Search

Ana María Hanssen is an award-winning Colombian journalist, writer and author. A graduate of the Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, she co-wrote “Holocausto en el Silencio,” a ground-breaking report on the 1985 invasion of the Colombian Palace of Justice by guerilla forces, which won the National Literature Award for best non-fiction book in Colombia in 2006. She has worked as a documentary researcher and has also written for publications such as (La Nación and G7 in Argentina), (Poder in Mexico and the US), and (Cambio, El Espectador and Alternativa in Colombia), where she began her career. She

Maureen Costello, retired director of Teaching Tolerance, has been a teacher and educational leader for over 40 years. Before joining the Southern Poverty Law Center, Costello worked for Scholastic, Inc. and directed the Newsweek Education Program. She began her career as a history and economics teacher at Notre Dame Academy High School in Staten Island. Throughout her career, Costello has been committed to fostering the ideals of democracy and citizenship in young people. She is a graduate of the New School University and the New York University Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. In

Brenda Anfinson is a Minnesota-based writer, educator and speaker on issues in adult basic education. She currently teaches basic literacy and civics classes to adult learners. After completing bachelor’s degrees in Spanish and anthropology at Luther College, she completed a master’s degree in education at the University of St. Thomas. When not teaching, she is busy cycling and enjoying the great outdoors.

Drawing on her experience as the child of Jamaican immigrants, born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska, Patrice enjoys exploring issues of race, immigration and belonging. Her essays have appeared in a variety of publications, including Sweet: A Literary Confection and the online editions of The New York Times and The Washington Post. Her radio commentaries have appeared on Charlotte, North Carolina’s NPR station WFAE 90.7.

Katie is a high school writing and English teacher at The Hill Center, a K–12 school for children with learning differences in Durham, North Carolina. She previously taught at a middle school in Boston and at a secondary school in rural Tanzania. Mgongolwa has a passion for diversifying curricula, helping students and teachers develop strategies for courageous conversations, and working with schools to close the opportunity gap.

Monita K. Bell is Learning for Justice’s former associate director for editorial and host of The Mind Online podcast. Before joining LFJ, she taught composition and literature courses at Auburn University and Alabama State University; she has also worked as an online writing tutor. Bell is the author of Getting Hair “Fixed”: Black Power, Transvaluation, and Hair Politics.

Breeanna is a Massachusetts history teacher who currently works as the outreach specialist at Boston University’s African Studies Center. She is an educator with a global focus whose work meets at the crossroads of equity in educational opportunities and African studies. Elliott has taught internationally and domestically, and she advocates for rigorous, interdisciplinary education approaches as a means to encourage intercommunal understanding, empathy and global citizenship. She has spent much of her adult life traveling in East Africa and working in African studies.

Dr. Ruth A. Wilson works as an educational consultant and curriculum writer. She has a doctorate in early childhood and elementary education and a master’s degree in special education. Dr. Wilson taught at the university level for over 14 years, including ten years at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Professionally, her primary areas of interest are early childhood environmental education and peace education. Much of her work focuses on the holistic development of children, with an emphasis on connections between body, mind, and spirit.

Natalie Sturdevant is a Teach For America alum and taught eighth grade reading in a small Texas town on the border of Mexico. As a librarian, at Crazy Horse School on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in Wanblee, S.D., since 2012, she’s created and executed a media class using current events as a lens for students to reflect on and develop their identities. Natalie seeks to help students develop a critical consciousness of their community and our world by wrestling with topics such as race, oppression, and socioeconomics.

Amy is a language arts and reading teacher. She is the author of Re-engaging Disconnected Youth: Transformative Learning Through Restorative and Social Justice Education and is a recipient of the 2014 Teaching Tolerance Award for Excellence in Teaching.