Dr. Molefi Kete Asante is a long-time leader and professor in the Department of Africology at Temple University in Philadelphia. He is the President of the Molefi Kete Asante Institute for Afrocentric Studies located in Philadelphia and is also Professor Extraordinarius at the University of South Africa. Asante is a founding editor of the Journal of Black Studies, serving the Journal for 53 years. He is the author of over one hundred published books and over 500 articles. Among his recent books are The Perilous Center, or When Will the African Center Hold;  Radical Insurgencies; The History of Africa, 3rdEdition; An Afrocentric Pan Africanist Vision; The African American People: A Global History;  African American History: A Journey of Liberation; Erasing Racism: The Survival of the American Nation; African Pyramids of Knowledge; Maulana Karenga: An Intellectual Portrait; Facing South to Africa; Revolutionary Pedagogy, and the memoir, As I Run Toward Africa. Dr. Asante’s writings are in English and many other languages including French, Russian, Spanish, Kiswahili, Portuguese, Hungarian, and Japanese. He is considered one of the most quoted living African authors as well as one of the most distinguished thinkers in the African world. He has been recognized as one of the 10 most widely cited African scholars. Further, Asante has been recognized as one of the most influential leaders in education and has been named a History Maker with a corresponding interview placed in the Library of Congress.

In 2019 the National Communication Association (NCA) named Dr. Asante an NCA Distinguished Scholar, its highest honor, saying that his writings were “spectacular and profound.” In 1988 at Temple University, Dr. Asante created the first Ph.D. Program in Africology and African American Studies. He has directed more than 140 Ph.D. dissertations making him the top producer of doctorates among African American scholars. In 2009, Asante was appointed Wanadu, member of the Board of Education, in the Court of Dr. Hassimi Maiga, Amiiru of the Songhoy Nation in Mali. In 2021 he initiated and conceptualized Temple’s Center for Antiracism Research. Notably, he is the founder of the theory of Afrocentricity and author of The Afrocentric Idea. He is also the producer of the Cheikh Anta Diop Conference, and the think-tank, Molefi Kete Asante Institute for Afrocentric Studies in Philadelphia. Asante wrote the African American History course for the Philadelphia School District. His recent publication, Revolutionary Pedagogy, serves as a content and practice guide for educators and families seeking effective education.

Dr. Molefi K. Asante is a living legacy, a world-renowned Black scholar and author who continues to do presentations and consulting for Heads of Nations, universities, and school districts in the US and abroad. Locally, Dr. Asante has provided presentations and lectures for Rochester teachers, serving as a consistent contributor to the work of the Rochester Teacher Center for over 20 years.

Dr. Joyce King is the Benjamin E. Mays Endowed Chair for Urban Teaching, Learning and Leadership and professor of Educational Policy Studies in the College of Education & Human Development at Georgia State University. She is also a past President of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). A dynamic leader, visionary professor, teacher educator, and scholar, King has a wealth of academic, administrative and leadership experience in public, private and non-profit settings. These include historical Black and predominately white colleges and universities (Spelman College, Medgar Evers College, CUNY, Mills College, Stanford University, Santa Clara University, University of New Orleans). As a W.K. Kellogg National Fellowship recipient, King studied women’s leadership and grassroots participation in social change in China, Brazil, France, Kenya, Japan, Mali and Peru. She is also a member of the Board of Education of the Songhoy nation in Mali and Director of the Academy of Diaspora Literacy.

Dr. King has created numerous opportunities for emergent leaders of diverse backgrounds to progress in their careers. Her accomplishments reflect an emphasis on innovative interdisciplinary scholarship, culturally connected teaching and learning and inclusive, transformative leadership for change often in creative partnership with communities. She produced two prestigious leadership programs at Stanford University.

Widely respected in the fields of urban education and the sociology of education, King’s research has contributed to the knowledge-base on preparing teachers for diversity and curriculum theorizing through her scholarship, teaching practices and leadership. Early on, she served on the Curriculum Commission of the State Board of Education in California.

King’s publications include the Harvard Educational Review, The Handbook of Research on Black Education, The Handbook of Research on Teacher Education and Voices of Historical and Contemporary Black Pioneers. In addition, King organized and edited a landmark book, Black Education: A Transformative Research and Action Agenda for the New Century that was published for the American Educational Research Association (2005). She  is a co-author of  “Re-membering” History in Student and Teacher Learning: An Afrocentric and Culturally Informed Praxis, The Afrocentric Praxis of Teaching for Freedom, Connecting Culture to Learning and We Be Lovin’ Black Children: Learning to Be Literate About the African Diaspora.

