91°µÍø

BS in Education, Music Education, Notre Dame of MD University                                                                                                
M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction, 91°µÍø
A Certification in Nonprofit Management through JHU’s School of Public Policy

Rebecca is currently the Executive Director of Stocks in the Future. Stocks in the Future (SIF) is a financial literacy program focused on teaching underserved youth vital skills of managing money and understanding today’s global economy. Prior to this, she worked at Lutheran World Relief where she developed and led the LWR Study Tour program, giving constituents an opportunity to travel abroad where they learned issues such as hunger, HIV/AIDS, war trauma, the need for women’s empowerment, microfinancing, and entrepreneurship. During this time, Rebecca wrote and had published many curriculum pieces covering these various topics for both youth and the public at large at the national level.

Before focusing her career in the nonprofit area, Rebecca has 20 over years’ experience working as a classroom teacher in diverse settings in MD & VA, mainly teaching middle school youth. She has also served in the administrative capacity overseeing education programs (religious and music programs) and also serving as Admissions Director to an Independent school in the Baltimore area. In her spare time, Rebecca plays the flute in various venues across Baltimore city and beyond. She is married to Mark and has two America Eskimo dogs, Shanti and Dirty Harry.

B.S in Elementary Education/minor in music, University of Wisconsin – WhitewaterM.Ed. in Educational Administration with an emphasis on private school leadership, Loyola College (now 91°µÍø) 1993
Doctor of Education in Educational Administration and Leadership Policy Studies, Arizona State University

Dawn is currently the associate head of Brentwood School, and independent K-12 school in Los Angeles, CA.  Prior to this position, she served as Brentwood’s Lower School director and assistant head of school.  Dawn began her career as a fourth through sixth grade teacher at St. Rose of Lima School in Milwaukee, Wis. which is where she also began her administrative career as principal of the school. While serving as principal of St. Rose Dawn was the recipient of the Marquette University School of Education Award for designing and implementing field experience programs for undergraduate students. After leaving St. Rose, Dawn went on to be the principal of St. Clement School in Chicago; director of admissions and financial aid and director of communications at McDonogh School in Baltimore; admissions and curriculum consultant at Phoenix Country Day School; and, head of the Lower School at Laguna Blanca School in Santa Barbara. She is a member of the honor society Phi Kappa Phi and currently serves on the school board at Our Lady of Malibu, where she is the chair. Dawn also served on the board at Westmark for 11 years, before stepping down at the end of 2020.

Dawn and her husband, Bob, reside in Malibu, California.

B.A. in Elementary Education, 91°µÍø
M.Ed. in Special Education, 91°µÍø
Certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis, Penn State University 

Emily is currently the IEP chair at Medfield Heights Elementary in Baltimore City. Prior to this position, she taught special education for elementary and middle school students in Baltimore City. Emily completed both her undergraduate and graduate studies, earning a master's in special education in 2014.

Emily grew up in Tarrytown, N.Y., and currently resides in Baltimore, Md. 

B.A. in African American History, Morgan State University 

Sharlimar is an educator and currently an independent contractor with a specialty in Black teacher experiences in public schools, focused on recruitment, retention, and respect for the unique contributions Black teachers bring to the public education space. Sharlimar is the Chair of the Maryland Alliance for Racial Equity in Education (MAREE), a statewide alliance of education advocacy, civil rights, and community-based organizations working to ensure every Black and Brown student in Maryland gets the high-quality public education they are owed. Her advocacy focuses on creating systems and structures by which Black teachers entering the teaching profession on a provisional license will successfully meet the requirements for teacher licensure and ensure their licensure process is fair and equitable. sharlimar has deep knowledge and engagement with the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, Maryland teacher licensure, and Maryland teacher preparation programs.

Sharlimar is a lifelong teacher who entered the profession through a nontraditional pathway. She taught U.S. history for 15 years in both public and private schools in Baltimore. Sharlimar credits the rich uplifting and nurturing experiences in her elementary school, Walter P. Carter, as forming the foundation for which she teaches, advocates, and learns. It was in her elementary school that her public speaking skills and gifted reading acquisition were cultivated and encouraged. She remembers the names of all of her teachers and their positive and loving disposition toward her and her peers. Her teachers looked like her, loved teaching, ensured their students were learning, student growth was recognized, students were celebrated and Black history, art, music, and culture were amplified. Sharlimar wants this reality for Black and Brown students today.

