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The Excellence Conference, Rochester, NY (2026)

06/03/2024

The day is finally here! Be sure to buy your copy of my first book, “Embrace the Wait”!

Buy now here: Embrace the Wait: Allowing God to Be Enough in the Midst of the Waiting Season https://a.co/d/dC901rs

04/21/2022

About Mahreen Mustafa George, one of our renowned Breakout Session Speakers at The Excellence Conference:

Mahreen Mustafa George has joined Children’s Institute on Monday, February 28, 2022, as Associate Director of Equity and School Services for the Whole Child Connection team. She will also be working with Earl Greene on racial equity and family engagement efforts across Children’s Institute.

Previously, Ms. Mustafa George was Co-Executive Director at Partners in Restorative Initiatives (PiRI), a non-profit organization committed to repairing harm and building community through restorative practices and centering the voices of those who often go unheard. During her time as both a staff member and a leader, she built relationships with individuals, schools, higher education, nonprofit organizations, and others in our community. Her educational background includes a Hon.BSc from the University of Toronto, Ontario (Canada), a Certificate from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in Culturally Responsive Literature Instruction, and a Non-Profit Management Certificate from St. John Fisher College.

Ms. Mustafa George is a multi-faceted leader with expertise in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), transformational leadership, conflict resolution, equity consulting and training, as well as applied experience with education code of conduct, policy, and the NYS Culturally Responsive and Sustaining Education Framework. She has coordinated training and services provided to schools, colleges and universities, and other community organizations, honoring diverse perspectives and moving individuals and organizations towards well-defined restorative and equity-focused outcomes.

Mahreen is excited to continue using her restorative lens to develop partnerships across organizations with Children's Institute's Whole Child Connection team and their existing partners, towards building an inclusive, equitable, just, and liberated world. Children’s Institute is delighted to welcome her to our organization!

Learn more and connect with Mahreen Mustafa George:

https://www.childrensinstitute.net/about-us/blog/childrens-institute-welcomes-mahreen-mustafa-george

04/21/2022

About Dr. Sean Eversley Bradwell, one of our renowned Breakout Session Speakers at The Excellence Conference:

Dr. Sean Eversley Bradwell serves as an assistant professor in the Department of Education. Prior to this role, Dr. Bradwell served as the director of the Center for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Social Change (IDEAS) and taught in Ithaca College’s Center for the Study of Culture, Race and Ethnicity (CSCRE). Dr. Bradwell also serves as a faculty associate for Ithaca’s Martin Luther King Scholars Program and has research / teaching interests in educational policy, pedagogy, and social change.

Dr. Bradwell, an alumnus of Amsterdam High School (NY); received a B.A. in political science from the University of Rochester; an M.S. in education from Rochester’s Margaret Warner Graduate School of Education and Human Development, and a Ph.D. in policy analysis and management from Cornell University.

Throughout his career, Dr. Bradwell has worked in for-profit education, public schools, and higher education. He maintains an active speaking schedule and research agenda. His current project utilizes the last book by Martin Luther King, Where Do We Go From Here?: Chaos or Community, as a framework to explore the possibilities / challenges of modern social justice movements grounded in non-violent direct action. This includes a complex analysis of Dr. King's theorizing of "Black Power" and the role of gender in Dr. King's speeches and sermons.

Learn more and connect with Dr. Sean Eversley Bradwell here:

https://www.ithaca.edu/faculty/seversley

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-eversley-bradwell-334a4592

04/20/2022

About Ruth Turner, one of our renowned Breakout Session Speakers at The Excellence Conference:

Regent Ruth Turner is known as a champion of children and families in Rochester, NY which she calls home. As an educator she has committed herself to the principles of restorative practices, equity, diversity, and inclusion. Under her administrative leadership with Rochester City School District (RCSD), she worked to support the most vulnerable students and was an advocate for all students and families. In her tenure, she led the revision of the student code of conduct. She also led the district in adopting restorative justice initiatives in terms of student discipline and was a key leader of anti-racism work for the district.

