2022
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Part 2 Teaching Diverse Books in Difficult Times

Julia E. Torres is a Language Arts teacher librarian at a public high school in Denver, Colorado. Her expertise is focusing on 6-12 readers and  secondary writing and reading instruction and she is a facilitator for  workshops pertaining to best practices in reading and writing instruction, culturally sustaining pedagogies in language arts, and for this Institute, deep conversations about equity, anti-bias/anti-racist education, and culturally sustaining pedagogies. As a co-founder of https://disrupttexts.org/ her message fits perfectly with our 3 year discussion of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

Read more about her at: https://juliaetorres.blog/about/  and at TheEdCollab Book Ambassador website.

Donna Gray is a Library Operations and Instructional Coordinator for the New York City School Library System. She is interested in developing strategies and programs for all grade levels that help students become engaged life-long learners who are informed, active citizens in their communities and beyond. She has over 20 years of experience in K-12 education, library services, and higher education. Donna has previously worked at the New York Public Library as a Senior Young Adult Librarian, Teacher’s College, and the New York City Department of Education. She received her Master’s in Library Science with a School Library Media concentration at Queens College, CUNY, and a Master’s in Educational Leadership from Bank Street College. Donna has worked in K-12, public, and reference library settings and provides professional development for school librarians on working with diverse books in all formats.