Feeling Our Way Toward Freedom: Exploring Self-Regulation and Resilience in Children and Youth

December 5, 2:00 pm ET

Join us for a conversation among a diverse group of learning experts delving into the science of children’s socioemotional development as a foundation for self-regulation, resilience and solidarity. We will explore how children and youth learn to manage their feelings, reflect on how self-regulation creates the foundation for character building and collective action and discuss what we can learn from communities in the U.S. that have long histories of collective resistance and resilience in the face of oppression.

While others are welcome to attend, this event is intended for members and education grantmakers.

There is no cost to attend this Grantmakers for Education program. Registration closes 15 minutes prior to the program time. Thank you for your patience; we review each registration in advance.

Thank you to our cohosts, Early Childhood Funders Collaborative and Trust for Learning.

About the Speakers

Adenike Huggins
Senior Director, Education Policy & Advocacy
National Urban League

Adenike assists with the research, analysis, writing support for the Equity and Excellence Project (EEP), and the P-16 education reform and advocacy portfolios. She functions as the liaison between National Urban League and national partners and coalitions, and supports local and statewide partners and coalitions in building advocacy and engagement for equity and opportunity in federal education laws, statutes and implementation at the state and local level.   

Throughout her career, she has designed and implemented evaluation plans, managed relational databases, and developed and managed a variety of programs including new public schools in New York City. Adenike graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Public Affairs and earned a Master of Public Administration, both from Baruch College. She is passionate about using multiple modalities to distill complex ideas and democratizing access to spaces for historically oppressed people.

Cynthia Robinson-Rivers
Managing Partner
Transcend

Cynthia Robinson-Rivers is a managing partner at Transcend where she supports schools as they adopt the Whole Child Model that she developed while serving as head of school at Van Ness Elementary (DC Public Schools). Before school leadership, Cynthia worked in DCPS central office on human capital initiatives related to teacher evaluation, recognition, and retention, developing the district’s teacher career ladder LIFT during that time. In the classroom, Cynthia taught early childhood and elementary students in public and charter schools in DC and California. She holds a B.A. in Communication and Art from Stanford University, M.A. in Education from George Washington University, and EML from the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University.

Dr. Dena Simmons
Founder and Executive Director
LiberatED

Dr. Dena Simmons is the founder and executive director of LiberatED, a liberatory approach to education that centers radical love, healing, justice, and social and emotional learning (SEL). She is also a visiting professor at the Institute for Racial Justice at Loyola University of Chicago. Before LiberatED, she co-led the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, where she supported schools to use the power of emotions to create a more compassionate and just society. Prior to her work there, Dr. Simmons served as an educator, teacher educator, diversity facilitator, and curriculum developer. She has been a leading voice on teacher education and has written and spoken across the country about social and racial justice pedagogy, diversity, emotional intelligence, and bullying in K-12 school settings. Dr. Simmons’ research interests include teacher preparedness to address bullying in the K-12 school setting, culturally responsive pedagogy, and the intersection of equity, racial justice, and SEL—all to ensure and foster justice, belonging, and safe spaces for all.