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Reimagining Education Panel Series

Addressing the Impacts of the Pandemic and Social Uprisings

 

This series of conversations is a search with educators, artists, students and families who are actively reimagining education during this pandemic and beyond. Being in a distance-learning environment has made way for new discoveries, new ways of working and different strategies for connecting with each other amidst the various challenges. This time has become an invocation to reflect on ourselves and our communities, and examine how we address social justice, center artistic expression, and value each individual in our society.

 

Join us as we envision a brighter and more equitable future together. These events are live-streamed on Pangea World Theater's facebook page. 

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Past Panels

Beyond Shakespeare & The Western Canon

Thursday, June 24, 2021 - 6:00 - 7:30pm CST - Watch Here

Artists and educators from across the country discuss the current state of the field, dissect the system that maintains this status quo, and name creative solutions to instill and sustain meaningful change, so that all stories and voices are seen and heard in classrooms and in the public sphere.

About the Panelists

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Tammy Haili‘ōpua Baker

Playwright/Director Tammy Haili‘ōpua Baker is an Associate Professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Her work centers on the development of an indigenous Hawaiian theatre aesthetic and form, language revitalization, and the empowerment of cultural identity through stage performance. Baker is the artistic director of Ka Hālau Hanakeaka, a Hawaiian medium theatre troupe based on O‘ahu. Originally from Kapa‘a, Kaua‘i she now resides in Kahalu‘u, Ko‘olaupoko, O‘ahu with her ‘ohana.

Sage Crump

Sage Crump is a culture strategist, artist and facilitator who expands and deepens the work of cultural workers, and arts organizations in social justice organizing. Sage is a member of Complex Movements, a Detroit-based artist collective whose interdisciplinary work supports local and translocal visionary organizing. She is principal and co-founder with artist muthi reed of The Kinfolks Effect (TKE) Studio. TKE Studio is an incubation space for multimedia interdisciplinary artwork that examines the movement of Blackness through time and space. She is the Program Specialist for Leveraging A Network for Equity ( LANE) at the National Performance Network and holds the position of Chief Architect at the Emergent Strategies Ideation institute. 

Kathy Haddad

Kathryn Haddad has been a high school teacher in Minnesota since 1991. Her licensure is in English Language Arts and Communication Arts with master’s degrees in Liberal Studies and Public Affairs. She has developed and taught classes in literature, writing, and film, and serves as a concurrent enrollment instructor at both Normandale Community College and Minneapolis Community College. In addition to her work as a teacher, she is the Executive and Artistic Director of New Arab American Theater Works in Minneapolis and was the founder and executive/artistic director of Mizna for over a decade. Kathryn is a 2004-05 recipient of an Archibald Bush Leadership Fellowship for her work with the Arab American community. She has received three Playwright’s Center Many Voices Fellowships, is a recipient of the 2018 Kay Sexton Award from the Minnesota Book Awards for her work with the Arab American Community, and is a 2019-20 Jerome Artist Fellow in theater. As a playwright, her works have been presented throughout Twin Cities stages. She has had several works published in anthologies including the upcoming, More Than A Single Story anthology edited by David Mura and Carolyn Holbrook, University of Minnesota Press, 2021.