For over 13 years she served the Rochester City School District as a social worker, Director and Executive director for student support services. And before her departure she served as the Chief for student support and social emotional learning. Before joining RCSD she led foster care and adoption unit for the Urban League of Rochester. She also spent several years as a trainer for Center for the Development of Human Services where she focused of child welfare services.

Ruth’s commitment to the intersection of social work, social welfare, and education began very early in life rooted in her experience immigrating to the US as a political refugee from Eritrea. It was the kindness and diligence of a social worker who aided her successful transition during one of the most challenging periods in her life. Through the support and advocacy of individuals like this social work, Ruth graduated from the RCSD, and attended college as a 1st generation college student. She has never forgotten the power of support in mitigating the affects of adverse events in childhood that can aid in helping individual to reach their fullest potential.

Mrs. Turner is married to Dr. William R. Turner, Jr., Assistant Professor of African and African American Studies at SUNY Brockport. Together they have three children.

Learn more and connect with Ruth Turner here:

http://www.regents.nysed.gov/members/turner

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruth-b-turner-lcsw-r-6608a2a9

04/19/2022

About Dr. Tamara Dias, one of our renowned Breakout Session Speakers at The Excellence Conference:

As a nonprofit Executive Director rooted in closing the racial disparity amongst K-12 teachers, Dr. Tamara Wilkerson Dias leads the work of the African American Teaching Fellows. Under her leadership, the organization maintains a 98% retention rate for teachers recruited and supported through their programming efforts. Her passion for supporting and developing others led her to create TWD Coaching and Consulting. TWD Coaching and Consulting is an equity-focused consulting firm committed to strategic leadership development through actionable and individualized practices.

Dr. Dias has been recognized nationally for her work, being named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 in Education, chosen from over 15,000 applicants. She was also named to Charlottesvile's 10 under 40 for her work in equity. She has facilitated workshops and seminars around: teacher leadership, sustainability for women in leadership roles, retention practices for nonprofit and corporate organizations, and professional growth practices for educator retention.

Learn more and connect with Dr Tamara Dias: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tamarawdias

04/18/2022

About Jansen McNair, one of our renowned Breakout Session Speakers at The Excellence Conference:

Janson D. McNair became the director of the Office of Public Integrity in January 2021, after serving 25 years in the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office. Director McNair retired from the Sheriff’s Office as Commander of the Staff Service Bureau. He served 4 years in the United States Army during Operation Desert Storm. Director McNair has extensive institutional knowledge of Monroe County government to supplement his career in the military and law enforcement. He holds an Associate’s degree in Liberal Arts from Monroe Community College, a Bachelor’s degree in Communications from SUNY Brockport, and a Master’s degree in Criminal Justice Administration from Keuka College. Director McNair is a Certified Inspector General. He is also an active instructor with the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, where he currently instructs Officer Wellness and Su***de Prevention.

Learn more and connect with Jansen McNair here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janson-mcnair-18a82616b

04/18/2022

About Joe Truss , one of our renowned Keynote Speakers at The Excellence Conference:

Joe Truss is a speaker, racial equity coach, antiracist professional development leader, and consultant. He also is a father of 3 kids under 5 and a husband to a High School Teacher. He recently finished his 6th and final year as a Middle School Principal and has been in education for sixteen years. Joe Truss’s passion is school transformation, using a lens of racial equity.

Through his consulting company, Truss Leadership, Joe Truss has led various workshops and offered professional development to over 12,000 educators. In addition, he has worked with schools, non-profits, and districts to manifest their racial equity goals. This includes onsite (or virtual) antiracist/anti-bias training for staff, strategic planning with leadership teams, and 1 on 1 coaching of leaders. Finally, Joe Truss has a 4 year long virtual courses: Antiracist Leadership, Antiracist Teaching, Racial Affinity Groups, and Leveraging the Power of Racial Equity Leadership Teams.

