Presentation of Self
WHO AM I?
I am many intersecting identities woven into a single person. I am a kid from the east side of Cleveland. I am Black. I am a woman. I am a member of the LGBTQ+ community. I am a spouse. I am a daughter. I am a sister. I am an aunt. I am a student. I am a scholar. I am gifted. I am full of questions whose answers are yet to be discovered.
My identities intermingle with my experiences, sometimes shaping my path and other times being shaped by it. I am a work in progress.
I am a lifelong learner. As I learn, I teach. I am an instructor.
I combine my lived experiences with research to tell my story. I talk to others to co-construct the meaning of their lived experiences and tell their stories. I study and analyze data to tell stories about education.
I am an analyst. I am a researcher. I am a storyteller.
I am TK from the inner city.
I am Dr. TK to the ivory towers.
THE ACADEMIC FOUNDATIONS
Where lived experiences meet professional expertise.
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The Scholar-Practitioner: Holding a PhD in Urban Education - Policy Studies from Cleveland State University, my work centers on the intersection of culturally relevant research and racial equity in advanced academic spaces, including gifted education.
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The Policy Advocate: Serving for five years on the Ohio Gifted Advisory Council (GAC), I worked at the state level to identify and dismantle the systemic barriers that keep gifted students of color invisible.
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The District Leader: Currently serving as Coordinator of Data/State Reporting (EMIS), I bridge the gap between research data and the daily reality of data sources and who is represented in the data.
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The Innovator: Creator of the Best Match Framework, a diagnostic tool designed to mitigate the "opportunity gap cost" and ensure every student is served with a program model best matched to their needs.