The National Institutes

Dr. Christopher Emdin is the Robert Naslund Endowed Chair in Curriculum Theory and Professor of Education at the University of Southern California, where he also serves as Director of Youth Engagement and Community Partnerships at the USC Race and Equity Center. Dr. Emdin holds a Ph.D. in Urban Education with a concentration in Mathematics, Science, and Technology; Master's degrees in both Natural Sciences and Education, and Bachelor’s degrees in Physical Anthropology, Biology, and Chemistry.

Dr. Edmin is the creator of the #HipHopEd social media movement and Science Genius BATTLES. He was recently named one of the 27 people bridging divides in the United States by Time magazine. He is the author of numerous award-winning works, including Urban Science Education for the Hip-Hop Generation and the New York Times bestseller, For White Folks Who Teach In the Hood… and the Rest of Y’all Too.

Sandy Bartle Finocchi has spent more than 30 years devoted to student success in mathematics—as a teacher, department chair, and math coach, as a professional development leader and trainer, and as the head of the Carnegie Learning Instructional Design Team. Sandy develops math curriculum that combines cognitive and learning science with practical instruction to develop conceptual math understanding and deeper learning skills. She has worked with thousands of teachers from across the country to transform math learning for their students. Sandy believes that all students are capable of becoming strong, confident math learners.

Laila Nur served as an educator for the Los Angeles Unified School District for nine years: six as a high school teacher and three as an instructional coach. She is currently serving on NCTM's Professional Development Services Committee and NCTM's Program Committee for the Annual Meeting and Exposition in D.C. this year. Laila is also an Implementation Support Specialist for College Preparatory Mathematics (CPM). Her mission is to change the narrative of teacher mental health through laughter, vulnerability, and deep introspection. She uses her experiences as a teacher, coach, and friend to inspire and empower others, especially women of color, to use the most vulnerable parts of themselves to be leaders in their respective communities.

Natalie Wexler is an education writer and the author of The Knowledge Gap. She is also the co-author, with Judith C. Hochman, of The Writing Revolution and is a senior contributor at Forbes.com.

She has spoken and written widely on issues relating to literacy, cognitive science, and fairness. Her articles and essays have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, The American Scholar, and other publications, as well as in her free Substack newsletter, Minding the Gap.

Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of English Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. She is co-editor of four books and is co-author of the multiple-award-winning book Advancing Racial Literacies in Teacher Education: Activism for Equity in Digital Spaces, in which she examines her concept of Archeology of Self in education.

At Teachers College, she is the founder of the Racial Literacy Roundtables Series, where for twelve years, national scholars, teachers, and students facilitate conversations around race and other issues involving diversity. Yolanda appeared in Spike Lee’s 2 Fists Up: We Gon’ Be Alright (2016), a documentary about the Black Lives Matter movement and the campus protests at Mizzou. Her first full-length collection of poetry, Love from the Vortex & Other Poems, was published in March 2020. Her sophomore book of poetry, The Peace Chronicles, was published in July 2021.

View Yolanda’s TEDx Talk: Truth, Love & Racial Literacy, or visit her website to learn more.