The Perkins Platform

Join us on Wednesday, December 1 @ 6pm EST for a discussion on the sociology of race with Daniel Hirschman, Assistant Professor of Sociology at Brown University. He studies the political power of experts and their tools, and the relationship between organizational practices, knowledge production and racial inequality. His book project, Unequal Knowledge: The Stylized Facts of Inequality, traces th...

Join us on Wednesday, November 17 @ 6pm EST for a discussion on the importance of empathy in today's leader with Tara Van Bommel, PhD.  She is an expert in stereotyping and prejudice, with a focus on the role of nonconscious bias and nonverbal behaviors in intergroup interactions. As Director and Statistician in the research department of Catalyst, Tara provides statistical expertise across a...

Join us on Wednesday, November 3 @ 6pm EST for an informative conversation with educator, Ursula Wolfe-Rocca, discussing the teaching of democracy in schools and about rethinking schools. Ursula has taught high school social studies since 2000 in a public school in a suburb of Portland, Oregon. On the editorial board of Rethinking Schools magazine, she has written articles and lessons on voting ri...

Join us on Wednesday, October 27 @ 6pm EST for a conversation with Dr. Calvin Mackie, award winning mentor, inventor, author, former engineering professor, internationally renowned speaker and successful entrepreneur. Dr. Mackie is the founder of STEM NOLA, a non-profit organization founded to expose, inspire and engage communities about the opportunities in STEM. In 7 years, STEM NOLA has engaged...

Lisa Feldman Barrett is University Distinguished Professor of psychology at Northeastern University with appointments at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Harvard Medical School. Discussing how our world goes beyond our five senses, Dr. Barrett joins us for an exciting conversation on Wednesday, October 20 @ 6pm EST.  She is among the top 1% most-cited scientists for her revolutionary r...

Award-winning journalist at CNN, John Blake, joins us for an informative conversation discussing his recent article, “White Supremacy, With A Tan.” John has been honored by the Associated Press, the Society of Professional Journalists, the American Academy of Religion, the National Association of Black Journalists, the Religion Communicators Council and with the GLAAD Media Award. He was most rece...

Associate professor at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute of New York University, Meredith Broussard, joins us for an exciting conversation on Artificial Intelligence and her recent book, Artificial Unintelligence: How Computers Misunderstand the World. Her research focuses on artificial intelligence in investigative reporting, with a particular interest in using data analysis for social go...

Join us on Wednesday, September 29nd @ 6pm EST for an inspiring conversation with Dr. Jamel Adkins-Sharif, discussing his article “Beginning Again with Marginalized Parents” and the work he is doing nationally to highlight issues that have been frequently put on a back burner.  Dr. Sharif is the Director of Eskolta Boston, a high school research and redesign nonprofit committed to culturally susta...

Join us on Wednesday, September 22nd @ 6pm EST for an informative conversation with Ahtza Dawn Chavez, member of the Diné Nation and born in Kewa Pueblo, to discuss her work as Executive Director of the NAVA Education Project and New Mexico Native Vote.  In her role, she oversees partner organizations tasked with educating and creating an indigenous voting bloc in New Mexico working with key organ...

Join us on September 15 at Noon EST to chat with Principal Mauri Chantel Melander Friestleben, the proud principal of Minneapolis' North High School. Mauri, the former leader of Lucy Craft Community school in Minneapolis was the subject of a featured documentary a the Minneapolis - St. Paul International Film Festival.  She is a member of coalition of local principals united around the purpos...

Join us for our BACK TO SCHOOL BROADCAST on Wednesday, September 1st @ 6pm EST for an informative conversation with noted scholar, lecturer and author, Dr. Na’im Akbar, discussing his work in Black Psychology. Dr. Akbar’s scholarship in this area has led to numerous honors including the Distinguished Psychologist Award from the National Association of Black Psychologists; Honorary Doctorates of Hu...

Gabrielle Apollon co-supervises the Global Justice Clinic’s project on Human Rights in Haiti’s Emerging Mining Sector and certain components* of the Clinic’s project on Torture, Rendition, and Detention. Gabrielle previously served as Managing Attorney at The Door: A Center for Alternatives, where she represented young people in immigration and family law matters. While at The Door, Gabrielle expa...

