Mr. Jones is a passionate diversity advocate and educator with over 12 years of experience working in the diversity, equity, and inclusion space and its intersection with K12 education and philanthropy. He began his career as a high school English teacher in St. Louis, Missouri and has continued to work as an education equity advocate with roles in program and grant management, community engagement and parent advocacy, and most recently the education technology sector. Ryan graduated from DePauw University with a B.A. in Sociology and Anthropology and a minor in English Literature and received his Master’s in Secondary Education from the University of Missouri.

Dr. Lakes has worked on behalf of black and brown students in education. Most recently at Ron Brown College Preparatory High School, Dr. Lakes served as the school counselor and restorative practices practitioner focusing on early interventions, college and career readiness, and post-secondary opportunities. He believes every student is unique and with guidance and support they can use their special gift to make a difference in themselves and our world. Currently, Dr. Lakes serves as Redesign Director for DC Public School where his sole purpose of reimagining the high school experience for students. Dr. Lakes earned his Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations Management and Master of Arts in School Counseling from Clark Atlanta University before completing his Doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Howard University.

Dr. Miller is an interdisciplinary Americanist and Historian of Black women’s interior and exterior lives. She excavates stories about Black motherhood and Black diaspora from geographies often marginalized. The city of Hartford and the lives and activism of its Black communities since the mid-twentieth century, mass migration of Black people there from the South as well as the Caribbean – grounds and inspires her research. Within the classroom, she invites students to explore the Black past and present by hearing and dialoguing with the voices and productions of Black peoples themselves.