Dr. Monica George-Fields is the President and Chief Education Officer of REACH.

Using 35 years of experience as a district-level leader, a turnaround school principal, curriculum developer, instructional lead, and family and community engagement advocate, Monica has worked directly with two New York State Education Department Commissioners, Dr. MaryEllen Elia and Dr. John B. King, Jr. (past NYSED Commissioner and former United States Secretary of Education- Obama Administration). Commissioner Elia appointed Monica as education monitor to the troubled East Ramapo School District, and Dr. John B. King, Jr. appointed her as Senior Fellow of School Innovation for the entire NYS education system.

Her work in education and serving districts throughout the country led to the creation of the annual Whole School Reform Conference. As a participant and presenter at several national conferences, Monica noticed the absence of conferences that provided access to various scholars and practitioners of color focused on improving the educational experiences for underserved students. The REACH Whole School Reform Conference is committed to providing three days of thought-provoking and enticing conversations and presentations that leave participants with actionable strategies to immediately implement in their districts and schools.

Monica holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Florida A&M University in Political Science, a Master of Science in Education in Educational Leadership from Bank Street College of Education, a Master of Education in Organization & Leadership from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a Doctor of Education from Teachers College, Columbia University concentrating in Urban Education and Leadership.

Dia is executive director at The Education Trust–New York. In that role, she leads an ambitious policy and advocacy agenda focused on improving educational outcomes for children from early childhood through college.

Prior to joining Ed Trust–NY, Dia worked with the New York City Department of Education in multiple capacities for over sixteen years. She was a teacher, school founder, and most recently served as the special assistant to the first deputy chancellor. She has worked and supported system-level school leaders domestically and internationally advising on instructional approaches, school design, equitable school improvement, and change management.

Dia is a Detroit native. She holds a bachelors in Economics from Kalamazoo College and a Masters in Math Education from Brooklyn College. Dia most recently earned a Doctorate in Education Leadership from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. In her free time she enjoys following all things Beyoncé and playing with her young children.

Dr. Christopher Emdin is the Robert A. Naslund Endowed Chair in Curriculum Theory and Professor of Education at the University of Southern California; where he also serves as Director of youth engagement and community partnerships at the USC Race and Equity Center. He is also Scholar/Griot in Residence at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

He previously served as Associate Director of the Institute for Urban and Minority Education and Director of the Science Education program at Teachers College, Columbia University.

Dr. Emdin is an alumni fellow at the Hip-hop Archive and Hutchins Center at Harvard University and was STEAM Ambassador for the U.S. Department of State and Minorities in Energy Ambassador for the U.S. Department of Energy.

Dr. Emdin holds a Ph.D in Urban Education with a concentration in Mathematics, Science, and Technology; Masters degrees in both Natural Sciences and Education and Bachelors degrees in Physical Anthropology, Biology, and Chemistry.

He is the creator of the #HipHopEd social media movement, Science Genius BATTLES and the CREATE Accelerator. He was recently named one of the 27 people bridging divides in the United States by Time magazine and the Root 100 lis of most influential African Americans.

He is the author of numerous award winning works including the award-winning, Urban Science Education for the Hip-hop Generation and the New York Times bestseller, For White Folks Who Teach In the Hood and the Rest of Ya’ll too (2016). His latest books. Ratchetdemic: Reimagining Academic Excellence (2021) and STEM, STEAM, Make, Dream: Reimagining the Culture of Science, Technolgy, Engineering, and Mathematics (2021) are currently available wherever books are sold.

Erika L Ewing is an actor, artist, creative educator, and activist—a true "Edu-ARTIVIST" she has a gift and passion for empowering communities to believe in the power of the arts to heal, unite, and be a catalyst for social change and transformation.

Erika has a BA in Theatre from Smith College and an MFA in Acting from Rutgers University, Mason Gross School of the Arts. She has also been an adjunct Professor for The City University of New York's Grad Center teaching Literacy, Drama, and Dramatic Writing, and Guest Lecturer at NYU. Her career has encompassed directing, writing, acting, and producing and performing for television, film, radio, and music videos.

Since 1999, Erika combined her love for education, the arts, and social justice and began working as an Actor-Teacher for the Creative Arts Team. Erika accelerated within the organization and served in various leadership positions. Her pedagogical approach to professional development, instruction, learning, motivation, and engagement made her a rare and revolutionary talent.

After sixteen years of experience working, volunteering, and living in an under-served community, she found herself grieving the human condition and the systems that perpetuate and reinforce bias, racism, poverty, and discrimination. Erika naturally evolved into a social media activist, having formed over nine groups on social media to evoke change and awake critical consciousness.

Determined to make a difference, Erika L. Ewing founded Got To Stop LLC social impact company in 2018. She united a powerful consortium of experts, change agents, and visionary leaders from diverse fields, courageous enough to begin a critical dialogue to find ways to eradicate injustice. Got To Stop social-consciousness fashion brand sparks conversation and raises awareness to promote social change and radical transformation worldwide.