Beliza Torres Narváez

Beliza Torres Narváez is an artist/scholar/educator and a Tenured Professor of the Theater Department at Augsburg University. She was a resident and touring artist of the Bread and Puppet Theatre (Vermont) for a year, where she learned making and performing with masks and puppets. In Ecuador, she completed a two-year intensive actor training program with internationally renowned Teatro Malayerba. In Puerto Rico, she was the director of Teatro Camagua, a group that worked with children and teens in underserved communities using theatre as a social justice tool. She also was a teaching artist working with teens in rural and inner city public schools and training teachers on how to integrate theatre into the regular curriculum. In Texas, she worked as a teaching artist with Creative Action, an arts-based youth development organization as part of their after school program. Besides collaborating with other artists as a performer, Beliza has also developed her original solo performances such as Cuerpo Público (Casa Cruz '04), Y…Pervertida (Teatro Yerbabruja '06), Doña Ana no está aquí (Teatro Yerbabruja '07), Counting my lunares (University of Texas '08), Sexy Picnic (PSI '13), Hi…perverted (Patrick’s Cabaret Latinx-Q '18). and Resabios the Amargura or that bitter cabaret (Teatro del Pueblo '20). Her credits as a director include: Rudy Ramírez Footnotes for People who don’t Speak Spanish (Vortex Theatre 2011), Karina Casiano’s Silence is Health (Augsburg University '16; Nobel Peace Prize Forum, '17), Javier Murillo’s solo performance Broken English Mother Tongue (Minneapolis Fringe, NYC Fringe, '18; Teatro del Pueblo, '20) and Arístidez Vargas Pluma and the Tempest (Augsburg University, '19). She was also an Arts Organizing Institute Fellow (Pangea World Theatre '17), a guest director of Lake Street Story Circles Project (Pangea '19), and guest artist of the  National Institute for Directing and Ensemble Creation (Pangea and Art2Action '19). At Augsburg, she was also Sabo Community Engagement Fellow (2016-17) and a Center for Teaching and Learning Fellow (2018-20). And she is the recipient of the 2020 Distinguished Contribution Award for Teaching.

A Focus on BIPOC Teachers

Thursday, May 6, 2021- 6:00 - 7:30pm CST - Watch Here

 

BIPOC Teachers share their own unique experiences and perspectives teaching online and in-person.

About the Panelists

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Frieda Bailey

An African American from Texas, Freida Bailey completed her undergraduate work at Paul Quinn College in Waco, Texas. Her passion for education continued at the University of Texas of Austin where she earned her administrative degree. She has 34 years of experience in EC-12 as a teacher, principal, and district office administrator. She joined St. Louis Park Schools after previously serving as a teacher, instructional coach, leadership coach, and administrator in Austin Independent School District in Austin, Texas.

 

Her purpose is to be a racial equity transformational leader-coach through collaborating, by modeling as a reflective practitioner. Freida is passionate about building a community of trust, providing local and national staff curriculum development and team leadership skills and collectively challenging the underlying structures that uphold oppressive systems.  Most of all, she believes in being true to her authentic self, a mother, sister, aunt, grandmother and above all honoring her parents by standing in her roots --#11 out of 13! 

 

Chitra Johnson

My name is Chitra Subrahmanian and I currently live in Houston, Texas. I have lived down south now for 11 years. I am a first generation immigrant from India. I moved with my family to America when I was 10 months old! My Father and Mother left everything they knew for a “Better” life for their children. For my Father, education was his way out of poverty and his ticket to America. My Father always said, “Education is the key to success!” College was not an option for myself or my younger brother. EDUCATION......I always loved children and helping people. Combining both loves I became an educator! I began my education career teaching 5th grade with Saint Paul Public Schools! I was able to build rapport with students and families in my classroom creating an amazing classroom community. I wasn’t satisfied and continued to pursue my Masters (MAEd ) which then led to me obtaining my Principal K-12 (Ed S). I have worked at various levels within the school system... as a classroom teacher, classroom support, alternative classroom teacher, specialist, Principal of an Alternative School, and Special Education. My wide array of experiences in education along with work within various communities of color (NAACP-St Paul Branch) and major stakeholders has not only humbled me but has made this opportunity possible! I am deeply grateful and honored for this seat at the table and do not take it lightly! CHANGE has COME!! ALL boots on the ground!! NO Justice No Peace
 

Celeste Prince

Celeste Prince (she/her/hers) serves as a current high school English teacher in St. Louis, MO. Previously, she has taught English at YES Prep Public Schools and creative writing at the Houston School of the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA) in Houston, TX, respectively.

 

She's a proud graduate of Macalester College and earned her MFA in creative writing from the University of Houston. When she isn't teaching, lesson planning, grading, or dreaming about any of the above, she enjoys baking, listening to podcasts, and reading. 

 

Eliza Rasheed

Eliza Rasheed is an educator, performer, director, and playwright based in Minneapolis. Other than teaching over hundreds Grade 5 through 8 students in an inclusive classroom full time, Eliza is also a co-advisor of GSA, arts integration specialist, and the after-school theatre program director at her school. Her work as an educator has taken her across the United States and Asia. In 2017, WCCO awarded Eliza the Excellent Educator Award, which was featured on their morning news. 

