Instructional Services
Overview
2023 EMBRACE Equity Symposium
09/26/2023 – 09/27/2023
8:00 am – 3:30 pm
Check-in and Continental Breakfast begins at 7:30 a.m.
Introducing the EMBRACE Equity Symposium: Now a two-day event, September 26-27, 2023! Join us as we unveil our rebranded event, packed with inspiring keynote speakers and breakout sessions. We invite you to gain invaluable knowledge and insights into best practices for equitable education. Don’t miss this opportunity to enhance your understanding and make a positive impact in the classroom.
A thank you to our sponsor, 21st Century CSLA!
Speakers
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Tony Weaver
Tony Weaver, Jr. is an award-winning writer and educator creating diverse stories that make young people feel seen and valued. After seeing the impact that media stereotypes had on students in his community, Tony embarked on a journey to create new media narratives that would challenge the status quo. As founder of Weird Enough Productions, a media company building a new world of stories that will change the one we live in, he champions media representation and media literacy.
Lorenzo Tafolla
Lorenzo Tafolla is currently an Outreach Counselor at California State University, Bakersfield. Mr. Tafolla graduated from East Bakersfield High School. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with a minor in Psychology, Masters of Science in Counseling-Student Affairs, and is currently enrolled in the Doctoral program in Educational Leadership at CSUB. His research focuses on how to better support boys and men of color as they navigate K-12 schools and post-secondary educational institutions.
PERFORMERS
Vayln Lyric Turner
Valyn Lyric Turner is a spoken word poet, theatre artist, songwriter, and activist hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, the ancestral homeland of the Cherokee and Creek native nations. Valyn is a Senior Posse Scholar at Boston University where she double majors in Theatre Arts and Spanish. She has always lived out her mission on stage performing through theatre, poetry, and music. In April of 2018, she was able to share her passion for literature on the national stage as representative for the state of Georgia in Poetry Out Loud, a poetry recitation contest through the National Endowment for the Arts.
David Garibaldi
Artists transform an empty canvas into a work of art through their skill, experience, inspiration and senses. David Garibaldi’s life and transition into a world-renowned performance painter is no different. His show Rhythm and Hue is a music and color experience. Large pop portraits explode together on stage in minutes to music. Paint, sound, and entertainment collide for an entertaining show that has brought people around the world to their feet.
BREAKOUT SPEAKERS
Tesha Fritzgerald
Andratesha Fritzgerald is an urban education expert who is committed to excellence in urban education. She has worked in urban education for over fifteen years as a teacher, building leader and currently at the district level in urban school district in Ohio. As a Martha Holding Jennings Foundation Scholar, Fritzgerald exhibited excellence in teaching and a strong commitment to urban education from the very start of her career. She was featured in Education Week twice. With a passion for UDL and culturally responsive teaching and learning, she has helped districts, buildings and teachers to craft implementation plans and professional practice cadres to become expert learners while transforming learning communities.