Social Justice in the Central Valley

Teiahsha Bankhead, Ph.D.

Teiahsha Bankhead, Ph.D., LCSW, and Executive Director of Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth, is a social justice activist, a restorative justice advocate, a licensed psychotherapist and a professor with both MSW and Ph.D. degrees in social welfare from the University of California, Berkeley. Born to a Black radical mother during the uprising of the Watts Rebellion and  coming of age in South Central Los Angeles during the embittered racial relations and social unrest of the civil rights era ignited within Dr. Bankhead a passionate commitment to social justice advocacy and transformative community empowerment. Dr. Bankhead has a commitment to racial justice, racial healing and restorative economics. She has taught racial, gender and sexual orientation diversity, theories of criminal behavior, and US social policy at the undergraduate and graduate levels. She speaks and holds circle on the subjects of School-Based Restorative Justice, Race and Restorative Justice, the Indigenous Roots of Restorative Justice, Social Justice and Restorative Justice, Truth-Telling and Racial Healing, Youth-Led and Movement-Based Restorative Justice, the School-to-Prison Pipeline, Mass Incarceration, and Restorative Cities. About Rjoy Oakland.

Myisha Butler-Ibawi

Myisha Butler-Ibawi is a ghetto-boujee spiritualist and educational healer from Oakland Ca. She is deeply passionate about utilizing knowledge and wisdom as medicine for healing. Myisha is a growing educator with 10+ years of experience. She is best known for addressing topics related to anti-Blackness, pleasure, spirituality, and additional taboo topics that generate discomfort and growth.  As a mother to a beautiful 1 year old son, Myisha's insight has been deepened, inspiring her current dissertation topic which focuses on dark skin single Black mothers. A speaker, writer, visionary and growing human being, Myisha is excited to ride the wave of life on Earth, hoping to leave an impact that can be venerated amongst her lineage.  Myisha currently serves as the Black Student Success Coordinator in Student Affairs/Student Leadership, Engagement & Belonging at Stan State, with a special focus on reimagining identities for student success.

Margaret Breslau

Margaret Breslau (Chair, Coalition for Justice; Co-Founder, Virginia Prison Justice Network). Margaret Breslau has been Chair of the Coalition for Justice, a 501(c)(3) non-profit for the past 20 years. The  organization, formed in 1981, supports, and empowers people in disadvantaged and vulnerable communities. Currently, the work centers on human rights advocacy for people in prison and low-wage workers. She co-founded the Virginia Prison Justice Network (VAPJN), a network of groups around Virginia committed to ending mass incarceration. She is the editor of “Unlocked: Art and Experiences From Inside Virginia’s Prisons”, a bi-annual journal of poetry, art, short stories, and reflections. With her experience and long commitment to social justice, she works with Sharim Studio to inspire social change and bring people who have long been invisible and ignored into the light.

Stephanie Couch

Stephanie Couch– Executive Director of the Lemelson-MIT Program. Stephanie has dedicated her career to K-12 and higher education policy issues and is an active participant in a national invention education research group. Her research as an ethnographer in education focuses on issues that are key to advancing equity within the field of invention education and STEM learning opportunities. She studies ways invention education impacts students (especially those from underrepresented backgrounds), schools, and local communities. She also works to understand the developmental trajectory of inventors as opposed to their inventions. Prior to joining the Lemelson-MIT Program, Couch was the Interim Associate Vice President of Research and Professional Development at California State University, East Bay, served as Bayer Executive Director of the Institute for STEM Education, and was the Director for Gateways East Bay STEM Network.

Ana Ljubinkovic

Dr. Ana Ljubinkovic is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Stan State. Dr. Ljubinkovic holds a PhD in Sociology and an MA in Human Rights from the University of Essex, UK, and a BA in Sociology from the University of Rome, Italy. Her research interests focus on trauma, collective violence, refugeehood, and the role of traditional art in promoting psychological healing. As a consultant to the United Nations and other humanitarian organizations in Africa and the Middle East, she worked in the area of psychosocial and mental health support for refugee populations with a focus on promoting traditional practices of trauma healing. She has taught for MA programs in the Sociology of Human Rights (Essex), Refugee Care (Essex), and Peace Education (Rome), and currently serves as an external academic examiner for the MA in Refugee Care program at the University of Essex, UK.

