Speakers
Meet our guest storytellers
A Longoria
A Longoria (They/them) is an Assistant Professor of Secondary Education and affiliated faculty for the Education and Social Justice minor and Family and Community Engaged Teaching (FACET). Their education includes a PhD in multicultural education from University of Washington, Seattle, a Master in Teaching from Seattle University, and a BA in English from San Francisco State University. Their research focuses on trans- and inter-disciplinary scholarship exploring broadly the concepts of identity, migrations across borders, and home. Additionally, they are interested in the intersections of Queer identities in K-12 schooling, teacher education, and praxis. Originally from El Centro, California, Longoria is the grandchild of immigrants from China’s Pearl River Delta and the state of Zacatecas in Mexico. Outside of the classroom, they enjoy bel canto opera, reading, and cooking.
Amrita Kauldher
Raised by the mantra, "knowledge is power”, Amrita Kauldher is the granddaughter and daughter of Punjabi-Sikh immigrants to Canada. She positions her work for racial equity in liberatory storytelling practices. Amrita has a master’s degree in social anthropology from York University and centered her ethnographic research within the Punjabi-Sikh diaspora, exploring race, ethnicity, identity, and hip hop. A graduate of the University of British Columbia’s Bachelor of Education Program, she brings over 5 years of diverse classroom experiences teaching both high school and middle school in the public and independent sectors. She specializes in the humanities, specifically, secondary social studies and English Language Arts. Amrita’s contributions as an educator, anti-racism consultant and anthropologist include workshop facilitation and curriculum development for the K-12 system, teacher education, and non-governmental organizations.
David Goldenkranz
After spending a decade in education working with underserved youth and BIPOC communities, David transitioned into a full-time career as a DEI facilitator, coach, and consultant, working to eliminate structural, institutional, and systemic barriers within organizations. David currently serves as the Ally Engagement Program Manager at the Technology Access Foundation (TAF) where he is responsible for facilitating learning opportunities for white leaders in education to embrace antiracist and culturally responsive practices in their school environments. David believes in supporting others to explore the subtle and insidious ways in which structural racism, toxic patriarchy, and colonial culture impact our ability to experience compassion, empathy, and humility – ultimately stunting our growth, as well as hindering our ability to be a part of a more collective society.
Francisco Rios, Ph.D., MA
Francisco Rios, Ph. D., is Emeritus Professor, Secondary Education, of the Woodring College of Education at Western Washington University (WWU). He served as dean of the College at WWU from 2011-2017. His research interests include teachers of color, Latinos in education, and preservice teacher education with a multicultural focus. Francisco served as the Senior Associate Editor of Multicultural Perspectives, the Journal of the National Association for Multicultural Education. Francisco served as President of the National Association for Multicultural Education from 2014-2016. He is co-author with A Longoria of Creating a Home in Schools: Sustaining Identities for Black, Indigenous, and Teachers of Color (Teachers College Press, 2021).
Julia Ismael
Julia Ismael (she/her) is the Founder and Head Architect of Aspirations of The Equity Consortium whose mission is to institutionalize equity. Feared by all the right people, she finds joy in bringing equity to the world not only through thought exercises but through the action of rebalancing power to the hands of those most compassionate. She’s a mother, a decent poet, and is learning to speak kiswahili while already being well versed in horrible puns in English.
Kristen French
Kristen B. French (Blackfeet/Gros Ventre/Eastern Band Cherokee/Settler; She/her) is a professor in Elementary Education and director of the Center for Education, Equity and Diversity. Kristen’s engaged scholarship includes Indigenous education, decolonizing theory, multicultural teacher education, and critical performative pedagogy. Kristen earned an Associate of Arts degree from Pierce College, Tacoma; two Bachelor’s degrees from Western Washington University—in Education and Anthropology —as well as a minor in Native American Studies; a Master’s in Bilingual ESL and Multicultural Education; and an EdD in Language, Literacy and Culture from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Lindsey J. Kaiser
Lindsey spent 10-years in public education as a teacher, instructional coach, and an administrator. I’ve worked in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and in Texas. Most recently, I moved to Seattle to embark on a new journey as a doctoral student at the University of Washington. My research is focused on anti-racist leadership and community partnerships.
Saara Kamal
Saara is passionate about work that aims to heal the collective traumas of BIPOC populations and center the needs, experiences and stories of those populations that have been historically overlooked, misrepresented, erased and not, celebrated, affirmed, and cherished. Her work currently centers on disrupting systems that don’t support and prioritize the experiences, growth and development of teachers and leaders of color. And, through intentional practice and engagement in developing better antiracist behaviors, spirit and understanding, aims to shift the culture of education. In her previous roles, Saara has predominantly taught grades 10-12, adult learners and had served as the Program Manager for the Martinez Fellowship Program at TAF.
Dr. Verónica N. Vélez
Verónica (Vero) Vélez (she/her/ella) is an Associate Professor in Secondary Education and Education and Social Justice at Western Washington University. Vero pursued her graduate studies at UCLA, completing an MA and PhD in Social Science and Comparative Education with a specialization in Race and Ethnic Studies. She conducted her undergraduate studies at Stanford University, where she obtained a BA in Psychology. Her research broadly analyzes racial inequities in education, the causes of those inequities, and how they impact the educational trajectories and experiences of students of color, their families, and their communities. Her work is informed by expertise in Critical Race Theory (CRT), Latinx Critical Theory (LatCrit), Radical and Tactical Cartography, and Chicana Feminist Epistemologies. In addition to her scholarly work, Vero spent 15 years organizing with Latinx immigrant families on school reform efforts and adult literacy campaigns. She is currently collaborating with youth, teachers, administrators, and community members to develop Ethnic Studies in Bellingham Public Schools (BPS). Vero is the proud daughter of Latinx immigrant parents, whose journey to provide her with a quality education fundamentally inspires her work for social and racial justice.
