ELEVATE Conference 2021 - Speaker Bios

ELEVATE Conference 2021

Inclusive Schools are Anti-Racist Schools: Exploring the Intersection of Race and Disability in DC Charters

Speaker Bios

Melissa Boston Co-Founder and Director of Programs at Mindworks Collaborative

Martrice Gandy Founder and Executive Director of Mindworks Collaborative

Dismantling Systems

Monica Green Founder and Head of School at Capital Village Public Charter School

Michale Lindon Director of Student Support at Capital Village PCS:

Melody Maitland Founder and Head of School at Capital Village Public Charter School

Christopher Nace Interim Principal at DC International PCS:

Melissa (she/her/hers) is a biracial Black mother, wife, educator, and proud native of Pittsburgh. She has worked across DC and Maryland in the field of special education for 17+ years, mostly within nonpublic/specialized K-12 schools, and spent 8 of those years as a principal. She is currently adjunct faculty and Special Education Program Coordinator at the Graduate School of Education and Human Development at George Washington University while she is pursuing her Doctorate in Special Education.

MELISSA BOSTON

Melissa earned her Bachelor’s in Sociology from the University of Pittsburgh, where she was also a member of the women’s basketball team. She obtained her Master’s in Special Education, with a specialty in teaching students with emotional and behavioral disabilities and transition services, from George Washington University. Melissa holds professional certifications in Special Education and Leadership in Maryland, participated in the MASEF Leadership Academy, traveled abroad to Anger, France as a missionary, and serves on the Board of Directors for several charter schools. She resides in Maryland with her husband and children and loves to connect with other Black families who have decided to enroll their children in Montessori programs.

Martrice (she/her/hers) is an upstate NY native and proud product of Buffalo and LewistonPorter Public School Districts. She moves through this world as a Black woman, step-mother, soon-to-be auntie, and special educator with an auditory processing disorder. Coming from a legacy of educators, Martrice started teaching as soon as she got her worker's permit. She

MARTRICE GANDY

taught in Sunday School, camps, and summer programs and even led the youth department at her church. She also served in AmeriCorp during undergrad as part of the Jumpstart and the Reading Partners programs. However, her formal teaching career began through the Baltimore City Teaching Residency Program, and she has spent the last 11 years in the DC and Maryland areas as a teacher, coach, and leader within charter and traditional school systems and nationally as a special education, adult learning, and talent management consultant. She has a deep interest in and commitment to improving educator practices, self-efficacy, and retention and reducing disproportionate outcomes for culturally and linguistically diverse students with disabilities.

Martrice holds professional certification in the areas of Secondary English, Special Education, and School Leadership in both Maryland and DC. Martrice received her Master’s in Educational Leadership from Drexel University and her Bachelors from the University of Virginia. She has been awarded grants and fellowships from Education Pioneers, Camelback Ventures, 4.0, NewSchools Venture Fund, StartingBloc, and more. Martrice serves on the Board of Directors and Steering Committees for several schools and organizations. She lives in Maryland with her partner, bonus twin boys, and two Dachshund mixes (Dash and Sir Brownie).

Monica Green knew from an early age that she was an educator. Growing up in Prince George’s County, Maryland, she began working with young people in middle and high school. After graduating from Towson University, Monica started her career as an educator teaching middle school English in Suitland, Maryland. For 15 years, she taught English and theater in DC, Maryland, and Virginia, developing a passion for integrating field experiences, community experts, and teaching artists into the everyday curriculum.

MONICA GREEN

Monica has served as a team leader, department head, and coordinator for the AVID program, a college preparatory program aimed at making college accessible to all students. As an AVID coordinator, Monica led two new AVID sites to certification in four years by leading teams of teachers and tutors in improving the school’s instructional program and implementing additional supports for students not performing to their potential. Monica founded Capital Village PCS to reach students who get lost in the system of schools not built for them. She believes that with learning environments that are flexible, adaptable, and customizable to student needs, all students can thrive.