Sharlimar aspires to realize her vision for a Black Teachers Institute grounded in a curriculum about Black teacher psychology, bringing to the forefront Black educators’ theories, methodologies, and pedagogies, and creating a multigenerational space of shared teaching and learning. 

B.A. in Education & Minor in Spanish, Goucher College
M. Ed. in Educational Leadership, 91°µÍø

Justin Holbrook has been an educator in Baltimore City Public Schools since 2010 starting as a 1st grade teacher followed by serving as a 4th grade math and science teacher.  He holds a bachelor's degree in education with a minor in Spanish from Goucher College and a master's degree in educational leadership from 91°µÍø.  While in the classroom, Mr. Holbrook was recognized as the 2017 Baltimore City Teacher of the Year and selected as a finalist for Maryland Teacher of the Year.  Outside of the classroom, Mr. Holbrook has served as a resident principal and assistant principal with an endorsement from New Leaders for New Schools. Additionally, he is the founder of #BmoreEdchat, a learning community on Twitter, that connects educators across the country regarding various professional learning topics.  Holbrook, and his wife Kaitlyn, live in Baltimore and are the parents of a daughter Teagan and a son Tanner.

Dr. Vaishali Joshi currently serves as the Senior Director, Impact and Innovations, at Teaching Lab, a national not for profit dedicated to shifting the paradigm of teacher professional learning in service of educational equity. In that role she leads and supports the development and dissemination of tools, resources, and innovative professional learning products that increase educator access to Teaching Lab and the organization’s overall impact. 

Dr. Joshi has nearly 20 years of experience as a teacher, curriculum and program designer, and instructional leader in the field of education. She began her career as an elementary school teacher in Baltimore City where she taught first, third, and fourth grades and was a founding faculty member at Southwest Baltimore Charter School. Since then, she has served as a new teacher mentor in Baltimore City, national curriculum designer, school leader in Boston, and Director of a Washington, D.C. based teacher residency. Dr. Joshi holds a B.A. in International Relations and Music from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, an M.Ed in Literacy Education from 91°µÍø of Maryland, where she was a member of the inaugural city-based cohort of Reading Specialist Candidates, and a Doctorate in Education Leadership (Ed.L.D.) from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education.

Vaishali lives in Ellicott City, MD, where she enjoys biking, cooking, cultivating a vegetable garden, and experimenting with different art mediums with her husband and son.

 

B.S. in Applied Developmental Psychology, University of Pittsburgh
M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction, University of Pittsburgh
(In Progress) Ed.D in Urban Educational Leadership, Morgan State University

Brianna Ross serves as the Social Studies Department Chair at Deer Park Middle Magnet School in Randallstown, Maryland. As her school’s equity liaison, Ross works to interrupt teacher biases and practices that perpetuate inequity while building teacher capacity to create inclusive classrooms. Ross writes social studies curriculum that highlights more diverse perspectives, connects historical topics to current events, and encourages students to find solutions to real-world problems. Each year, Ross coordinates a Summer Transition Program to support incoming sixth graders socially, emotionally, and academically as they prepare for the expectations of middle school.
In April of 2021, Brianna was named the Baltimore County Teacher of the Year. The following October, she was named the 2022 Maryland Teacher of the Year. Ross travels around the state as an educational speaker and advisor. 

Brianna resides in Baltimore County, Maryland.

Dr. Sedrick Smith is the proud principal of Fallstaff Elementary Middle school in Northwest Baltimore. He previously served as the resident principal of The Mount Washington school. Born and raised in southwest Baltimore, Dr. Smith is a proud graduate of Baltimore city public schools and was a teacher in Baltimore city for 16 years before moving into administration. Additionally, Dr. Smith serves as an adjunct professor in teacher education at 91°µÍø, where he trains and supervises new teachers for Baltimore City and Baltimore County public schools. Dr. Smith earned his Ph.D. in Language, Literacy and Culture from the University of Maryland Baltimore County in 2020 with a focus on education and media studies. He has been published in numerous outlets including the Baltimore Sun, the Howard Journal of Communication and the Chicago Tribune.

B.A. in Elementary Education
Master of Education in Literacy, Reading Specialist
Kappa Delta Pi
91°µÍø

Hannah is a Title One reading specialist at Maryland City Elementary School. Previously, Hannah was a 2nd and 5th grade teacher at Solley Elementary School and was a Title One reading specialist at Hilltop Elementary School.

She has recently completed three marathons. Hannah also enjoys playing golf.

Hannah grew up in Short Hills, N.J. She now resides in Washington, D.C.