Dr. Terry Husband

Dr. Husband is a Professor of Early Childhood Literacy at Illinois State University in Normal, IL. He teaches courses related to literacy instruction in early childhood and elementary classrooms, literacy assessment, and issues of diversity and equity in P through 12 contexts.

Dr. Husband’s research interests concern: antiracist education in early childhood and elementary classrooms, teaching for social justice, and literacy development in black boys in P-5 contexts. Recognizing the need for teachers to become equipped with the skills, knowledge, and dispositions required to counter racism in schools and the world at-large, Dr. Husband published a practitioner centered book on anti-racist early childhood pedagogy entitled How am I Supposed to Talk About That? Enacting Critical Antiracist Pedagogy in Early Childhood Classrooms. He is currently in the process of writing a book related to parental engagement in culturally diverse classrooms.

He sees teaching as a rare and humbling opportunity to add value to the lives of others while simultaneously making the world at large a more humane, inclusive, and equitable place.

Dr. Hannah K. Miller

Dr. Hannah K. Miller [she/her] is an assistant professor of education at Northern Vermont University. Hannah is the advisor of the NVUnity club for LGBTQ+ students, co-chair of the NVU Diversity and Inclusion Task Force, and a co-facilitator of the Racial Equity Alliance of Lamoille Schools group with co-conspirator Saudia Lamont. Hannah's scholarship interrogates the process of social change in educational systems, with a focus on privilege, power, justice, and oppression.

She draws on critical theories and methodologies to inform her research and teaching, and has used the agency/structure dialectic, critical race theory, and critical participatory action research to guide her work. Hannah's current research project, "TeachOut Vermont," aims to build support networks and conduct action research with and for queer, nonbinary, and transgender teachers in Vermont.

Before becoming a professor, Hannah was a science and English teacher for 8 years in China. She loves knitting, board games, and birding with her wife, who is an ornithologist.

Elizabeth Santiago, Ph.D.

Dr. Elizabeth Santiago (Liz) is the founder of The Untold Narratives, an online platform designed for students to build a love of reading and writing through storytelling. She is also the former Chief Program Officer for MENTOR National where she continues to serve as a Senior Advisor. While Chief Program Officer, she was actively involved in the management of programs and services to support and build the mentoring field. Prior to MENTOR, Elizabeth gained extensive experience in program management and development, instructional design, curriculum development, training and professional development with organizations such as Jobs for the Future, Simmons College, Babson College, Houghton Mifflin, and World Education.

She has specific experience in working with vulnerable or historically excluded youth and the systems and people that serve them. She has taught high school equivalency courses within school districts, community-based organizations and through unions, and managed the GED/high school equivalency program at the Harriet Tubman House in Boston, MA. She has also built a professional development service for teachers and principals designing education programs for first generation college goers. Liz earned a BFA in creative writing from Emerson College, a Master’s in education from Harvard University, and a PhD in education studies from Lesley University.

Her first loves remain creative writing and teaching, never losing her desire to create characters based on her beloved community, or support students in leveraging narrative writing to be better overall storytellers. She still lives in Boston with her husband Kevin, son Ezekiel, and cat Mr. Felix.

Debra Ren-Etta Sullivan, Ed.D

Dr. Debra Ren-Etta Sullivan is Past President of the Seattle Affiliate of the National Black Child Development Institute (BCDI-Seattle) where the primary focus of her work has been around implementing appropriate learning environments for Black children and working with families and communities to increase their advocacy for their children.

Dr. Sullivan’s third book, Cultivating the Genius of Black Children, guides teachers in creating classrooms that support the learning needs of Black children and many other children with similar learning styles and preferences. Dr. Sullivan was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Champlain College in Vermont. In addition, she earned her doctorate in Educational Leadership and her master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction, both from Seattle University, and a bachelor’s degree in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Washington.

She has worked in higher education for forty years as a teacher, researcher, curriculum developer, and administrator and is a Past Governing Board Member of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

Dudney Sylla, M.Ed.

Dudney Sylla serves as Program Director overseeing and supporting special projects including MENTOR's work on informal mentoring, education, and guide on the intersections of mentoring and masculinity. Previously Dudney worked as a Design Consultant for the Office of Human Capital - Diversity Programs at Boston Public Schools and as a Program Manager at Jobs for the Future. Dudney holds a Bachelor's in Sociology and a Master's in Education from the University of Washington.