Youth & Mental Health

Thursday, March 25, 2021 - 6:00 - 7:30pm CST - Watch Here

 

Local youth and social workers sharing their experience with mental health thorughout the pandemic.

About the Panelists

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Angelica Bello Ayapantecatl

Hola! Niltze! Ne notoka Angelica Bello Ayapantecatl and I am currently a sophomore at Augsburg University. My pronouns are she/her/hers and I am a daughter, sister, student, and a continuous result of my community. I am a spoken word artist who hopes to build safe spaces for youth and anyone and everyone. I was born in Zacatelco, Mexico and was raised by a strong single mother. Spoken word and danza have continuously kept me up on my feet and anything I have learned and everything I am still learning is all thanks to our comunidad. Tlazohcamati to the indigenous land we all stand in and to Mother Earth. Tlazohcamati. 

 

Patrick Cunningham

Patrick Cunningham is a native of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the “original” Twin Cities. Patrick is married with four children and two granddaughters.  

Patrick was completely a self-taught artist until he received a scholarship to play college football for Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio.  It was college where he was introduced to different types of art concepts and mediums. Patrick has a Bachelor’s Degree in Graphic Art/ Fine Art.  Patrick also has a Master’s of Social Work from the University of St Thomas/University of St Catherine.

Patrick worked for Wilder Foundation, Kofi Services school-based program for thirteen years before returning back to St. Paul Public Schools as a Clinical Social Worker.  He has worked with youth for close to 30 years in the St. Paul Public Schools and community programs. 

Art is Patrick’s therapy. He uses art and the creative process as a therapeutic approach to help youth express their internal feelings. Patrick continues to partner with community organizations to engage youth in art, public art murals and the healing of art.

Patrick, is a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity and Roho Art Collective

Neil Khadilkar

I am currently a sophomore at the University of California, Berkeley, studying Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Before College, I attended Wayzata High School in Plymouth, MN and did a summer internship at Pangea World Theater. I have always been passionate about math and science, and I am interested in the ways that social justice and the arts intersect with STEM fields. This semester, I am a tutor for elementary and middle school students in Berkeley through the CalTeach program, so I'm excited to learn more about incorporating diverse perspectives into education. In my free time, I enjoy reading, trivia, playing chess, and going on hikes.

Lily Tharoor

Lily Tharoor is a school social worker in St Paul Public Schools. She works at Project REACH, a program that assists unaccompanied youth and families who are experiencing homelessness. She received her Bachelor's degree in English Literature from Madras University, Tamilnadu, India and her Masters in Social Work from the University of Houston, Texas. Lily lives in St Paul with her husband and her daughter.

An International Perspective

Saturday, February 27, 10:30am Central Standard Time - Watch Here

Educators from around the world shared their experience of the pandemic, zooming in from across four continents.

About the Panelists

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Héctor Álvarez

Héctor Álvarez is a writer, actor and director from Spain based in Los Angeles. He has studied non-Western theater traditions in China, Japan and Indonesia, and in 2008 received a Watson Fellowship to research community-based performance in Latin America. He has a BA in Theater from Macalester College and an MA in Modern English Literature from University College London and is currently pursuing an MFA in Directing at the California Institute of Arts. He has trained with Augusto Boal, Peter Schumann, Malte Lambrecht, Guillermo Heras, Georges Bigot and Anne Bogart, and has performed in more than 20 productions. In 2017 he presented his one-man show about gun violence The Ghoul Exhibition (directed by Melissa Lorraine), described by The Chicago Reader as “A deeply affecting solo show. Truly audacious.” Recent directing credits include We're Gonna Die by Young Jean Lee, Self-Accusation by Peter Handke, Malaga by Lukas Bärfuss, and Visiting Room, a devised show created with formerly incarcerated women in Chicago, IL.

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Joy Buckner

Joy Buckner is a Joy in name and in spirit.  A confidence-builder, educationalist, life coach and exuberant presenter, Joy is a catalyst for moving people beyond their fears to better their practice.  Grit and failing forward are modeled to ignite excellence.  

