“Educational Advocate, Social Justice Advocate, & DEI Consultant”

During my years as an Educator…

• I faced retaliation from a former male Principal for performing my job description, advocating for students with disabilities, following ethical policies and procedures, and simply for doing what was morally right.

• I faced intimation from a former male Principal, when I advocated against his decision to attempt to expel a student/senior, when the student had passed all of his classes & the graduation exam. Unfortunately, the student’s consequence was excessive and did not appropriately align with the consequences for a particular school violation.

• I experienced being threatened by a non-parent in my classroom. At that time the Assistant Principal on duty allowed the person to walk off the premises without any reprimand. After six years of faithful service, I was appalled that my leadership did not take this incident seriously. As a result, I advocated for myself, and after the Superintendent was made aware, this parent was banned from the premises.

• I sought a district leadership position, and due to my prior exemplar Educator experience, I assumed, I would be prime candidate. Unfortunately, the position was given to a young Caucasian lady with no educational experience, simply because of her mother, who had taught at the school for years.

• I experienced being displaced at the end of my first year in a new city school district. I was informed that my position was cut from the Reading Intervention program. After teaching the Reading Intervention course, alongside my colleague, a female Caucasian teacher, I was let go, and according to leadership, this was due to budget cuts. During my first year in this role, 80% of my students passed the Alabama High School Graduation Exam. Not only did I have exemplar classroom management skills, which exceeded far better than the other teacher, but her test scores were much lower than mine. However, I was still displaced, and she kept her position.  This was not indicative of what was best for the students as it related to academic achievement. Even though I was displaced, I was still hired the next year within the same school district.

• As a District Leader, I experience racial discrimination, which led me to filing a grievance when my supervisors allowed a Caucasian woman to infringe on my rights. My supervisors refused to follow the process; therefore, I advocated for myself, and I held them accountable. In the end, my Caucasian co-worker was later removed from our department after I experienced eight long months of injustice and racial discrimination. Months later when a leadership position came open, I applied, but I was not selected. Even with my credentials, my leadership decided to hire someone outside of the department with no experience in our department.

• As a District Leader, I was expected to work with a predominantly minority cluster when a colleague accepted a promotion. Instead of equally distributing the schools, not only did I get additional schools, but my three predominate Caucasian schools were given to a Caucasian male. When I asked for the rationale, I was told it was because I would be a better fit, which did not reflect equity or diversity.

 “Thought Provoking”

It took 17 years long for me finally to obtain a leadership position at the district level. Even after obtaining multiple degrees and serving in various leadership roles at the local level, I have been passed over for people who were less qualified. “My Why” is extremely heartfelt due to my own personal experiences. This is why I will continue to advocate, serve, and help others so that hopefully institutions and organizations will make better informed and educated decisions as it relates to affording female African American, educated professionals from underrepresented populations a fair opportunity.

“Health & Fitness Advocate”

•   As a young adult, I have had my own personal journey and battles with my weight. Through education, I was committed to learning more about the body, especially my body, in order to learn how to live a healthier lifestyle. Because of this, I obtained my Group Fitness Certification so that I could assist in helping others to achieve their own fitness goals. Through my own personal journey with health and fitness, I continue to help those who desire to improve their own health and body.