Executive Director Letter, March 2024

Dear IRT Community,

At this time last year, I could not distinguish the changing seasons. Spring as a season came and went, only distinguished by various moments of grief. To navigate this, I took a step back to be with my family and to support a loved one in their heavenly transition. Throughout that time, I was and continue to be grateful to the IRT team for continuing the program and supporting our scholars.

This Spring, I greeted a cardinal with joy and delight and heard the call of the Blue Jays. Our emails chirp with notices from scholars of their application updates, questions, and more. We are excited by the buzzing of activity in our community – with scholars reaching out to support our exploration process and updating us on their work. As our growth plans blossom, we hope you share resources, thoughts, and ideas with the program.

Our application season recently closed, and we are thrilled to begin the application review period for our new cohort. We must continue to support a pipeline of new educators, researchers, and those interested in improving education. In the last year, we enjoyed meeting students and liaisons at conferences and events to hear how we are all reacting to our community’s urgent needs. We are thrilled to support our incoming class and excited by their ideas.

Most importantly, I wish to end this note by acknowledging life and community. Throughout the pandemic, many of us have navigated life and loss. Recently, a loss hit many within our community close to home. We recently lost former Summer Faculty member Dr. Shani Mott, IRT ’97. While some of us may not have known Dr. Mott personally, her love for justice and her work rippled not just throughout the walls of the Summer Workshop but throughout the community at large. To me, the power of community is to know that by knowing one IRT alum, we can relate to the values, hard work, and spirit of another. I wish her friends, family, and all in the IRT community grace, and I extend my deepest sympathies.

Best,