AMERICA’S PSYCHOLOGIST

Dr. Jeff is one of the most widely sought-after experts in the field of mental health. In addition to having a private practice in Manhattan, he is an Associate Professor and Course Director of Behavioral Medicine at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine in New York City.

Dr. Jeff is also an ordained Interfaith Minister with a Doctorate in Divinity from The New Seminary.

Dr. Jeff Gardere, better known as “America’s Psychologist”, is also a prolific author of four books and a contributing author of a half-dozen books including the brand-new text, “The Causes of Autism”.

In addition to being a respected academician, Dr. Jeff has been a contributor to the FOX network, the Today Show, MSNBC, and CNN.

Dr. Jeff was the host of VH1’s Dad Camp, and recently was the psychologist on The Housewives of Atlanta. He is also the aftercare coordinator and psychologist for Lauren Lake’s Paternity Court.

Monique W. Morris is a 1-Time AALBC.com Bestselling Author

Monique W. Morris, Ed.D. is an author and social justice scholar with more than 20 years of professional and volunteer experience in the areas of education, civil rights, juvenile and social justice. Dr. Morris is the author of Black Stats: African Americans by the Numbers in the Twenty-First Century (The New Press, 2014), Too Beautiful for Words (MWM Books, 2012); and Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools (The New Press, 2016), a forthcoming book on the criminalization of Black girls in schools. She has written dozens of articles, book chapters, and other publications on social justice issues and lectured widely on research, policies, and practices associated with improving juvenile justice, educational, and socioeconomic conditions for Black girls, women, and their families.

Dr. Morris is the Co-Founder and President of The National Black Women’s Justice Institute and a 2012 Soros Justice Fellow. She is a former lecturer for Saint Mary’s College of California and adjunct professor for the University of San Francisco. She is also the former Vice President for Economic Programs, Advocacy and Research at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the former Director of Research for the Thelton E. Henderson Center for Social Justice at the UC Berkeley Law School. Dr. Morris has also worked in partnership with and served as a consultant for state and county agencies, national academic and research institutions, and communities throughout the nation to develop comprehensive approaches and training curricula to eliminate racial/ethnic and gender disparities in the justice system. Her work in this area has informed the development and implementation of improved culturally competent and gender-responsive continua of services for youth.

Dr. Morris is a member of the OJJDP National Girls Institute Expert Panel, the California Board of State and Community Corrections’ Committee on Reducing Racial and Ethnic Disparity, and other workgroups designed to improve the education of children in contact with the criminal and juvenile legal systems. She is also an advisory board member for Global Girl Media, Oakland.

Dr. Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz is an award-winning Associate Professor at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her research focuses on racial literacy in teacher education, Black girl literacies, and Black and Latinx male high school students. A sought-after speaker on issues of race, culturally responsive pedagogy, and diversity, Sealey-Ruiz works with K-12 and higher education school communities to increase their racial literacy knowledge and move toward more equitable school experiences for their Black and Latinx students. Sealey-Ruiz appeared in Spike Lee’s “2 Fists Up: We Gon’ Be Alright”, a documentary about the Black Lives Matter movement and the campus protests at Mizzou. Her co-authored book [with Dr. Detra Price-Dennis] Advancing Racial Literacies in Teacher Education: Toward Activism for Equity in Digital Spaces will be published in April 2021.

Her first full-length collection of poetry Love from the Vortex & Other Poems (Kalediscope Vibrations LLC) was published in March, 2020, and her sophomore book of poetry, The Peace Chronicles was released in July 2021.

Kenjus T. Watson teaches courses on Educational Inequality, Urban Education, Critical Race Theory, and Social Identity and Group Behavior in the Education Department at Occidental College. Prior to joining the faculty in the Education Department, Kenjus served as the Assistant Director of the Intergroup Dialogue Program and faculty in the Psychology Department at Occidental. Kenjus has been involved with Intergroup Dialogue and other forms of social justice education in higher and secondary education for over a decade and has established Dialogue programs at several universities across the country. Kenjus is also a Doctoral Candidate in the Race and Ethnic Studies Sub-Division of the Social Science and Comparative Education program in the University of California Los Angeles’s (UCLA) Graduate School of Education and Information Studies (GSE&IS).

At UCLA, Kenjus serves as a Graduate Research Assistant to the Black Male Institute where he mentors undergraduates, teaches courses on Research and Black Student Development, and coordinates programs and events for the campus and community. He is also the Graduate Research Assistant for his school’s Associate Dean for Equity and Diversity. Kenjus assists the Associate Dean and the Committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in building a more cohesive, inclusive, and just community within and beyond GSE&IS. Kenjus' scholarship investigates issues of race, racism, and other aspects of oppression found throughout the educational pipeline. His current research interests focus on the Biopsychosocial impact of Racial Microaggressions in Higher Education, Critical Race Theory, Black collegiate identities, and the potential of Critical Pedagogy to inspire action, hope, and healing amongst marginalized communities.