Monica earned her Master's degree in education in curriculum and instruction. She is also a candidate for a Ph.D. in educational leadership, with a dissertation on student engagement in the blended classroom. She loves to spend time reading, camping, and hiking with her husband, Roy, and son, Sean.

MICHALE LINDON

Michale Lindon is excited to join our founding team at Capital Village as our Founding Director of Student Support Services.

Michale previously served as the COPE Behavior Program Manager at The School for Creative Studies in Durham, NC, for five years and the Exceptional Children’s Facilitator for one year.

Coming from a family of educators in Texas, she combines her 17 years of Special Education and 14 years of Counseling to meet the needs of her students, colleagues, and families. As of January 2020, Michale will start working on her doctorate in Special Education Curriculum and Instruction at Liberty University. In her spare time, she enjoys using her background in Marketing to run her travel agency, Mal’s Travel Shop, cooking anything spicy, working out, spending time with her family, friends, and puppy named Jasper.

MELODY MAITLAND

Melody serves as the Chief of Staff for DC International Public Charter School. Her work focuses on operationalizing processes developed over the school’s seven-year history with a focus on achieving strategic plan goals. Prior to this role, Melody served as the founding Director of Student Support Services, managing formal support services (i.e., special education, 504s, and EL services) across all grade levels. She earned her BA in Sociology and Leadership Studies from the University of Denver, her Masters of Social Work from the University of Denver, and her Masters of Education from George Mason University. In her free time, Melody loves watching documentaries, going to fairs and festivals, and eating out!

CHRISTOPHER NACE

Prior to coming to DCI, Chris served as the Program Manager for Youth and Transition Services for the DC Department of Disability Services for two years and as the Manager of Transition Services for the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) for five years. Chris holds a Masters of Science in Conflict Analysis and Resolution and a Masters of Education in Special Education and Transition Services.

Finally, Chris has had the honor of serving as a board member on the Virginia Board for People with Disabilities, the Arc of Northern Virginia, and the State Advisory Board for Special Education in DC. Chris was recently appointed to the Board Member on the HSC Foundation with the National Children's Center Hospital Services.

Peter Anderson Head of School at Washington Latin Public Charter School

Jessica Hiltabidel Director of Equity, Access, and Culture at Inspired Teaching Demonstration Public Charter School

Laura Lorenzen Program Quality Specialist at the DC Special Education Cooperative

Equitable MTSS

JESSICA HILTABIDEL

Jessica Hiltabiidel is the Director of Culture, Equity, and Access at the Inspired Teaching Demonstration School (ITDS). In her current role, she is responsible for the school’s strategic initiative to ensure a positive, equitable, and safe school culture for all community members, including students, staff, and families. Ms. Hiltabidel is an alumna of Johns Hopkins University, majoring in Biology and Psychology. She entered the teaching profession through the Baltimore City Teaching Residency. She received her Master’s in Leadership and Teaching from Notre Dame of Maryland University with a specialty in special education. With over 15 years of experience, she has worked in various roles, such as a classroom teacher, director of a residency-based certification program, and elementary school Principal. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. from George Mason University in Teaching and Teacher Education and Special Education.

Laura Lorenzen is a proven special education leader in Washington, DC, who, as the parent of a child with special needs, is passionate about ensuring the success of every child.

LAURA LORENZEN

Laura has spent nearly two decades leading innovative and quality programming for students with disabilities, from early childhood through high school. She began her career at a non-public school for students with language-based learning disabilities, ADHD, and autism, before taking the helm as Director of Student Support at a DC Public Charter School, building its reputation as a local and national leader in quality inclusive special education services. Under her leadership, the school was recognized in 2018 as one of only four nationwide “Centers of Excellence” by the National Center for Special Education in Charter Schools.

Laura has been actively involved in the Special Education Co-op for many years, having served for two years as a member of its Advisory Board. In SY 2020-21, she served as a consultant for the Co-op, providing professional development and coaching around Response to Intervention (RtI) practices.

