María Ruíz-Martínez (she, her, hers) is a PhD candidate in Equity, Bilingualism & Biliteracy at the University of Colorado Boulder. She is interested in how translingual people teach and learn across home, school, and community contexts by examining how race and the interrelated categories of sexuality, gender, class, indigeneity, ethnicity, dis/ability, and legal status impact these endeavors. María’s experience as an educator and lived experiences in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, inform her belief that education is a relational practice of imagination, liberation, and social change.
Devon (he, him, his) is a PhD student at CU Boulder studying teacher learning and bilingual education. Prior to moving to Colorado, he was a fifth grade bilingual math teacher in New York City. Devon is excited to collectively learn alongside institute participants in pursuit of intersectional, anti-oppressive educational practices.
Krishna Pattisapu (they/them/theirs) earned their Ph.D. in Culture and Communication from the University of Denver in 2014. They have 12 years of work experience in higher education, including academic instruction, college pathway and pre-collegiate program administration, and first-generation student support. They are an advocate for intersectional social justice, LGBTQ+ students and students of color. They have volunteered and served in leadership roles in various LGBTQ+ community organizations in Boulder and Denver. They live in Longmont with their husband, Cole, and their cats, Maggie and Scaramouche.
Page's (they, them, theirs) research centers BIPOC transgender and non-binary young people. Page sees spaces of learning as sites for growth and resistance, where through radical self-acceptance, critical consciousness and brave dialogue we can collectively live into a queer, loving future. Family time and adventures outside bring me deep joy.
Kachine Kulick (she/her/hers) is a doctoral candidate in Teacher, Learning, Research and Practice (TLRP). Her research interests are rooted in centering anti-racism through queering teacher learning environments. Her pedagogy focuses on not just intellectualizing anti-racism, but also, an embodiment of practices towards self and collective healing. As a human, Kachine likes to ride her bike while blasting jams, forage plants in the forest, and sit with her ancestors.
Daniel Garzon (he/him/ his) is a doctoral student in the Equity, Bilingualism and Biliteracy program in the School of Education. His research interests include teacher and student racial/linguistic identity development, and education/language policy. Once a teacher, part of the Latinx and LGBTQ+ communities, Daniel seeks an interdisciplinary approach to empower teachers' and students' identities, especially those that are doubly marginalized in race and gender/sexuality in the education system.
Jax J. Gonzalez (they, them, theirs) M.A. is a PhD candidate in the Department of Sociology at the University of Colorado, Boulder.With a desire to work directly with students and improve their own teaching practice, Jax is currently completing a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction from the School of Education at the University of Colorado, Boulder. A first-generation college student and queer activist, Jax has dedicated their academic career to emancipatory sociology that centers and uplifts youth voices in the classroom. Jax is based in Denver, Colorado and when they aren't working on their dissertation, they throw pottery & play with their tiny dog Nora.
Robyn (she, her, hers) is a middle school English teacher in Texas, who pursues educational equity for her students. She plans to enter graduate school in the fall to continue exploring the ways in which public education can function in the service of social justice.
Stephanie R. Toliver (she, her, hers) is an Assistant Professor of Literacy and Secondary Humanities at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Through her work, she aims to assist teachers in imagining how classrooms can use speculative fiction as a means to center Black joy, Black dreams, and Black futures.
Andrea Glaws (she, her, hers) is a PhD student in Literacy Studies at the University of Colorado- Boulder. Her research interests revolve around the use of teaching literature for equity aims. Andrea is passionate about providing students with opportunities through texts to discuss topics of social justice.
Rebecca E. Linares (she/her/hers) is an assistant professor in Equity, Bilingualism & Biliteracy in the School of Education at the University of Colorado Boulder. Through her scholarship and service, she is committed to centering the lives, voices, and experiences of transnational emergent multilingual adolescents by highlighting their complex languaging and literacy practices. She also really enjoys walking with her pup, hooking rugs, and cooking.
Bethy Leonardi (she/her/hers + pronouns haven't been invented yet) is an assistant professor in Educational Foundations, Policy, and Practice. In her research, she explores how public schools include, deny, and/or silence queer identities. Specifically, she supports educators to enact promising practices that disrupt-- and heal-- cis-heteronormative school ecologies to create schools that are ready for (and not merely reactive to) queer youth. In real life, Bethy loves spending time with her family, hiking, and holding steady as a novice on the Big Green Egg.
Sara Staley (she/her/hers) is an assistant professor in Teacher Learning, Research, and Practice in the CU Boulder School of Education. In her research and practice, she leverages anti-oppressive and queer perspectives on teaching and learning to prepare teachers to organize more humanizing learning environments for LGBTQ+ youth. Sara loves Colorado summers, music, and spending time with family.
Brittni Laura Hernandez (she, her, ella) is a queer xicana from Northern Colorado. Her family is from what we know as Southern Colorado and Northern New Mexico. She is a Secondary Language Arts educator who centers love, student autonomy, and social consciousness in her classroom. She helps lead her school equity team and is constantly reflecting on her own practices, currently focusing on anti-racism and queer practices. Brittni Laura is honored to carry on her family’s traditions with land, food, education, and community. She is committed to breaking cycles that no longer serve our collective healing.
