In partnership with educational thought leaders across the country, the IRT engages in conversations on the current landscape, implementing change, and sharing knowledge.
October 2023
In October Catherine Wong, IRT Associate Director and Manager of Programs, co-presented with Gerry Ebalaroza-Tunnell, PhD at the 13th International Conference on Education and Justice led by Kevin Kumashiro, PhD, currently the Interim Dean of the School of Education at Hofstra University, and hosted by the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, College of Education, University Laboratory School (HI) and Hawai‘i Scholars for Education and Social Justice (HSESJ). The theme of the conference was “Collective Scholarship for Public Pedagogy and Against Empire,” and the title of their workshop was “Whose Talk Story? Our Talk Story; Battling the Empire Through Pōkā Laenui’s Process of Decolonization.”
The 2023 UNCF/Mellon Programs Conference
IRT Education Programs Specialist Leislie Godo-Solo, IRT ’91 collaborated with colleagues and presented in this one-day workshop. This year’s annual conference, which was held in Atlanta, focused on the imperative to transform the academy.
November 2023
NCORE Virtual Connections Conference
Catherine Wong presented at NCORE Virtual Connections Conference. The breakout session entitled, “DEIJ Remix – Back 2 Basics 2.0: From Boomers through Gen X, Y, Z, and A” responded to the current landscape that diminishes DEIJ and deems it unnecessary in our institutions, classrooms, and literary texts.
Discussions and the focus of the 2-part workshop centered around the following questions: How are we working within existing systems to create equitable change? What pedagogical approaches work for which environments? Are we aware of our learning edges? When might our own triggers show up? How do we manage them, and gather the courage to heal? And, if you have not fully dealt with these questions, then might you be practicing cultural voyeurism and or DEI tourism?
Leadership Brainery 2023 #ChangeCantWait Awards Soirée
Jada Wooten, IRT ’23 and Catherine Wong met up on November 3rd at the Leadership Brainery 2023 #ChangeCantWait Awards Soirée at State Street Boston headquarters.
Catherine was one of the inaugural recipients of the Medal of Equity alongside Deval Patrick, Esq., former Governor of Massachusetts, and Pamela Everhart, Esq., Senior VP, Head of Public Affairs and Community Relations, Fidelity Investments.
Leadership Brainery’s Graduate School Summit
Michelle Vital, PhD, IRT ’04, Senior Lecturer, Boston University Wheelock College of Education and Human Development served on an Industry Talks Panel focused on the Education, Arts and Humanities at Leadership Brainery’s Graduate School Summit alongside panelists, Faith Imafidon, MFA, News Director, Boston Neighborhood Network Media, Devin Morris, MBA, Co-founder and Executive Director, The Teachers’ Lounge and moderator, Anthony Cruz Pantojas, MA, Humanist Chaplain Tufts University.
December 2023
BU Wheelock College Partnership Celebration
Leislie Godo-Solo, IRT ’91 and Catherine Wong attended the BU Wheelock College Partnership Celebration hosted by Mary Churchill, Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives and Community Engagement, and Cara Mattaliano, Assistant Director.
January 2024
IRT Partners with Rutgers University Center for Minority Serving Institutions
The IRT moderated a panel in collaboration with the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Institute for Leadership, Equity, and Justice & Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions, Graduate School of Education Rutgers University.
Diverse: Issues in Higher Education covered the panel in its online article, “Panel Promotes Teaching” on January 16, 2024.
The interactive panel, featured IRT staff and alumni, providing aspiring graduate students with the knowledge of how to authentically envision a career in education that is courageous, culturally responsive, and ultimately change-making. Panelists shared an overview of IRT’s vision and program structure that supports diverse and first-generation students in their pursuit of educational careers – in K-12 and postsecondary education alike. IRT alumni shared their experiences with IRT, along with their research and instructional practices which challenge traditional ways of knowing.
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Institute for Recruitment of Teachers 