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My work with individuals, schools and organizations addressing issues of diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and social justice began in 1992. The work’s focus has been on the elimination of systematic racism and other forms of oppression and practices that privilege or give advantages to a group of people while targeting or disadvantaging other groups, whether consciously or unconsciously, in their working culture and delivery or resources.
I was an early critical student of colonialism and colonizing practices. I have been shaped by critical incidents of social justice activism and resistance in my life. The first was participating in the 1966 UFW march to Sacramento lead by César Chávez and Dolores Huerta when I was 12-years-old. The second, and more profoundly life-changing, incident was my participation in 1973 American Indian Movement siege and occupation at Wounded Knee, SD when I was 19-years-old.
The early years of my career began as a teacher’s assistant on an Indian Reservation in Montana in a school that was developing and using a bilingual/bicultural curriculum based on the Cree culture and language. That was the start of my many roles in education, including 15 years as a classroom teacher. My work has also been in nonprofit organizations and within the halls of a few universities. My passion has centered around understanding, healing, and eliminating systematic oppression. Since the beginning, my work has focused on issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion. I participated in the pioneering of Constructivist Listening (developed through the work at the National Coalition for Equity in Education (NCEE) at the University of California, Santa Barbara, 1998) in DEI work. This work includes the Dyad and Personal Experience Panels commonly used in many currently popular DEI programs. My writings include: Developing and Supporting Diverse Leadership; Building Bridges: Family Mathematics Education and Support; Teachers of Color Taking Leadership for Mathematics Equity: Challenges and Opportunities; Constructivist Listening in Classrooms; Alice and Rachel: Teacher Leaders of Color, and Take It Up! (a DEI handbook).