Jennifer Mead

Jennifer Mead, Director of Education California Invention Convention: Jennifer has been an innovative educator for over three decades. Her goal is to teach students through cooperative learning, critical thinking, and innovation. Jennifer created the dynamic InventionLIT.org program with the mission to use children’s literature as the launch point to light up teachers’ passion for invention and STEAMie education while igniting K-5 students’ capacity for inventing. Jennifer’s service has been recognized with several awards, including 2020 Teacher of the Year from Junior Achievement of Northern California, a Lemelson-MIT Excite Award, and first place in the Henry Ford Teacher Innovator Awards. Jennifer’s passion for innovative learning has fueled her continuous involvement with the California Invention Convention, starting in 2018.

Sarah O’Quinn

Sarah O’Quinn is Senior Government Relations Officer with the International Labour Organization and a graduate of the Mitchell Hamline School of Law. The International Labour Organization is the United Nations agency for the world of work. They bring together governments, employers and workers to drive a human-centered approach to the future of work through employment creation, rights at work, social protection and social dialogue.  In the face of the climate crisis, vulnerable communities are hit the hardest. Extending social protection can be a powerful tool to help these communities cope with the devastating effects of climate change while promoting a fair transition to a sustainable future.

Brenda Payne

Brenda Payne, Executive Director, California Invention Convention Invention; Education Administrator, Lemelson-MIT: Brenda’s career in education began at a northern California magnet school for gifted and talented learners. It was there she introduced a curriculum in inventions to her 3^rd and 4^th grade students that spread throughout the district. She later became principal at a K-8 project-based learning school in Sonoma County, followed by principal of Natural Bridges Elementary School in Santa Cruz, assistant principal at Mission Hill Middle School, and finally principal at Main Street Elementary School in Soquel Union Elementary School District. In fall of 2015 she served as interim superintendent/principal at Pacific Elementary School District in Davenport. It was there that she brought Invention Education full circle back to the 5^th/6^th grade students at Pacific School, where 4 of the winners from that event continued on to the National Invention Convention Entrepreneurship Expo competition that took place at the US Trade and Patent Office in Alexandria Virginia. Since September 2016, Brenda has led the state-wide California Invention Convention competition and has continued to provide fund development, program development, professional development and support to teachers and districts. Brenda’s goal is to bring invention and entrepreneurial skills education to students throughout the state of California.

Calvin Terrell

Calvin Terrell is founder and lead facilitator of the Social Centric Institute, an organization developed to provide education and training for all ages to enhance human interactions and global progress, and to foster healing from historical trauma around racial inter-sections, class, religion, gender, and environmental disruption. He is a former Assistant Director of the National Conference for Community Justice/ USA Arizona Region. He has taught for Upward Bound at Arizona State University and the Arizona National Guard's Freedom Academy. For more than twenty-five years, Terrell has lectured, trained, and led comprehensive workshops for valuing diversity, equity, and justice building in numerous schools, corporations, and civic organizations throughout the United States. Calvin has received numerous awards and honors, including the Martin Luther King, Jr. “Living the Dream” award in 2000 from the city of Phoenix AZ for his dedication to human rights. A compelling story on Calvin’s work with youth is featured in the book Chicken Soup for the African American Soul. His reputation for excellence and sustainable impact have afforded him collaborative venues with Chief Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Janet Napolitano, and Oprah Winfrey’s production company, Harpo, Inc., which contracted with him to provide justice seminars for Harpo employees and coaching for management. Calvin is an educator/ healer at his core. His multidisciplinary techniques are engaging and relevant to all populations and integrate modern advances of technology with the ancient arts of storytelling and visualization.