arts in political science and a Master of Public Administration, respectively.