 

A native of Denver Colorado, early in her schooling Joy struggled as a learner.  Her undiagnosed Dyslexia and desire to motivate others beyond their challenges inspired her decision to pursue a career in Education.  Joy holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English-Early Childhood Education, and a Master of Education in Interdisciplinary Studies in Curriculum and Instruction. Joy has served communities in the USA, UAE, UK and Nigeria as a Teacher, Literacy Specialist, Reading Interventionist, Instructional Coach, Director of Teaching and Learning, EdTech Executive and most recently as the Founder of her Educational Consultancy Buckner Education.  Joy develops the individuals she is working with to reach their highest potential. She believes in being the change you want to see in the world and leaving your mark and a positive impact on all that you do, whether that be big or small.  Essentially, she is a lifelong learner, coach, trainer and lecturer who brings the sunshine back into learning and growing.  

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Alyssa Flegg

Alyssa Flegg is a teacher, specialist art educator and a yoga instructor. Originally from Scotland, Alyssa currently teaches across a federation of schools in central London. As a Fine art graduate her practice has been informed from working in a variety of educational institutions including public sculpture parks, community enterprise, and artist collaborations . Developing a creative curriculum throughout different boroughs in London is driven by the knowledge of the importance of the arts for children’s development, sense of wellbeing and redressing the balance of process over product in education. Inner city schools in London are rich tapestries of multiple language, culture, religion, and experience. Alyssa strives towards delivering a curriculum that inspires children to flourish and find their unique identity and voice . She believes all children are entitled to opportunities to engage with art, culture and creativity, and this should be supported by the education system, cultural institutions and government initiatives.

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Ntokozo Madlala

Ntokozo Madlala is a Drama and performance studies lecturer at the University of KwaZulu Natal in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. She has also worked as a teacher, an actor, director, a Community, Industrial Theatre and Theatre In Education practitioner. She is a passionate teacher, who believes in the enabling power of Education. She embraces the philosophies of a learner centred education and is always seeking ways to make that a reality in the learning space. She is currently Module Co-ordinator for the Applied Theatre Module, the Research Masters Program, Honours Directing Module and a Theatre Studies entry level Module. 

She is also passionate about directing and about accessing South African narratives that reinforce and reclaim a sense of belonging and identity. Her directing credits include productions such as Sophiatown by Junction Avenue Theatre Company, focusing on the disruptions on black communities caused by forced removals during Apartheid, Sarafina by Mbongeni Ngema, an epic Broadway Musical about 1976 Soweto Uprising. Original works include: Beyond Silence written by elderly township women about their personal lives, co-directed with multi award winning director Mandla Mbothwe, Mzansi stories created with South African youth known as born frees, and Crush Hopper created in collaboration with Mandisa Haarhoff which was awarded Musho Festival winner award and an Ovation award at the Grahamstown National Arts Festival. 

 

She has a great appreciation for Collaborative Theatre Making and for finding relevance of Traditional African forms of Performance for contemporary audiences. She is constantly fascinated by the idea that theatre can be used as a tool for social development, education and community engagement. Currently grappling with how to make that an effective reality within the educational space, during a pandemic. Fascinated, challenged but excited for the future!

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Asha Sanjay

Head of Digital Solutions at Mirai Partners – A learning Innovation Consultancy

Asha has 25+ years of varied experience across the educational landscape. Armed with a graduation in Physics, a graduation in Education and Physical Sciences and a Master’s in Education (Australian curriculum), her career began as a math and science teacher working in progressive schools renowned for their enquiry/project –based/experimental approach. She moved on to leading education technology and curriculum development projects across India, Bhutan and Dubai. Her learner-centric approach is driven by the belief that pedagogy and the needs of the individual child must lead technology so as to meaningfully navigate through this digitized world. Asha’s current role at Mirai  involves curating, customizing, and strategizing the adoption of Innovative programs and practices in schools, Education and Ed Tech companies, Global Consultancies and businesses for maximizing impact and outcomes. She and her team work with teachers across Middle East and Africa on fellowship programs to support schools through their innovation process and practices especially during the pandemic times.

Focus on Families

Wednesday, December 9, 2020 - Watch Here

Artists with children as well as a student from the Ikidowin Youth Ensemble share about survival, creativity and trying to function while working- and learning-from-home.