Suspension & Students of Color

Yazid Jackson Restorative Justice Program Manager at SchoolTalk

Raymond Weeden Executive Director at

YAZID JACKSON

Yazid Jackson was first introduced to Restorative Practices working in Philadelphia and has been utilizing them to resolve issues in a variety of institutions for over 14 years. While the majority of his career has been in urban education, he has worked in residential settings, private, alternative, and public schools in suburban and urban communities. Yazid has worked with DCPS for four years, and he is excited to now support Restorative Practices in the full network of public and charter schools in the District with SchoolTalk. He stands behind the unique approach that SchoolTalk takes, assessing student needs and designing restorative programs in schools. Yazid’s commitment to supporting students, schools, and communities has been at the forefront throughout his career. There is a palpable passion in his work, and we are grateful to have him on the team.

RAYMOND WEEDEN

Mr. Weeden has over a decade of experience in the Washington, D.C., education, leadership, and policy sectors. He taught math for Columbus Public School and The SEED Public Charter School for seven years. At SEED PCS, he became a New Leader’s Resident Principal. Mr. Weeden first served as Principal of Chavez Parkside Middle School. Under his four years of leadership, the school’s proficiency rates rose in reading from 26% to 46% and in math from 28% to 65%. Then, he served as the Principal of DC Prep’s Benning Elementary Campus, a top-performing, multi-site charter school in Washington, DC. In Raymond’s most recent role as Senior Director of Policy and Community Engagement, he successfully organized the school’s stakeholders while advocating for quality public education and student safety. He serves on the boards of DC Special Education Coop. Statesman College Preparatory Academy for Boys PCS and ServeDC. Mr. Weeden earned both his BA in Sociology and Master of Teaching from the University of Virginia. He also holds an MS in Education Administration from Trinity University.

Yolanda Corbett Parent Organizer at Advocates for Justice & Education

Debra Jennings Executive Co-Director of the Statewide Parent Advocacy Network (SPAN)

LaJoy Johnson-Law Parent Support Specialist at Advocates for Justice & Education

Parent Partnership

YOLANDA CORBETT

Yolanda Corbett joined AJE in 2021. As a native Washingtonian born and raised in Southeast, DC, Ms. Corbett is no stranger to the inequities that her city is faced with and has a long history of service as a community and parent leader. She is a devoted mother of three, including a child with a neurodiverse learning disability. Ms. Corbett is also a strong parent advocate within many other organizations that are committed to assuring that the educational rights of children with disabilities are met in the District of Columbia. As a Parent Organizer for AJE, Yolanda is constantly pushing herself to learn more about education policy issues that will help strengthen the voice and presence of families of children that have a disability to become more present in political spaces of change. She believes in the power of making connections for parents to build a support network, all while finding ways to empower parents with the resources and tools necessary to create a healthy balanced lifestyle for both caregivers and their loved ones. Ms. Corbett has served as a member of the DC SBOE ESSA Task Force (2017-2018), My School DC Parent Action Committee Ward 5 Rep (2017- Current), HSCSN Parent Advocate Leadership Chair, DC PAVE Ward 7 Parent Leader in Education (2017- current) and Former AJE Parent Ambassador.

DEBRA JENNINGS

Debra Jennings is the Executive Co-Director of the Statewide Parent Advocacy Network (SPAN), a non-profit organization providing comprehensive information, training, technical assistance, and support for families, parent organizations, and professionals in negotiating the complexities of child and family-serving systems. Since 2003, Jennings has directed U.S. Department of Education-funded technical assistance centers providing coaching and consultation to increase the effectiveness and capacity of twenty (20) parent centers serving families with children with disabilities in the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania Rhode Island and Vermont, and providing universal technical assistance to almost 100 Parent Training and Information Centers and Community Parent Resource Centers across the U.S. and territories. As of October 1, 2014, SPAN has been awarded a new national technical assistance center focused on working with Parent Centers to better support individuals with disabilities and their families in achieving improved postschool outcomes, with a particular focus on increasing the attainment of competitive employment. The National RAISE Center (Resources for Accessing Independence, Self advocacy and Employment) is funded by the US Department of Education, Rehabilitative Services Administration.

