Key Presenters for the Culturally Responsive Pedagogy Virtual Summit

CALVIN MACKIE, Ph.D.
President and CEO, STEM NOLA

Dr. Calvin Mackie is an award-winning mentor, inventor, author, former engineering professor, internationally renowned speaker, and successful entrepreneur. His messages continue to transcend race, gender, ethnicity, religion, and time. A lifelong resident of New Orleans, Dr. Mackie graduated Morehouse College, earning a degree in Mathematics in 1990 with Magna Cum Laude status. He was simultaneously awarded a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech, where he subsequently earned his Master’s and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering in 1996. Mackie has won numerous awards, including the 2003 Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring in a White House ceremony. Most recently, Dr. Mackie founded STEM NOLA, a non-profit organization established to expose, inspire, and engage communities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). STEM NOLA has involved over 40,000 K-12 students in hands-on project-based STEM activities. Learn More

CARMEN SIDBURY, Ph.D.

Director Center for Education in STEM

Dr. Sidbury is currently Director of the Center for Education in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Science at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. In this role, she brings together higher education, secondary schools, government agencies, and industry to create pathways and opportunities for every students’ success. Dr. Sidbury has years of professional experience in technical positions at Lucent Technologies, formerly AT&T Bell Laboratories, and was responsible for telecommunications product design and development. She earned BS and MS degrees in Mechanical Engineering from North Carolina A & T State University. After several years at AT&T-Bell Labs in Whippany, NJ, Carmen returned to graduate school and, in 1995, became the first African-American female to earn a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

She is a longtime champion of inclusive excellence in STEM. She has held several leadership roles in higher education, including appointments at Spelman College, the National Science Foundation, the University of Washington and Georgia Institute of Technology.
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Dr. Angelique Tucker-Blackmon
CEO and Director of Research, Innovative Learning Center

Innovative Learning Center is an education, research, and data management firm. Dr. Blackmon earned her Ph.D. in Educational Studies with an emphasis in Science Education from Emory University. She has a B.S. and an M.S. degree in Analytical Chemistry from the Georgia Institute of Technology and completed a two-year Postdoctoral Fellowship in Cultural Anthropology. Dr. Blackmon has an extensive background in developing and executing performance and impact-based evaluations. She has a depth of knowledge of mixed methods research and general inferential statistics. She specializes in designing evaluation studies that measure cognitive and non-cognitive variables that influence students’ persistence in STEM. Dr. Blackmon was trained as a quantitative scientist then specialized in culturally responsive science teaching and qualitative research methods. Before entering education, Dr. Blackmon worked as a research chemist with Dow Chemical and 3M. Learn More

Dr. Franita Ware

Dr. Franita Ware is an experienced educator, workshop designer, facilitator, and scholar of Culturally Responsive Education. Dr. Ware’s article Warm Demander Pedagogy: Culturally Responsive Teaching that Supports a Culture of Achievement for African American Students has maintained popularity with public school educators and scholars such as Dr. Lisa Delpit and Zaretta Hammonds. As she continues her research on this topic, she has developed strategies to help teachers who are culturally different from their students to become culturally responsive and Warm Demander teachers. She is currently co-authoring a manuscript on the topic. Related to becoming Warm Demander teachers, her most recent research and training is on Radical Self Care, a workshop that is grounded in Neurogenesis and Positive Psychology. Educators who intentionally implement Radical Self Care strategies report growth in their physical, emotional, and brain health and an enhanced ability to address issues of equity in classrooms and school environments.  Learn More About Dr. Ware

Dr. Morgan Faison

Dr. Morgan Faison is a Clinical Assistant Professor in Elementary Education in the Department of Educational Theory and Practice at the University of Georgia. Dr. Faison earned her Ph.D. in Educational Studies with a focus on Urban Teacher Education from Emory University, her M.S.Ed. in Education, Culture, and Society from the University of Pennsylvania, and her B.A. degree from Spelman College. Her current research engages Black elementary teachers in varied settings in the South (e.g., PWIs, urban schools) to elevate the theory and pedagogical possibilities of culturally just and culturally sustaining models for teaching. As a teacher education activist, Dr. Faison has partnered with several districts including Atlanta Public Schools, Athens-Clarke County Schools, and Gwinnett County Schools, to provide anti-racist training explicitly for those seeking to transform education. She has published widely in the International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, the Journal of Educational Studies, Multicultural Perspectives, and the National Black Child Development Institute. Learn More

Dr. Pamela O. Gilchrist

Dr. Pamela O. Gilchrist is the Director of the Imhotep and Kyran Anderson Academies for The Science House at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina.

The Imhotep and Kyran Anderson Academies are enrichment programs geared to engage diverse K-12 students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). At NCSU, she is a member of the Academy of Outstanding Faculty Engaged in Extension, a program that honors excellence in extension, engagement, and economic development. Dr. Gilchrist developed the first hybrid photonics program for underrepresented students, parents, and teachers in North Carolina. She is also an Emeritus Principal Investigator of a National Science Foundation for Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers grant. She is the first African American woman elected to lead the North Carolina Science Leadership Association and the North Carolina Science and Engineering Foundation. She was featured in Photonics Spectra, an international industry publication for her innovative work employed to equip young learners for the global workforce. Dr. Gilchrist holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Research and Policy Analysis from North Carolina State University, a Master of Arts in Instructional Technology, and a Bachelor of Science in Middle Grades Education from East Carolina University. Learn More