We offer a variety of projects and resources, workshops and consulting services, and scholarship grounded in equity and social justice in schools and communities. For more about our philosophies and ideas, visit our Philosophy page.

Our Bios

[ Paul C. Gorski | Jennifer Hickman | Julie Landsman | Seema Pothini | Robert W. Simmons III | gisella zuñiga]

[click name to send email]
Founder, EdChange and the Multicultural Pavilion
Assistant Professor, Interdisciplinary Studies
George Mason University
Fairfax, Virginia
Paul's Personal Web site

is an assistant professor of Integrative and Interdisciplinary Studies in George Mason University's New Century College. He has been an active consultant for ten years, conducting workshops and providing guidance to schools and community organizations committed to equity and diversity. He created and continues to maintain the Multicultural Pavilion, a Web site focused on multicultural education. Paul is actively involved in the National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME), and serves on its board of directors as President-Elect. He is Associate Editor, Technology, for NAME's journal, Multicultural Perspectives, and Associate Editor, Multicultural Literature and Reviews, for Multicultural Education. Prior to his current position at Hamline University, Paul taught for the University of Virginia, the University of Maryland, and George Mason University. He earned a doctorate in Educational Evaluation at the University of Virginia. He continues to publish and present in education-focused forums on topics ranging from whiteness and racism studies to multicultural curriculum transformation. He lives in Fairfax, Virginia, with his cats Unity and Buster.

Areas of specialty:

• Poverty, class, and anti-poverty education and activism
• The connection between self-transformation and institutional transformation
• School and community reform for the elimination of racism, sexism, heterosexism, and other inequities
• The digital divide and educational technology
• Multicultural curriculum transformation
• Leadership development and the training of trainers for equity and diversity in education

gisella zuñiga [click name to send email]
Everywoman's Center, University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Massachusetts

While her earlier work is in Special Education and Bilingual/Multicultural Education, gisella zuñiga currently works in higher education at Everywoman's Center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She was a Special Education Teacher Trainer as a Peace Corps volunteer in Honduras where she collaborated with NGO's to open a Resource Room and taught HIV prevention to youth. She has worked with undocumented families ensuring access to education and providing maternal support services. She currently provides equity and diversity training and assessment in educational systems and community organizations with a particular interest in developing online learning and training curriculum and online service provision. Her approach challenges with care and empowers people to make change. While her interests and experiences are eclectic, her mission is defined by her commitment to social justice and equity.

Areas of specialty:

• Sustainable social justice organizational planning and assessment
• Power dynamics in helping relationships
• Crisis intervention and listening skills across cultures
• Social justice curriculum development
• Online service provision in the helping fields
• Effective and empowering coaching and supervision

Jennifer Hickman [click name to send email]
National Wildlife Federation
Washington, D.C.

Jennifer Hickman has eleven years of professional experience dedicated to conservation, environmental justice, and animal welfare work. She has worked for the Galapagos Conservancy, National Wildlife Federation, and Esquinas Rainforest Lodge in Costa Rica and has volunteered for Feline Rescue, Alley Cat Allies, the Sierra Club, and the Humane Society. She has a strong and passionate history as an animal welfare activist, particularly related to the elimination of factory farming, circus animal abuse, animal testing, and community education related to these issues.

Areas of specialty:

• The relationship between animal rights and human rights education
• Curriculum development related to animal welfare and environmental justice
• Animal cruelty related to factory farming
• Rainforest and rainforest wildlife sustainability
• Companion animal welfare and holistic health

Julie Landsman [click name to send email]
Educational Equity and Diversity Consultant and Author
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Julie Landsman taught in the Minneapolis public schools for 28 years. She has recently taught at Carleton College and has been an adjunct professor at Hamline University and St. Thomas in St. Paul. She has just published the book, Growing Up White: A Veteran Teacher Reflects on Racism with Rowman and Littlefield. Her books, Basic Needs: A Year With Street Kids in a City School and A White Teacher Talks About Race, are memoirs about her days in Minneapolis Public Schools. She co-edited White Teachers in Diverse Classrooms: Creating Community, Combating Racism with Chance Lewis, released in April 2006. She and Chance are completing a DVD and workbook to accompany their text. She has edited two books for young people: From Darkness to Light and Welcome to Your Life with David Haynes. She's also published Diversity Days, a book of activities to help teachers create a community of voices in their classrooms and Tips for Creating a Manageable Classroom. Julie recently won a Loft Literary Center Career Grant, which she used to give talks in various schools and literary centers in New York. Her poem, "Laos on the Radio" appeared in the February, 2004 issue of Paj Ntaub, a magazine centering on Hmong experience and culture. Her short story "Suspension" recently won the New Letters Award in Fiction. Landsman has been a featured speaker on White Privilege in many venues. She is a frequent contributor to Educational Leadership magazine.

Areas of specialty:

• Building inclusive schools, classrooms, communities
• Anti-racism activism: how do we do it?
• Creating community in the classroom
• White privilege: how it plays out in our lives
• Fighting the racism of low expectations
• Creating classrooms of hope

Robert W. Simmons III [click name to send email]
Assistant Professor, Department of Teacher Education (Curriculum and Instruction)
Eastern Michigan University
Ypsilanti, Michigan

Robert W. Simmons III is an assistant professor in the College of Education at Eastern Michigan University. Robert’s doctoral dissertation explored the experiences of African American teachers. His current research agenda is focused on exploring the experiences of African American teachers and urban education. Robert taught middle school science in Detroit, MI, in the Detroit Public Schools, as well as 2nd grade and 4th grade in the Dominican Republic and Minnesota. In addition to teaching in K-12, Robert has explored international education issues through work in the Dominican Republic, Japan, and Costa Rica. Robert's experience as an award winning science teacher, nominated twice as the national teacher of the year, adds to his expertise and understanding of what it takes to be a successful teacher in urban schools and working with African American students. Robert is a contributing author to White Teachers in Diverse Classrooms: Creating Community, Combating Racism (2006).

Areas of specialty:

• Urban education
• Education of African American children
• Multicultural curriculum development
• Eliminating the achievement gap
• School-community partnerships
• African American teachers

Seema G. Pothini [click name to send email]
Educational Equity and Diversity Consultant and Author
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Seema G. Pothini's passion for creating equitable classrooms and schools drives her commitment as an advocate for underserved youth. Her extensive experience improving student success in historically underperforming schools began by teaching elementary school in Houston, TX. She was elected Teacher of the Year in her region and was appointed to the superintendent's advisory committee, which addressed the achievement gap in Houston's schools. Seema also has trained new teachers to work in underserved communities, providing a foundation of teaching skills and self-awareness regarding how their biases can impact equity in the classroom. In addition to classroom teaching, she has worked as a K-12 cultural integration specialist. She improved student outcomes by creating family, school, and community partnerships, by providing staff development, and by facilitating student groups. Seema is a qualified administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory and serves on boards for the Minnesota chapter of the National Association for Multicultural Education and Avenues for Homeless Youth, a shelter in Minneapolis.

Areas of specialty:

• Parent/guardian and community involvement in schools
• Assessing intercultural competence using the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI)
• Student success through high expectations and interest
• Strategic planning to move from "celebrating diversity" to ensuring equity
• Conflict resolution amongst students, families, and staff from diverse backgrounds