The Perkins Platform

In celebration of the 100th broadcast of the Perkins Platform, special guest and former New Orleans Mayor, Mitch Landrieu, joins us to discuss his New York Times best-selling book and leadership in Louisiana. Mitch Landrieu was the 61st Mayor of New Orleans from 2010 to 2018 and elected when the city was still recovering from Hurricane Katrina and the BP Oil Spill. Under his leadership, New Orlean...

Join us on Wednesday, April 21 @ 11:30pm EST for a two-part informative conversation.  First, my daughter, Arin, will join me to discuss the award-winning book, The Poisoned City, by Anna Clark.  Ms. Clark, a journalist living in Detroit lays out a compelling story layered with politics and history.  We will discuss the details of what Ms. Clark uncovered in her research. Then, the 2nd part of the...

The Truancy Intervention Project  (TIP) is an organization that strives to decrease chronic absenteeism by pairing trained volunteers with children and their families to provide them with the advocacy, resources and services necessary to ensure good attendance and success in school. Executive Director, Jessica Pennington, joins us for a conversation to discuss how things have changed since COVID-1...

Once a homeless teenage mother, Fatihah Abdur-Rahma is now living her dream as an Elementary School Principal in Camden. Join us on April 7 @ 12pm to hear her incredible and inspiring journey to principalship. Fatihah is a passionate and dedicated educational servant leader who is committed to academic excellence. She views education as a way to defy societal challenges that impact urban communiti...

Asian-American stereotypes have persisted since the early 1960s when the model minority stereotype first emerged.  This broadcast is dedicated to a conversation about how Asian-Americans as the fastest growing minority group in the United States are relatively invisible in various sectors of American policy in health, education and culture.  Our Guest, Varun Nikore, will dissect some of the myth a...

Tune into this final in the series about how black children are oriented to American Society.  This broadcast features a panel of black women and mothers of girls to discuss their words of wisdom given to their daugthers.  Recently, the Talk that happens with Black Men has received a lot of attention, but this broadcast focuses on the equal and parrallel conversations that are happening between bl...

Tune into this special 1-hour broadcast featuring a panel of incredible black men and fathers of boys to discuss the cautions and concerns about becoming a black man in America or what has been referred to as "the talk".  Black men in America have long been the target of unfair educational, judicial and social practices.  As the national conversation about black men, again, fades, system...

This broadcast features a special guest, author, editor and commentator, William F. Spivey.  We will discuss broadly the stunning relevance of Mr. Baldwin's writings nearly 60 years ago to today's racial context in America.  Additionally, we will compare and contrast national events during that time and examine the parallels of the discourse on race through Baldwinian lens.  Mr. Spivey i...

This broadcast is the first in a 4-part series using the critically acclaimed manuscript from James Baldwin, The Fire Next Time.  As part of their father-daughter book club, Dr. Perkins will introduce his daughter, Arin, as a regular contributor to the podcast.  Arin is a graduating Senior at The Ohio State University with a major in Sociology.  She will be attending the University of Utah Law Sch...

Tune in on Thursday, March 11 @ 12pm EST for another impactful conversation expanding on the data surrounding the increase in teen suicides in the US.  Dr. Crystal L. Barksdale, Chief of the Minority Mental Health Research Program for the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), joins us to discuss how NIMH communicates with mental health providers and schools to address this growing issue.  Dr...

Join us on Wednesday, March 3 @ 12pm EST for an important conversation on millennial teacher and leader retention with special guest, Kami Lewis Levin.  Kami is an adult learning, education leadership and curriculum design consultant. Since 2011, she has served in district-level leadership positions supporting urban schools at New Visions for Public Schools, New Leaders, the Public Preparatory Net...

Why have suicide rates increased among teens in U.S. since the start of the COVID-19 Global Pandemic? Licensed psychologist, Dr. Sandra M. Chafouleas, joins us for a discussion and to share her thoughts on the mental health struggle of teenagers in schools.  Dr Chafouleas works as a Distinguished Professor in the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut. She directs the UConn Coll...

Trained in meditation, yoga, philosophy and natural health sciences in Australia, the Philippines and India,  Dada Gunamuktananda joins us for a special discussion on exploring meditation and consciousness.  Dada is a qualified meditation teacher of Ananda Marga and has taught all over the world in Australia, Asia, Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, the Far East and North America. Since 2015,...

