Meet Willie, an equity-driven former principal now in TC’s Urban Education Leaders Program.

How Willie makes an impact:

• Helping school and district partners “build, and spread innovative school models” in his current role as a Partner of School Design Services at Transcend Education.
• Focused on embracing and celebrating culture while the principal of Brenda Scott Academy in Detroit, where he and colleagues developed an Arts Conservatory, held monthly cultural and heritage education series while exploring brain science to guide responsive pedagogical practices.
• Led students to 100% proficiency on state exams as a classroom teacher in Jacksonville, Fla. Later helped significantly raise proficiency as an Assistant Principal.
• Served as a Teach for America Jacksonville corps member, later training other TFA participants in Philadelphia and Houston.

Meet Nia, a doctoral candidate with a global track-record for building community health.

How Nia makes an impact:

• Providing screenings and support to patients throughout Harlem and Washington Heights who might not otherwise receive that care through her work with TC’s Neurorehab Lab
• Offering health and wellness education, rehabilitative services, student service learning opportunities and equipment to in-need individuals — most recently in Jamaica and Ghana — through her nonprofit Kusudi International
• Teaching in the physical therapy program at Long Island University - Brooklyn, and providing free educational sessions for physical therapy professionals locally and abroad
• Serving communities by founding the International Pediatric Day of Service; as a founding Board member of the African American Alumni Association for the USC Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy program, and serving on the Diversity Task Force Committee for the Academy of Pediatric Physical Therapy

Meet Stuart, who has made community-driven music the focus of his scholarship and service.

How Stuart makes an impact:

• Researching why community orchestra musicians became captivated by music-making, which will broadcast the stories of remarkable musicians and inform the wider practice of music education
• Serving as director of bands/choir at Lincoln Savage Middle School, a rural school of 300 students, where in under two years Potter has increased the instrument inventory from 11 to 95 working instruments and enrollment from 14 to 115 music students
• Serving as the conductor of the Three Rivers Community Orchestra, which serves the community and musicians of a rural region of southern Oregon
• Created a completely free parallel instrumental music education curriculum, which is available on YouTube and uses alternative music notation as an equity based way to support students learning band instruments

Meet Catherine, a leading voice in making science education more culturally inclusive.

How Catherine makes an impact:

• Creating culturally representative science curricula and products for the K-12 setting through a grant from the National Science Foundation
• Serving as one of two program consultants on the new National Geographic/Cengage High School Biology Program, the first high school biology program to include Black scientist explorers
• Teaching and leading at Howard University, where Catherine serves as Associate Professor of Science Education and the founder and director of the Black Representation in the STEAM Curriculum Lab, which aims to empower HBCU stakeholders to become agents of change
• Authoring and publishing the illustrated children’s Keystone Passage series, which blends science, Black history and fantasy

Meet Charissa, a Bilingual Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Registered Play Therapist for more than 20 years

How Charissa makes an impact:

• Supporting Spanish-speaking clients through various mental health challenges with an emphasis on building open relationships and shared cultural background
• Volunteering on the American Psychological Association’s Task Force for Diversity Initiatives and Postpartum Support International, for which Charissa coordinates postpartum and perinatal mental health services for individuals in the Dominican Republic
• Researching how identity is informed by racial oppression, and leveraging those findings in her own practice and work with patients
• Served as the program coordinator for Hoboken University Hospital’s Division of Child Protection and Permanency or more than 17 years, during which she provided key admin leadership and hands-on patient support

Meet Gabriel, who founded the nonprofit FLi Sci during his time at TC in 2020 and leads its work while earning his doctorate at Stanford University

How Gabriel makes an impact through his nonprofit:

• Working with 20 high school students across the nation as part of a two-year research fellowship to inspire them to pursue careers in science
• Cultivating a network of science professionals who either identify as first-generation/low-income or are allies and support diversity in sciences
• Actively partnering with various pre-college programs nationwide to carve a path in academic science for students historically excluded from pursuing graduate education