Brittney Yancy, IRT ’03
Brittney holds a masters degree in U.S. History and earned a Ph.D. in U.S. History last year from the University of Connecticut. Brittney is currently an Assistant Professor of History and African American Studies at Illinois College.
As we head into July, the IRT virtual Summer Workshop Faculty and staff are busy finalizing curriculum, organizing alumni and professional panels, consortium liaison meetings and other events throughout the upcoming month. Join us in welcoming this year’s summer faculty!
My name is Renée Wilmot, I use she/her pronouns. Currently, I am a Ph.D. candidate at Michigan State University in the Teacher Education program. My research interests include (1) the historical legacy of Black women as educators and activists in the Black community and (2) Black girls’ practices of thriving and resisting in white supremacist schooling structures. I am originally from Virginia and I am a former secondary English/Language Arts teacher.
Advice for the current cohort
Do your best to commit 100% of yourself. Take advantage of this opportunity – take risks and push yourself.
Suggested Reading
My biggest takeaway from my IRT experience was that this is a safe space for me to push myself, risk failure, and then get up to try again. I had never been in a space where I could “mess up” academically, experiment with time management and reading strategies, and take risks.
My grounding quote for this year: “We protect and nurture our collective well-being. We strive to make our home place a positive environment for everyone. We all agree that integrity and care enhance all our lives.” (hooks, ,p. 101)
My current favorite song: “Dim All the Lights” by Donna Summer
Continue reading “2022 IRT Summer Workshop Faculty”
Mayra Canizales Cruz, IRT ’07
It may be hard to believe that in just 3 months we will welcome 2022. For many educators, 2020 was the year that flipped our lives upside down and forced us to (re)discover elements of ourselves as people, family members, teachers, and leaders. We tended to others before tending to ourselves and had little to no opportunity to stop and reflect about all that we had learned and unlearned in the months of a global health pandemic and the racial justice movement of our lifetime.
A year ago, I was a 7-year veteran principal in the nation’s capital and was launching the first-ever virtual school year. It was both exciting and unnerving and I struggled to find my new leadership voice in a virtual setting. My superpower was leading with love, justice, and vulnerability- everything else felt like a test or like I was functioning off gut instinct. Throughout the months, we heard scholars, organic intellectuals, elders, parents, and students alike say the same thing, “We can’t go back to what was normal. Normal wasn’t working for our Black and Brown children.” Families were officially seen and acknowledged as co-educators and the school and family partnerships were stronger than ever. We finally saw a light that felt bright enough to follow, one that would lead us to deconstruct, reimagine and rebuild a new (a better) educational system for our children. This was the chance and for a large part, it was not taken.
Continue reading “Reflecting on the Past and Our Collective Strength & Influence as IRT Alumni”Renée Wilmot and LaShawnda Brooks are excited to announce the inaugural members of the IRT Alumni Committee.
Karina Fernandez (she/her)
Roles: Curriculum & Summer Workshop Consultant, Events Manager
IRT Class of 2006
Helen Gong (she/her)
Role: 2020 Cohort Representative
IRT Class of 2020
~2019 Cohort~
Armando Martinez, IRT ’19 was recently selected to be in the Inclusive Excellence Spotlight for the Residence Life department of The Ohio State University.
~2017 Cohort~
Charlinda Haudley, IRT ‘17 was chosen as one of the honorees for the annual 40 under 40 awards from the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Haudley is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation in Arizona and is the Program Coordinator Senior in the Office of Multicultural Advancement at the University of Arizona. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with a minor in American Indian Studies from the University of Arizona and a Masters of Education from the University of California, Los Angeles. She is also a doctoral candidate in the Center for the Study of Higher Education at the University of Arizona. Her research focuses on intertribal student engagement at a university Native American student center. In 2019, she received the Maria Teresa Velez Diversity Leadership Award for her commitment to furthering diversity in education, higher education, and the community at large. She also serves on the executive board for the UA American Indian Alumni Club. She participated in the 2020 Valle del Sol’s Hispanic Leadership Institute-Tucson.
~2007 Cohort~
Mayra Cruz, IRT’07 was named a 2020 National Blue Ribbon Principal of the Year receiving the U.S. Department of Education’s Terrel H. Bell Award for outstanding leadership. Mayra is the Principal of Oyster-Adams Bilingual School in Washington D.C. She holds a bachelor’s degree in American studies and urban educational policy from the University of California, Berkeley and a master’s degree in elementary education from Boston College. Learn more about Mayra.
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