About the Panelists

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Juma B. Essie

Lake Street in Minneapolis is punctuated by bodies of water: the Mississippi River to the east and Lake of the Isles and Bde Maka Ska to the west.  Between these undeniable natural parenthesis lies paragraphs of urbanity.  Often as a Black man who fishes, hikes, and camps I feel like a walking paradox.  The assumptions of who I am butt up against the reality of what I am doing.  Just being, thinking, quiet.  James Baldwin wrote in Nobody Knows My Name,"Though we do not wholly believe it yet, the interior life is the real life...and the intangible dreams of people have a tangible effect on the world".  Blackness in the modern imagination does not (cannot) have an intangible inner life.  It is knowable, deciperable, and capable of judging at a glance.  It does not fit in nature; being, thinking, quiet, deep in the rhapsody of the self.  What is the experience of being Black in nature in the Twin Cities?  How is it shaped and informed by the parenthesis and paragraphs of Lake St? 

 

Juma B. Essie is a writer, performer and drummer exploring the primal power of vibration. Juma was a Many Voices Fellow at the Playwrights Center, a featured performer at the Late Nite Series at Pillsbury Theatre and for Queertopia 2018. He also created a one person show for the Naked Stages Program. Juma's favorite place is on the water fishing with his daughter.  

Sir Curtis Kirby III

Sir Curtis Kirby III - Bois Forte Band of Ojibwe and African American descent, is enjoying his 7th year directing the Ikidowin Youth Theater Ensemble (IYT), a program for the Indigenous Peoples Task Force. He has been selected as an Emerging Artist for a TPT Minnesota Originals special, "ART IS.... CREATIVE NATIVE RESILIENCE.” Kirby is mentored by Dipankar Mukherjee, and participated in Pangea’s National Institute for Directing and Ensemble Creation the past four years. He has awarded a 2-year Fellowship with Pangea World Theater in Directing. At Pangea, Kirby has assistant-directed Five Weeks, Sabra Falling, Mother Courage and her Children, and Sueño. He recently worked with Bonnie Morris of Illusion Theater and Tye Defore for a show at The Guthrie Theater, and directed a one-act play in New York City, 2020 Reflections on Native Voices as an Emerging Director.

Kiyoko McCrae

Kiyoko McCrae is a Japanese-American film and theater director, striving to shift mainstream narratives by telling undertold stories of communities of color. She recently directed Breaking the Thermometer to Hide the Fever, a collaboration with Leyla McCalla, commissioned and premiered at Duke Performances. Other directing credits include The Uninvited and Big Easy Theater award winner, The Stranger Disease by Goat in the Road Productions and Landscape with Figures with Andrew Ondrejcak at CAC New Orleans. Her short film Black Back won the audience award for Best Louisiana Short at the 2018 New Orleans Film Festival and her most recent film Artist in Exile was supported by the New Orleans Tricentennial Story Incubator. She is currently in production for a short documentary about the impact of the pandemic on a group of mothers in New Orleans which is supported by Firelight Media, Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) and Reel South, scheduled to be broadcast in summer 2021. She is also currently developing her first feature documentary, Within, Within, with support from CAAM and Southern Documentary Fund. She is the Filmmaker Programs Manager at the New Orleans Film Society and lives in New Orleans with her filmmaker husband Jason and their two children Manami and Koji.

Denise Uyehara

Denise Uyehara is a performance artist, writer and director based in Tucson who has been presented in London, Tokyo, Helsinki and across the U.S.  Her most recent work focuses on civil liberties, migration and nation, and what marks us as we cross borders of identity.  As part of the 5th World Collective, she collaborated with Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists to create Shooting Columbus, exploring what this continent would look like if settlers never arrived.  She partnered with Pan Left, Jason Aragon and local artists to create Dreams/Sueños, a multi-disciplinary performance inspired by interviews with undocumented women in South Tucson. Senkotsu (Mis)Translation Project examines the U.S. occupation in Okinawa, while Big Head investigates connections between incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II and treatment of Muslim Americans in a post-9/11 world. Support includes: The MAP Fund, ACA Project Grant, COLA Award, and the Asian Arts Council.  She holds an MFA from UCLA and a BA in Comparative Literature, University of California, Irvine.  She is a Sacred Naked Nature Girl, a proud mother, and university lecturer. Maps of City & Body (Kaya) documents her work. More info: www.deniseuyehara.com

Centering Teachers & Students

Wednesday, November 11, 2020 - Watch Here

The first virtual panel featured teachers, artists, policy makers and students from across the Twin Cities sharing about their experience during the pandemic, while working to centering arts and equity.

