KEYNOTE AND WELCOME : 10 – 11AM ET

BUILDING TOOLKITS FOR HUMANITY

About this session

In this welcoming session, Sonja and Tricia “set the table” for the important conversations for the day, providing historical context and background for the work of racial and social justice needed during these urgent times and current political climate.

Learn more about Sonja and Tricia HERE

SESSION 1 : 11:15 – 12PM ET

CREATING LGBTQ-AFFIRMING SCHOOLS THROUGH ACTION AND COMMUNITY IN TODAY’S CLIMATE

About this session

This session will address how to best support LGTBQ students, families, and educators during our current political moment. We will discuss four approaches to supporting LGBTQ youth in this era of state-sanctioned violence: work in the classroom, building coalition, advocacy in local contexts, and engagement in school and state-level policies. Participants will receive classroom practices in addition to tools to advocate for LGBTQ-affirming schools and classrooms.

Jess Lifshitz teaches 5th grade ELA in Northbrook, IL, which is a suburb of Chicago. She has been teaching for 20 years. In addition to her work in the classroom, Jess has written for several literacy related publications and shares her work with students through writing and social media. In everything that Jess does, she believes in helping students learn to use reading and writing in order to better understand and create positive change in the world beyond the classroom.

Session 2: 12:15 – 1PM ET

SOLIDARITY IN PRACTICE: CENTERING PALESTINE IN RACIAL JUSTICE AND LIBERATORY EDUCATION

About this Session

Understanding Palestine is essential to any comprehensive conversation about racial justice, global liberation, and human rights. This session invites educators across all grade levels (K-20) to deepen their understanding of Palestine’s historical and contemporary contexts, unpack the urgency of discussion, instruction and action around current events, and explore why solidarity with Palestine is a critical component of justice-centered education. Together, we will examine how Palestinian liberation is interconnected with broader struggles for freedom and dignity, including movements for Indigenous, Black, LGBTQ+, and immigrant rights.

Participants will leave with tangible strategies for authentically integrating Palestine into curricula, lesson planning, and school-wide initiatives, while fostering a learning environment that nurtures critical consciousness, empathy, and action among students. This session is rooted in the belief that racial justice is incomplete without global solidarity—and that our classrooms are powerful sites to cultivate it. Finally, this session will provide educators with a list of resources to continue their own learning and facilitate learning in our classrooms. 

Amanda Hartman is an educator, presenter, curriculum designer, community activist and writer with over 25 years of experience. She has worked both in the US and abroad in elementary education specializing in Early Childhood. She holds a master degree in Bilingual and Multicultural Education and has helped schools design structures and curricula that are rooted in multilingualism and pedagogies that are culturally relevant, responsive and sustaining.

Dr. Sawsan Jaber, NBCT is a global educator, presenter, equity strategist, curriculum designer, community activist, and keynote speaker with over 25 years of experience. She has held a variety of leadership positions both in the U.S. and abroad. Dr. Jaber is currently a high school English Department Chair, District Equity Leader, and teacher in Illinois. Dr. Jaber founded Education Unfiltered Consulting and works with schools nationally and internationally. She completed her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus on inclusion and belonging of students from marginalized communities, particularly Arab American students in historically homogenous communities.

SESSION 3: 1:15 – 2PM ET

WHAT EDUCATORS NEED TO KNOW: DISABILITY JUSTICE AND THE ROLE OF RACE AND IEPS

Research tells us that students with disabilities, when they get what they need, perform at or above the level of their non disabled peers. Yet, in every study of student test scores, growth, and graduation rates there is a cohort of students who consistently ‘underperform.’ In this workshop participants will first take a closer look at what research teaches us about BIPOC students with disabilities. Next, Colleen will share  practical moves educators, including and especially general educators, can make to ensure that students can and do reach their potential.

M. Colleen Cruz is an independent consultant and fierce advocate for students and teachers with whom she shares her passion for accessibility, research-based instruction, and equity. Colleen was a classroom teacher in Brooklyn in general education and inclusive settings for several years. She is also an author of books for children and teachers including her forthcoming title on neurodivergence and learning disabilities in the general education classroom (Fall 2025, Corwin Press.)

SESSION 4: 2:15 – 3PM ET

EVERYTHING WE KNOW AND HAVE: A CONVERSATION WITH NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST RANDY RIBAY

Join us for this urgent and necessary conversation with Randy, Sonja, and Tricia about the importance of knowing history to know the present and ourselves. What does resistance look like in classrooms, schools, and communities in this landscape of restriction to historical truths? How can we advocate for truth despite curricula censorship, book banning, and the removal of museum exhibits? How will we empower young people to explore the role history plays in shaping their identities and sense of belonging?  

Randy Ribay writes stories for young people and the young at heart. He’s the author of Patron Saints of Nothing; Everything We Never Had; Avatar, the Last Airbender: The Reckoning of Roku; and more. He’s a two-time National Book Award nominee, a co-winner of the Michael L. Printz award, and a recipient of the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association book award and the Boston Globe-Horn Book award. His books have appeared on the New York Times, Indie, and USA Today best-sellers lists. 

Born in the Philippines and raised in Michigan and Colorado, Randy currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife, son, and cat-like dog.