Alumni – Page 9 – Institute for Recruitment of Teachers

The IRT Furthering Connections and Conversation

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.”

(L-R) Jennifer Dazo Bishop, Ke Kula Kaiapuni ‘O Pū‘ōhala, Gerry Ebalaroza-Tunnell, Co3 Consulting, Jose Paolo Magcalas, California State University at Los Angeles

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.

On Process: Tenure and Beyond

David Sterling Brown, IRT ’08, Associate Professor of English at Trinity College in Connecticut

In 2009, thanks to IRT—and the exceptional guidance I received from my IRT advisor Leislie Godo-Solo—I was accepted into NYU’s English PhD program off the waitlist. Despite applying to about ten grad programs, NYU was the only one that accepted me and my low GRE score, which recalled the low 940 combined SAT score I had when my undergrad alma mater Trinity College (Connecticut) accepted me in 2001. And so, I quit my job as Teach For America’s Connecticut Recruitment Director and began commuting from Connecticut, my home state, to NYU for several years as I took grad classes and taught, and eventually finished drafting my dissertation during my 2013-14 Trinity College Ann Plato Predoctoral Fellowship. With my dissertation fully drafted by Spring 2014, I went on the academic job market that Fall and landed a job as Assistant Professor of English, of Shakespeare and critical race studies, at the University of Arizona.

Connecting and Supporting Teachers

Alyssa Strykers, IRT ’14 shares her experiences leading up to her current role as an assistant principal

I am currently an Assistant Principal at Inwood Academy for Leadership in Manhattan, New York. I was born and raised in NYC and went to Davidson College where I majored in Anthropology with a concentration in Education. Next, I began my career in education with Citizen Schools in NY to see if I truly wanted to pursue teaching.

After my 2-year Americorp commitment, I left NYC to pursue a M.Ed at Boston College (Masters in Moderate Special Needs) through the Donovan Urban Teaching Scholars Program led by Catherine Wong, former Director, Urban Outreach Initiatives. Catherine actively recruited me from IRT. If you are considering a leadership position down the line, I suggest a pathway to special education. You can be a more effective leader when you can teach and differentiate for students who need it the most. You also may be able to receive dual certification in some states. Originally, I thought I would return to NYC right after completion of my Masters but fell in love with my school in Dorchester. I waited until my first cohort of students graduated before returning to teach in NYC. The one thing I wish I had done differently was get my NY teaching certification while I was still in Massachusetts because the transfer of certification was a headache.

Part-time Job Opportunities for IRT Alumni

Hello IRT alums!

Do you need part-time Summer employment that aligns with your commitment to teaching and leading justice? Are you eager to reconnect with fellow IRT alums who value a sense of belonging and are keen to exchange insights while at the same time innovating their facilitation skills and teaching practices – well, you have come to the right place!

We are currently seeking faculty to teach in our Summer Workshop. We will continue our virtual workshop facilitation so that all scholars, no matter where they reside in the United States, can engage with the curriculum materials and meet with IRT alums and Consortium partners. Our workshop sessions will be highly interactive and participatory as we seek to support and prepare the next generation of diverse educators to teach and lead in positions PK-12 through higher education.

Please consider applying or pass this to a fellow IRT alum.

Applications Due March 8, 2024

Summer Workshop Faculty Job Posting

Summer Workshop Curriculum Coordinator Job Posting

Be on the lookout to apply to as a Statement of Purpose Advisor during the Fall on the IRT Alumni Network soon!

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Alumni Accolades, January 2024

Mishuana Goeman, IRT ‘ 94 is the chair and professor of Indigenous Studies at the University of Buffalo. Her community-engaged work is devoted to several digital humanities projects and is widely published in monographs and peer-reviewed articles including Mark My Words: Native Women Mapping (University of Minnesota Press, 2013) and Settler Aesthetics: The Spectacle of Originary Moments in the New World (University of Nebraska Press, 2023).

Alyssa Garcia, IRT ’00 is currently a College Adviser and Assistant Professor of Instruction in Gender & Sexuality Studies at Northwestern University. Alyssa holds a PhD in Anthropology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Jonathan Anderson, IRT ’01 holds a master’s degree in elementary education, teaching, and divinity. Jonathan is a teacher at Johnston County Public Schools in North Carolina.