Founder and CEO of the Center for Black Educator Development, Sharif El-Mekki, joins us for an informative discussion on the expectations held by educators for young black people. The Center for Black Educator Development exists to ensure there will be equity in the recruiting, training, hiring, and retention of quality educators that reflect the cultural backgrounds and share common socio-politic...

Join us on Wednesday, August 11th @ 6pm EST for an enlightening conversation about the "voices in our head" with Dr. Ethan Kross, one of the world’s leading experts on controlling the conscious mind. An award-winning professor in the University of Michigan’s top ranked Psychology Department and its Ross School of Business, he is the director of the Emotion & Self Control Laboratory....

Join us on Wednesday, August 4 at 6pm EST for what promises to be an important and deeply informative conversation with Dr. Rafael Pelayo. Pelayo currently serves as the president of the California Sleep Society and the chair of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine’s Political Action Committee as well as on the boards of the National Sleep Foundation and Start School Later. His undergraduate deg...

Whether you are a classroom teacher or instructional leader, this conversation with author, Aaron Daffern is a must listen for you.  Join the conversation as we gain some insight from Aaron, a veteran teacher and instructional specialist, on how to deploy successful techniques in the classroom for the new normal.  Aaron has been a teacher, principal, and district administrator in the DFW area sinc...

Executive Director of the National Center for Science Education (https://ncse.ngo), Ann Reid, joins us for an informative conversation discussing the importance of science education. The National Center for Science Education is a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring the accurate, effective teaching of climate change and evolution. For 15 year, Ann worked as a research biologist at the Arm...

Join us on Wednesday, July 7th @ 5pm EST for an informative conversation with educator, Dr. Gema Cardona, discussing Critical Race Theory.  Dr. Cardona earned her doctoral degree in critical studies of race, class, and gender from the University of California, Berkeley. Her research is situated at the intersection of critical race theory (CRT), critical pedagogy, and Latinx studies in higher educa...

Join us on Wednesday, June 30th @ 6pm EST for an informative discussion with freelance journalist, Zaid Jilani, on his critique of the New York Times Magazine 1619 Project. There is much debate about the historical accuracy of key components of this project. Zaid offers a perspective for discussion among history scholars and aficionados alike. Zaid is a former reporter for The Intercept and has wo...

Join us on Wednesday, June 23rd @ 6pm EST for an informative conversation about the American history curricula in U.S. public schools with special guest, James Grossman, Executive Director of the American Historical Association.  James was previously Vice President for Research and Education at the Newberry Library, and has taught at University of Chicago and University of California, San Diego. ...

Join us on Wednesday, June 16th @ 6pm EST for an informative discussion with special guest, Lindsay Stallones Marshall, on her critique of the 1776 Commission Report and her thoughts on representations in history textbooks. Lindsay is a Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Research Fellow in American Indian Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She holds a Ph. D. in History from the Univ...

Join us on Wednesday, June 9th @ 6pm EST for an exciting conversation discussing humor as a skill with Andrew Tarvin, CEO of Humor That Works, a leadership development company that teaches professionals how to use humor to achieve better business results. Andrew has partnered with top organizations–including IBM, the UN, and the FBI–to solve human challenges with humor solutions. Combining his bac...

On Wednesday, May 26 @ 12pm EST, Professor Thomas Hatch joins us to discuss his latest book,The Education We Need for a Future We Can’t Predict(Corwin, 2021) which focuses on the efforts to create more powerful learning experiences both inside and outside schools in developed and developing contexts. Thomas Hatch is a Professor at Teachers College, Columbia University and Director of the National...

Join us on Wednesday, May 19 @ 6pm EST for an informative talk with Principal, Dr. Dawn Brooks DeCosta, and 5th grade teacher, Ms. Lucile Middleton, of Thurgood Marshall Academy Lower School (TMALS) to discuss how their students have engaged in conversations regarding the recent justice issues in our nation. Located in Harlem, TMALS was created in a collaboration between Abyssinian Development Cor...

Join us on Wednesday, May 5 (6pm EST) for a conversation with keynote speaker and author Mark Greene.  Mark writes and consults on relational practices, diversity/inclusion and masculinity for organizations world wide. He writes, speaks, coaches and consults on the challenges we face as men raised in man box culture. He is the author of the groundbreaking The Little #MeToo Book for Men.  As a co-f...