Yes and Know

In today's episode, Rachel and Jim interview Davina Smith who has quite a resume of representation for her Dine culture including work for the government and education.  Davina is running for state legislature.  She discusses her history of advocacy and her own personal history as a student in an Indigenous Boarding School.  Rachel and Jim talk about the relevance of these boarding schools and how Indigenous youth are advocated for (or not) today. 

Dr. Jane Kise's work was the impetus for the theme and title of YES AND KNOW.  Her work inspired us to explore the messy middle as we like to call it.  Here, Dr. Kise discusses why it is impossible to solve educational polarities. Instead, we need ways to manage polarities, she says.  She then discusses her new book coming out about educator bandwidth and the ways educators and systems can work together to make self care more of a reality.

Ryan Quinn has written two editions of the book LIFT and has studied positive leadership and virtues for decades now.  He speaks to Rachel and Jim on how to balance virtues for leaders to get the most positive effect.  And he knows Adam Grant!  Adam, if you hear this podcast, call us.  

Rachel and Jim discuss two articles about setting norms in meetings and what can happen for marginalized and minoritized individuals in those meetings, as a direct result of the norms.  What might seem can serve to maintain white privilege and status in the meeting. Thus, it becomes necessary to establish guidelines for social justice talk that stop certain types of microaggressions from taking place.  Rachel and Jim discuss the implications of these approaches in public schools and how they might adapt the suggestions for their own contexts.  

With regular attacks on critical race theory and the efforts to limit free speech across the country, there may be no better time for  the organization Speak Out!  Speak Out sponsors speakers and programs to help communities grapple with issues of race, privilege, and anti-bias work in all forms.  Today, Rachel and Jim interview Amalia Mesa, the Managing Director of Speak Out.  

Amalia’s passion - both personally and professionally - lies in discovering how we can better ourselves and the world in which welive. From an early age, Amalia was drawn to the intersections of activism, media, culture, education and leadership. She has garnered an array of experience in the social impact sector as well as the film and TV industry, helping to develop and produce projects for HBO, Universal, Marvel Studios, 20th Century Fox, and National Geographic. She is thrilled to help accelerate SpeakOut’s growth and impact, helping the organization realize its vision, build an inspired community of creative talent, and empower the next generation. Born in Havana, Cuba, Amalia grew up in the Bay Area, and graduated from UCLA’s School of Theatre, Film, and Television.

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