Dr. King’s concept of “dysconscious racism” continues to influence research and practice in education and sociology in the U.S. and in other nations. She has lectured in educational and community organizations in the United States, Brazil, Canada, England, Mali, Senegal, Japan, Jamaica and New Zealand. A scholar in the Black Studies tradition, Dr. King has shared her expertise in diversity transformation as a training consultant with civic and human rights organizations and higher education institutions in the U.S. and abroad. Importantly, Dr. King is also former president of Food First (Institute for Food and Development Policy), founded for the purpose of ending the injustices that cause hunger since 1975.

Dr. Walter C. Farrell, Jr., National Education Policy Center Fellow at the University of Colorado-Boulder is a researcher and litigator who heads a management, education, and litigation consultant group for persons/agencies seeking justice and equity through the court system.  Dr. Farrell’s practice includes the articulation of research on the systematic dismantling of civil protections and rights in governmental arenas such as public policy, justice, and public education particularly in urban communities across the nation. His expertise includes a systems analysis of the methodologies and economics around the continuing assault on public education, teacher unions, and urban school districts by billionaire social engineers, private think tanks, politicians, and legislators through privatization, charter schools, vouchers, and outsourcing.

Dr Farrell served as a professor and Chair of Community Management & Policy Practice in the School of Social Work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and was an adjunct professor in the Departments of Curriculum & Instruction, Urban Studies, and Allied Health.

Dr. Farrell also served as Associate Director of the Urban Investment Strategies Center in the Kenan Institute in the Kenan-Flagler Business School. He is a Fellow in the Center for Urban and Regional Studies (CURS) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where for many years he served as Professor of Social Work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Farrell is a consultant to NEA, AFT and their state and local affiliates. 

Dr. Farrell has published numerous essays and articles on K-12 education, the agenda to privatize public schools, diversity, social and immigration issues, and death penalty mitigation.  He has appeared on National Public Radio (NPR) and the Today Show to discuss public education vouchers, charters, and school privatization.  He writes a weekly column, “Defending Public Education,” for Black Commentator, an online Journal. 

Dr. Noma LeMoine is a nationally recognized expert on issues of linguistics and literacy acquisition and learning in African American and other Standard English Learner populations. She has written and spoken extensively on these topics and is a highly sought-after consultant to colleges, universities, and school districts nationwide. For many years, Dr. LeMoine served as Director of the Los Angeles Unified School District's Academic English Mastery Program. In that role, she was responsible for overseeing the design, development, coordination, and implementation of a program that served over 25,000 students, 2,000 teachers and 800 paraeducators. Her program, which was featured on "60 Minutes" and in periodicals including Education Week and Teacher Magazine, had as its primary goal facilitating mastery of Standard American English in students who are speakers of non-standard languages, while fostering in them an appreciation for their home language and culture. She was also the Director of Operations and Principal Investigator of Congresswoman Maxine Waters’ Saturday Academy for Student Advancement in Math, Science, and Communications in California.

Dr. LeMoine is CEO of LeMoine and Associates Educational Consulting through which she continues to provide professional learning and presentations for educators, community leaders and advocates about instructional knowledge and practices specific to teaching Standard English Learner student populations (SEL’s). Mainstream English Language Development Instructional Guide (MELD), Academic Language Mastery, Culture in Context, co-authored with Ivannia Soto and An Instructional Guide for Advancing Language & Literacy in African American and Other Standard English Learnersare texts Dr. LeMoine produced specifically for educators seeking to support effective teaching and learning.

Dr. Cirecie A. West-Olatunji is the Melba Fortuné Martinez Endowed Professor in the counselor education program and Director of the Center for Equity, Justice, and the Human Spirit at Xavier University of Louisiana. Dr. West-Olatunji is an expert in Trauma Counseling and was formerly the Director of Xavier University’s Center for Traumatic Stress Research and is a past President of the American Counseling Association (ACA) and the Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development (AMCD). In addition, she has served as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development (JMCD). Nationally, Dr. West-Olatunji has initiated numerous clinical research projects that focus on culture-centered community collaborations designed to address issues rooted in systemic oppression, such as transgenerational trauma and traumatic stress. 

