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Sheila Bedi leads the Southern Poverty Law Center’s efforts on behalf of children in Mississippi and Louisiana and provides strategic guidance on select campaigns in other states.

Ludmer is a teacher-librarian in Piedmont, Calif.

Brandi Neal is a freelance writer based in Portland, Maine. She is the editor and co-founder of The Blue Room, a photography-driven documentary arts publication profiling life in Southern Maine.

Nancy Barno Reynolds is a Doctoral Candidate in The Graduate School of Education at Binghamton University in Binghamton, N.Y. and is planning to graduate in May. A former public school teacher for many years, her research now focuses on critical literacy, Democratic education, and the influence of the standardization movement on her profession.

Jan S. Gephardt is an artist, writer and teacher. She holds a degree in art with a minor in journalism and a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction with a multicultural education emphasis. She has taught art, graphic design, journalism and publications on the secondary level, and design on the college level. Her students have been recipients of regional, national, and international awards. She continues to write, lecture and teach privately, in addition to making paper sculpture artwork.

Paula began her career as a high school social studies teacher in California and later became the Program Director at the Center for Ethics and Education in 2015. McAvoy’s research focuses on the aims of schooling in a democratic society, and she has recently used the tools of moral and political philosophy to consider cases of cultural and religious accommodation, the aims of sex education, and the ethics of teaching about politics in schools.

Chris teaches senior-level science in the same Rochester school district he attended as a student. At World of Inquiry School #58, he uses science instruction to empower his students, emphasizing the links between math, science and social justice. Widmaier holds multiple leadership roles at his school and is a founding member of the Rochester Regional Teacher Empowerment Network. He received the Teaching Tolerance Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2016.

Edna Brown is a veteran English Language Arts teacher, essayist, poet and social justice advocate residing in St. Louis. She began her career with a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Maryville University and teaching adults with disabilities in one of the first community-based group homes in the St. Louis metropolitan area. Edna went on to study social work at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University. Finally, she earned master’s degrees in both Secondary Education (Curriculum and Instruction) and English (Composition) from the University of Missouri, St. Louis

Lauryn has over 10 years experience as an elementary classroom teacher, literacy instructional coach and culturally responsive trainer. She was formerly a teaching and learning specialist with Teaching Tolerance. She holds a bachelor's degree in American Studies and a master's of education degree in culturally responsive teaching, both from the University of Colorado. She is currently working on her doctorate in education at Vanderbilt University. Lauryn has a passion for educating teachers on engagement strategies and is particularly interested in closing the opportunity gap for young males