Our Team

Our Founders

Jenna Chandler-Ward

Jenna is the Co-Author of the book, Learning and Teaching While White, and the Co-Founder and Co-Director of Teaching While White. She has been an educator in non-profits, schools, and colleges for over 20 years, working with students from kindergarten to college level. Most recently, Jenna had been a middle school English and drama teacher outside of Boston. Jenna was also a founder and co-director of the Multicultural Teaching Institute, which produced workshops and a conference for educators on issues of equity in education. Jenna currently lives in Providence, RI on the Ancestral and Traditional land of the Nahaganset and the Wampanoag. She is an equity consultant, specializing in professional development for educators on issues of Whiteness and its impacts on teaching, curriculum and leadership, and has worked with over 150 schools and institutions across the country. She holds an M.Ed. from Pepperdine University and a bachelor’s degree from Marlboro College.

Elizabeth Denevi

Elizabeth works with schools nationally to increase equity, promote diversity pedagogy, and implement strategic processes for growth and development. She is also an assistant professor at Lewis & Clark College in the Graduate School of Education and Counseling. Previously, she served as a director of studies and professional development and was responsible for the stewardship and integration of curriculum from pre-kindergarten through grade 12. She coordinated professional development and evaluation for all faculty and served as a co-leader of the school’s accreditation team. At Georgetown Day School (DC) she served as the co-director of diversity and a senior administrator for 10 years. Elizabeth also worked at St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes School (VA) to create a comprehensive professional development program. She has taught English and history at a number of schools, including Castilleja School (CA), San Francisco University High School (CA), and Vail Mountain School (CO). Elizabeth has published and presented extensively on diversity and academic excellence, social justice, and equity issues. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of London, Institute of Education, a master’s degree from Columbia University, and a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University. She also holds an Oregon Preliminary Administrative License and lives on the Ancestral and Traditional lands of the Chinook.

Senior Consultant

Randolph Carter

Randolph is the founder and associate director of the Eastern Educational Resource Collaborative (East Ed). As a member of the Black Panther Party, Randolph has devoted his career to promoting equity and diversity in education and communities. He was a Fellow in the Harvard University School Leadership Program, Graduate School of Education, where he received a master’s degree in education with a school leadership qualification. He is currently a doctoral student in the School of Education Leadership and Change at Fielding University. He was a middle school reading specialist, a school administrator, and while at the National Association of Independent Schools, he directed their equity programming and founded two of their signature projects: People of Color Conference and Student Diversity Leadership Conference. Randolph has also served on numerous school boards, including Fielding Graduate University and the Institute for Community Enrichment. He is a member of the Education Committee of the New Press. His publications include peer-reviewed articles and book reviews published in national journals.

Production & Editing Team

Senior Editor

Michael Brosnan

Michael Brosnan is a writer, editor, and educator living in Exeter, New Hampshire. From 1997 to 2017, he served as editor for Independent School, an award-winning quarterly published by the National Association of Independent Schools. He has taught writing and English classes at the University of New Hampshire, Phillips Exeter Academy, Queens College, C.W. Post College, and Hebron Academy — and has led writing workshops for educators. He is the author of Against the Current: How One School Struggled and Succeeded with At-Risk Kids (Heinemann) and editor of The Inclusive School: A Selection of Writing on Diversity Issues in Independent Schools (NAIS). He has also written three diversity-related monographs for the Association of Independent Schools in New England. He is the author of two collections of poetry, The Sovereignty of the Accidental (Harbor Mountain Press, 2018) and Adrift (Grayson Books, 2023). His poetry has appeared in numerous literary magazines including New Letters, Barrow Street, Prairie Schooner, Borderlands, The Moth, Confrontation, and Rattle. More at www.michaelabrosnan.com.

Producer

Stephen Drury Smith

Stephen Drury Smith is an author, editor, and radio producer. He is the co-founder of American RadioWorks / APM Reports, the longest-running documentary series in public radio. Stephen has co-authored several anthologies of African American political oratory and civil rights history. His work portfolio can be found here.

Our Advisory Board

Meet Our Advisory Board

Story Editor

Sound Mixer/Editor

Kate Ellis

Kate Ellis is an award-winning public radio and podcast producer recognized for creating groundbreaking documentaries and books on twentieth century U.S. history, race relations, and public affairs.

Lyra Smith

Lyra Smith is an editor and sound mixer. Most recently, she mixed S-Town, the highly acclaimed new podcast from the producers of This American Life and Serial.