About the Panelists​

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Rose Chu

Dr. Rose Wan-Mui Chu has dedicated her professional life to the tireless pursuit of education equity and excellence for children and youth. Rose brings over 20+ years of rich and diverse cross-sector experiences. Her original Industrial and Systems Engineering background, coupled with her experience as a classroom teacher have continued to ground her life’s work in educational reform and transformation. She is professor emerita at Metropolitan State University​, where she has previously been a faculty and department chair at the Urban Teacher Program. Rose also held executive leadership positions as Assistant Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Education, and as interim Dean of Urban Education at Metropolitan State University. She currently serves as Senior Policy Fellow at Minnesota Education Equity Partnership, leading the TeachMN20/20 collective impact initiative to advance systems change to create and retain a racially diverse teacher workforce. TeachMN20/20 aims to demystify and elevate the teaching profession by changing the public narrative about teaching (see ImprintU.org), and to catalyze collaborative engagement towards collective action, accountability and impact. Rose was recently elected to the school board of the Roseville Area Schools and began her first term in January 2020.

Kathy Haddad

Kathryn Haddad has been a high school teacher in Minnesota since 1991. Her licensure is in English Language Arts and Communication Arts with master’s degrees in Liberal Studies and Public Affairs. She has developed and taught classes in literature, writing, and film, and serves as a concurrent enrollment instructor at both Normandale Community College and Minneapolis Community College. In addition to her work as a teacher, she is the Executive and Artistic Director of New Arab American Theater Works in Minneapolis and was the founder and executive/artistic director of Mizna for over a decade. Kathryn is a 2004-05 recipient of an Archibald Bush Leadership Fellowship for her work with the Arab American community. She has received three Playwright’s Center Many Voices Fellowships, is a recipient of the 2018 Kay Sexton Award from the Minnesota Book Awards for her work with the Arab American Community, and is a 2019-20 Jerome Artist Fellow in theater. As a playwright, her works have been presented throughout Twin Cities stages. She has had several works published in anthologies including the upcoming, More Than A Single Story anthology edited by David Mura and Carolyn Holbrook, University of Minnesota Press, 2021.

Anton Jones

Anton holds his MFA from the University of Iowa Playwright’s Workshop and his BA in Theatre from Grinnell College. He has directed, written and provided hip-hop theatre workshops for CLIMB actors since 2007. He has worked as a director, playwright, and theatre educator for Penumbra Theatre, Pillsbury House Theatre, The Illusion Theatre, History Theatre, Karamu Theatre, Florida Studio Theatre, Upstream Arts, Children’s Theatre Company, The Guthrie, St. Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists, Imagination Stage in Bethesda, MD. He is a two time Jerome Many Voices Fellowship Recipient. As a sound designer/composer, his work has been heard internationally, off-broadway and most recently on CLIMBs podcasts of Faraway Woods.

Kevin Ward​

Kevin Ward is an advisor at Avalon School.  He joined Avalon School in 2002.  A graduate of Oberlin College with a BA in English, Kevin has also attended Northwestern University (MS in Secondary English Instruction) and University of Wisconsin-Madison (MA in English Literature).  He lives in the Hamline Midway neighborhood of St. Paul with his wife Jess and two kids Murray and Olive.  Kevin likes reading and working with students. 

Ahmed Yusuf

Raised in a nomadic upbringing, Ahmed Ismail Yusuf is the author of three books: Gorgorkii Yimi, a collection of short stories in Somali, The Lion’s Binding Oath, a collection of short stories in English, and Somalis in Minnesota. His short stories appeared in Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali studies, Mizna: An Arab-American literary magazine. His play “A Crack in the Sky” was produced at the History Theatre in Saint Paul and others were performed at Pangea World Theater as well as Mixed Blood Theatre. His mental health publications appeared in Journal of Muslim Mental Health; Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology; International Society for Traumatic-stress Studies, Psychiatry Times. He has a BS in creative writing and psychology from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut; and an MPA (Master of Public Affairs) from the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs of the University of Minnesota.  

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