Learn more and connect with Joe Truss: https://culturallyresponsiveleadership.com/

04/18/2022

About Principal Kafele, one of our renowned Keynote Speakers at The Excellence Conference:

A highly-regarded urban educator in New Jersey for over twenty years, Principal Baruti Kafele distinguished himself as a master teacher and a transformational school leader. As a middle and high school principal, Principal Kafele led the turnaround of four different New Jersey urban schools, including "The Mighty" Newark Tech, which went from a low-performing school in need of improvement to national recognition, which included U.S. News and World Report Magazine recognizing it three times as one of America's best high schools. One of the most sought-after school leadership and classroom equity presenters in America, Principal Kafele is impacting America’s schools! He has delivered over two thousand conference and program keynotes, professional development workshops, parenting seminars and student assemblies over his 36 years of public speaking. An expert in the area of “attitude transformation,” Principal Kafele is the leading authority for providing effective classroom and school leadership strategies toward closing what he coined, the "Attitude Gap.”

A prolific writer, Principal Kafele has written extensively on professional development strategies for creating a positive school climate and culture, transforming the attitudes of at-risk students, motivating Black males to excel in the classroom, and school leadership practices for inspiring schoolwide excellence. Principal Kafele is also the creator and host of the popular Virtual Assistant Principal Leadership Academy, streamed live every Saturday morning on his Virtual AP Leadership Academy YouTube channel and his other social media platforms at 10:55 EST. And so much more!

Learn more and connect with Principal Kafele: https://principalkafele.com

03/26/2022

About Tasha Potter, the Sponsor of Black Educators Connect and Speaker at The Excellence Conference:

Ms. Tasha Potter is the Founder and CEO of BTP Accountability Partners, LLC. Ms. Potter holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from SUNY Brockport, her master’s degree in liberal studies from SUNY Brockport, and a Certificate of Advanced Study in Educational Administration from SUNY Brockport. She is currently completing her doctorate in executive leadership at St. John Fisher College. Ms. Potter began her educational career during the 1992-93 school year. She has served in Monroe County public schools as a teaching assistant, teacher, assistant principal, principal, director and currently, is the Assistant Superintendent for Equity and Access. As a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion leader, Ms. Potter specializes in developing, facilitating, and implementing innovative solutions for creating equitable outcomes both locally and nationally.

Connect with Tasha: https://msha.ke/btpaccountabilitypartners/

03/26/2022

About Brya Potter, the Founder of Black Educators Connect and Speaker at The Excellence Conference:

Brya Potter has made it her life’s work to encourage, help, and teach others. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology with a minor in Psychology from Saint John Fisher College and a Masters of Science degree in School Counseling from Roberts Wesleyan College. She also has completed a certificate of advanced study in Educational Leadership at Canisius College. Brya is a NYS Certified School Counselor and Administrator, speaker, writer, business and brand strategist, and business owner. In addition, she is the CEO of R + R (Restoring Relationships), a member of For(bes) The Culture, a member of Black Christian Influencers (BCI), COO of BTP Accountability Partners, Founder of Black Educators Connect (BEC), and a Licensed Minister.

Most importantly, Brya strongly believes in the words of Mahatma Gandhi, “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” Brya’s goal is to contribute to society by encouraging, empowering, and supporting individuals in both her professional and personal world.

Determined to achieve the impossible, Brya strives to help and support others to succeed, while impacting individuals one day at a time, so all can be the change that we wish to see in the world.

Connect with Brya: https://msha.ke/bryagpotter/

03/26/2022

Hosted by Brya and Tasha Potter from Black Educators Connect, the Excellence Conference, is a safe space for educators to grow, learn, support, network, and encourage one another. This will be a full day conference with speakers who are experts and demonstrate excellence. We are also excited to honor Black history month by highlighting the excellence amongst Black influencers. Early bird tickets go on sale Tuesday April 26, 2023. Keynote Speakers include Principal Kafele, Joe Truss, and more! We are also honored to have Regent Ruth Turner join as one of our breakout session speakers! So, come join us and be a part of growing in, and embodying, excellence!

Learn more and buy tickets here: https://msha.ke/theexcellenceconference/

Date: Thursday February 9th, 2023
Time: 8:00 AM to 5:30 PM
Location: Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) 1 Lomb Memorial Dr
Rochester, NY 14623 United States

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