Join us on Tuesday, February 2 @ 5pm EST to hear the incredible story of special guest, Aaron Stark.  Aaron is a motivational speaker and outspoken advocate for mental health awareness.  His experience in public school and adolescence led him to a place of darkness, only to be saved by a simple act of kindness.  His Tedx Talk "I Was Almost a School Shooter" has over 12.1 million views, a...

Join us on Thursday, January 28 @ 5pm EST for an exciting and insightful conversation with Dr. Paula Stone Williams.  Dr. Williams is an internationally known speaker on gender equity, LGBTQ advocacy, and religious tolerance.  She is also a Pastor at Left Hand Church and Pastoral Counselor in Boulder County, Colorado. She has been featured in the New York Times, TEDWomen, TEDSummit, TEDxMileHigh,...

Tune in on Tuesday, January 19th @ 7pm EST for an informative talk with Dr. Selena Bartlett discussing her work on Neuroplasticity and brain health. Dr. Bartlett is a Group Leader in addiction-neuroscience and obesity at the Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation as well as a Professor of Neuroscience at the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia. CEO and Founder of MiGF...

Who should receive the COVID-19 vaccination first?  Using game theory, the mathematical way of modeling how people make strategic decisions within a group, two renowned researchers model different ways of prioritizing vaccinations to see which path saves more lives. Join us on Wednesday, January 13 @ 2pm EST/ 11am PST to hear from special guests, Dr. Madhur Anand, ecologist and poet, and her husba...

Join us for a lunchtime conversation on what will be an enlightening conversation on the virus, the vaccine and the pandemic.  Dr. Shannon T. Bailey, earned his PhD from Yale School of Medicine in Cellular and Molecular Biology and is a world-renown medical scientist in his field.  Dr. Bailey will engage with Dr. Perkins to debunk many of the common myths held about the current pandemic and shed s...

Join us for an informative conversation about outsmarting unconscious bias. This broadcast welcomes renowned expert on happiness and inclusion, Valerie Alexander.  She is a globally-recognized speaker on the topics of happiness in the workplace, the advancement of women, and unconscious bias.  Her TED Talk, How to Outsmart Your Own Unconscious Bias has been viewed over 260,000 times, and she has s...

Joshua Freedman, CEO-Six Seconds,  joins us for a discussion on emotional intelligence and its importance in school leadership right now.  Six Seconds is a non profit organization dedicated to supporting people to create positive change while researching and sharing scientific, global, transformational tools & methods to support that goal. Joshua is a Master Certified Coach (ICF) and one of a...

Join us for a discussion on the RAPID-EC Study that's shaping the national conversation about the pandemic's effects!  The Rapid Assessment of Pandemic Impact on Development - Early Childhood Study (RAPID-EC) is an ongoing survey of nationally representative households with children ages 0-5 that gathers essential information on the needs, health promoting behaviors, and well-being of ch...

How has the global pandemic changed the classroom and schools?  School leaders from around the country will be featured on this episode of the Perkins Platform to shed light on the challenges they have had to face at the start of this school year during COVID and going forward.  This panel of educators includes Ana Escobedo, Assistant Superintendent of Elementary in Santa Barbara, CA; Kevin Parkin...

Join us for a discussion on Adverse Childhood Experiences and the implications for ACEs during this global pandemic.  ACEs are potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood and have an impact on future violence victimization and perpetration, and lifelong health and opportunity.  This broadcast features Rene Howitt, founder of COPE24 | Changing Our Parenting Experience.  Rene has spent the...

This broadcast features educational consultant and motivational speaker, Lisa M. Wilson - Founder of C.A.R.E. Coalition on Anti-Racism Education.    Lisa is a passionate advocate and educator who believes every student deserves the opportunity to reach their divine purpose and highest learning potential.  She helps educators develop the necessary skills to connect with students through leadership...

Teach Kentucky is an educational organization that helps launch careers of college graduates in Louisville, Kentucky’s public schools.  The program is designed to recruit and retain high quality teachers.  How can aspects of this program be replicated in other states and urban centers around the US?  Join us for an exciting and informative conversation with Executive Director, Rowan Claypool!  Row...