LAJOY JOHNSONLAW

Law is a Ward 8 resident with a beautiful 9-year old daughter—Abria. Abria is a child with a disability who attends Rocketship Legacy Academy Public Charter School. LaJoy has been heavily involved in the education landscape in D.C. for nearly the last decade, previously serving as a Board Member at AppleTree Early Learning Public Charter School. She currently serves as President of the University of Phoenix DMV Alumni Chapter Association and serves as the Ward 8 parent member on the Thrive by Five Coordinating Council. LaJoy, also is a parent member of the Ward 8 Education Council and serves as a board member at Parents Amplifying Voices in Education. LaJoy is also a parent leader at Rocketship Public Charter School, where Abria is enrolled in the 4th Grade. She is constantly inspired by her daughter, who was born extremely premature at 23 weeks and 1 pound 6 ounces. LaJoy believes that just like her daughter is a miracle. All of our children are miracles and deserve high-quality education so they can thrive.

Motivated by her advocacy for Abria and other children like her, she has also briefly served as a classroom paraprofessional at St. Coletta Special Education Public Charter School and previously interned at the Mayor’s Office on Returning Citizen Affairs (MORCA). Currently, LaJoy is the parent support specialist at Advocates for Justice and Education (AJE) to continue her advocacy efforts for families who have children with disabilities. LaJoy holds an Associate’s Degree in Elementary Education, a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology, and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Phoenix.

Brandon Copeland Trap Yoga

La Sarmiento Mediation Teacher

Meditative Services

BRANDON COPELAND

Brandon Copeland is a Black yoga instructor that created the concept of Trap Yoga. This inclusive style of practice incorporates fast-paced traditional asana practice with hip-hop music. The idea is to make yoga more relatable to black populations that may have been underserved by their previous wellness experiences. Brandon hopes to meet people at their level on and off the mat to help them find peace and happiness within. Brandon has been instructing yoga for ten years in Washington DC, where he lives with his wife, three children, and cat, Bastet.

My first name is La. People often think that La is my title. I never liked my formal first name of Marinella. I was born in 1964 in Manila, The Philippines. My parents and I immigrated to Hawaii when I was ten months old. I got a "Needs Improvement" in Show & Tell in kindergarten, was voted "Funniest" and "Friendliest" in 9th grade, and was voted "Most Likely To Succeed" my senior year of high school. I was on the 1981 Oxon Hill Senior High "It's Academic" team. Not bad for an introvert.

I majored in Biology at Goucher College, though I harbored blue-collar fantasies of being a short-order cook at a diner and being the firefighter who drove the back end of the really long fire-trucks. I worked in an AIDS laboratory at Georgetown University for seven years with the most fun co-workers ever.

LA SARMIENTO

I realized at the age of five that I was queer. I identify as non-binary and go by the pronouns they, their, and them when being referred to in the third person. It took many years to accept and love myself.

Happy that I do now. A horrible breakup brought me to dharma, and my now-life partner was my "vipassana romance" on a meditation retreat. I used to be very afraid of teenagers. Now I think they rock.

I'm a Leo born on the cusp of Cancer in the Year of the Wood Dragon, an INFJ on the Myers-Briggs, a two on the Enneagram, a Greedy Buddhist personality type, and I best give love through acts of service and receive love from affirmations. Perfection was a coping mechanism for years; I now accept that I ain't all that and have a long ways to go.

I believe it's essential to take and pick up people from the airport/train station, to remember people's names, and to acknowledge and wish everyone well that I pass each day.

I look for the underdog and those who feel invisible in the world and cheer them on.

I aspire to awaken in this lifetime.