Dr. Cirecie West-Olatunji has conducted commissioned research under the auspices of the National Science Foundation, ACA Foundation, Kellogg Foundation, Federal Witness Assistance Program, Spencer Foundation, American Educational Research Association, and African American Success Foundation. Her publications include two co-authored books, numerous book chapters, and over 60 articles in peer-reviewed journals. In addition to national presentations, Dr. West-Olatunji has delivered research papers in Eastern and Western Europe, the Pacific Rim, Africa, and the Americas. Additionally, she provided consultation for a PBS initiative to create a children's television show focused on diversity. Dr. West-Olatunji has also provided consultation to the Center for American Education in Singapore and the Buraku Liberation Organization in Japan to enhance their early childhood and counseling initiatives. In 2018, Dr. Cirecie West-Olatunji was recognized as an American Counseling Association Fellow. Dr. West-Olatunji consistently participates in community centered learning programs designed to meet the needs of communities of color and the professional that support them.

Dr. Adam Urbanski is a former high school teacher and college professor. He has been and remains a national leader in teacher unionism and reform. As president of the Rochester Teachers Association in Rochester, NY, he proposed and designed a homework hotline for students, an internship program for new teachers, a peer review and intervention plan for educators, a career ladder, and an innovative Living Contract approach to collective bargaining.

In addition to serving on the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) executive council, Dr. Urbanski is a member of the AFT executive committee and the AFT democracy committee. He also serves on the board of directors and executive committee of the New York State United Teachers (NYSUT). Urbanski was the founding director of the Teacher Union Reform Network (TURN), an organization aimed at creating a new vision of teacher unions that supports needed changes in education policies and practices. He has accepted invitations to give presentations and lectures about unionism and education globally and across the nation. He was a trustee of the National Center for Education and the Economy and a senior associate to the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future. He has served in an advisory capacity to many professional and community organizations, including the advisory board of Harvard University’s National Center for Educational Leadership, the policy working group at the Annenberg Institute for School Reform and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

A native of Poland, Urbanski immigrated to the United States in 1960. He is the author of numerous published articles and has been honored with the Phi Delta Kappa Leadership in Education Award; the Hutchinson Medal Award for Distinguished Public Service from the University of Rochester; and an honorary doctorate from the State University of New York, Oswego. He holds a degree in political science and a Ph.D. in American social history.

Dr. Susan Goodwin is a former high school social studies teacher and Director of the Rochester Teacher Center (RTC) in Rochester, NY. The Teacher Center plays a pivotal role in teacher learning and professional development in the Rochester City School District in Rochester, NY. The RTC promotes the building of learner-centered schools, the development of a more genuine teaching profession, and the nurturing of a sense of community-wide shared accountability for students’ success. As director, she designs and implements professional development models embedded within the context of teachers’ daily work with students. Supporting practitioners in developing pedagogies that reflect understanding of the relationship between theory and practice is central to her work of supporting effective teaching of students of color. 

As a teacher union leader Dr. Goodwin is co-chair of the Rochester Teachers Association’s Multicultural Education and Parent Engagement Committee and works to help teachers develop the cultural knowledge that supports teaching children of African ancestry. Her published work and national and international presentations focus on culturally connected emancipatory instructional practices, culturally informed lesson planning, teacher research, and teacher union reform. She is also author of numerous articles and professional learning materials, including a co-authored volume entitled Teaching Children of Color, Seven Constructs of Effective Teaching in Urban Schools. Dr. Goodwin produces curriculum materials for students and professional learning materials for teachers grounded in accuracy, scholarship, and authentic African/Diasporan history and culture. She is a recipient of the Chiek Anta Diop Award for Pedagogical Excellence. Dr. Goodwin is an appointed Wanadu, a member of the Songhoy Board of Education in Mali.

She has served as a consultant and presenter to textbook companies and teachers and professors on multicultural/culturally grounded curriculum development and production, emancipatory pedagogy, and criteria for the selection and development of culturally authentic and responsive instructional materials. Her presentations and professional development programs are typically open to families and community. Dr. Goodwin’s presentations also include topics related to classroom community building, authentic teaching and learning, Seven Constructs of Effective Teaching in Urban Schools, the examination of how supremacy is perpetuated and taught through curricula frameworks, as well as the relationship between curriculum and consciousness.