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Ginger Aaron-Brush teaches elementary physical education in metro Birmingham, Alabama. As an educator for 15 years she has mentored many student interns and has lead countless professional development sessions. She holds bachelors and masters degrees from the University of Montevallo and an educational specialist degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Susan, an enrolled member of the Coharie Tribe of North Carolina, is a professor in the Educational Leadership Department at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Faircloth’s research interests include: Indigenous education, the education of culturally and linguistically diverse students with special educational needs, and the moral and ethical dimensions of school leadership.

Scott Martelle is a Detroit-based journalist and critic.

Liz Harlan-Ferlo is a writer and world religions teacher at a PreK-12 independent Episcopal school, where she also serves as the advisor to the intercultural student association and also as a chaplain.

Hannah Sachs is a theater director, activist and educator. This summer, she is teaching and directing at Theatre Lab in Washington, D.C., prior to moving to the Czech Republic as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant. She recently graduated from Smith College, where she studied theater directing with a minor in religion and a concentration in community engagement and social change. Hannah has previously taught third grade at East African Community Services in Seattle, Washington, and facilitated theater workshops at Kensington International School in Springfield, Massachusetts. In addition to

Rosalie Franks is a professor of writing, literature and philosophy at Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island. She designs lessons that inspire students to examine their values and to take action on social issues. A graduate of Smith College in English literature, she earned her master’s degrees in childhood education and curriculum development from Teachers College, Columbia University and her doctorate in humanistic education from Boston University. Early in her career, Rosalie was a fourth-grade teacher on Boston’s WGBH TV.

Fakhra, a San Francisco Bay Area native and high school teacher, teaches courses through the San Francisco Peer Resources Program at Mission High School. Shah works to educate and empower youth of diverse backgrounds to become critical thinkers who challenge systems of oppression and who take steps to create lasting institutional change. Over the past few years, Shah has developed curricula that challenge Islamophobia, racism and hate speech, seeking to further support marginalized students in her classes.

Becki Cohn-Vargas is the director of Not In Our School (NIOS) and a national speaker on the subject of school-based bullying. Currently she develops standards-based bullying prevention curriculum and has worked with over 150 NIOS efforts at schools and colleges across the United States. Earlier in her career, she spent over 35 years in public education in California. Her new book,“ Identity Safe Classrooms: Places to Belong and Learn,” co-authored with Dorothy Steele, was published by Corwin Press .

Michelle Nicola is a Spanish and language arts teacher at Bridger Elementary School in Portland, Oregon, and formerly at De La Salle North Catholic High School. Nicola previously taught courses on equity and social justice at George Fox University. She uses innovative learning techniques and is always ready to turn her classroom into a theater, dance club or soap opera to reach her students. She is also a recipient of the 2014 Teaching Tolerance Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Howard is a staff attorney and juvenile justice policy specialist at the Southern Poverty Law Center. She specializes in youth-based civil rights litigation as well as education and juvenile justice systems reform.