2024 Conference Speakers
Opening Keynote: Hari Kondabolu
Hari Kondabolu is a comedian, writer and podcaster based in Brooklyn. The NY Times called him “one of the most exciting political comics in stand-up today” and described his 2018 Netflix special Warn Your Relatives as “an incisively funny and formally adventurous hour that reveals a comic in command of his powers.” The special was named on many “Best of” lists, including for Time, Paste Magazine, Cosmopolitan, E! Online, and Mashable. He was also named one of 2018’s “Comics To Watch” by Variety. Hari currently hosts the new Netflix food competition series Snack vs Chef along with Megan Stalter.
In 2017, his truTV documentary The Problem with Apu was released to critical acclaim and spurred a global conversation about race and representation. The Nation called it “a devastating critique of the ultimate comedic sacred cow: The Simpsons.” It is now used in high school, college and grad school curriculums around the US.
Hari has also released two comedy albums, Waiting for 2042 & Mainstream American Comic with legendary indie rock label Kill Rock Stars. Additionally, he has performed on such shows as Conan, Jimmy Kimmel Live, and The Late Show with David Letterman among many others. He is also a former writer & correspondent on the much loved, Chris Rock produced FX show Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell.
A regular on the public radio, Hari is a panelist on the NPR game show Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me. As a podcaster, he co-hosted the popular Politically Reactive with dear friend W. Kamau Bell. Additionally, he also co-hosts what he politely describes as a “pop up podcast,” The Untitled Kondabolu Brothers Podcast with his younger brother Ashok (“Dap” from HBO’s Chillin’ Island and defunct rap group Das Racist.)
Hari attended both Bowdoin College and Wesleyan University, graduating from the former institution with a B.A. in Comparative Politics. A former immigrant rights organizer in Seattle who worked under the leadership of now-Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, Hari also earned a Masters in Human Rights from the London School of Economics in 2008. He was the “Artist In Residence” at NYU’s APA Institute for the 2014-2015 Academic Year and at Shangri La Museum in Honolulu in 2018.
Find Hari: website, X @harikondabolu, Instagram, Facebook, Bandcamp, TikTok @harikondabolu
Closing Keynote: Dr. Eddie Moore, Jr., PhD
Dr. Eddie Moore, Jr. has pursued and achieved success in academia, business, diversity, leadership and community service. In 1996, he started America & MOORE, LLC to provide comprehensive diversity, privilege, leadership and #BecomingAntiRacist training/workshops. He is recognized as one of the nation’s top motivational/educational speakers and practitioners. His interview with Wisconsin Public Radio won the 2015 Wisconsin Broadcasters Association's Best Interview in Medium Market Radio. He is featured in the film, I’m not Racist…. Am I?, and in the article “5 Clear Ways to Tell Whether You'll Be a Good Leader in 2021.”
Dr. Moore was recently named one of Wisconsin's 51 Most Influential Black Leaders. In 2022 he was the recipient of the ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law’s Honorable Bernice B. Donald Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Legal Profession Award. He is also the Founder/Program Director for the global White Privilege Conference (WPC).
In 2014 Dr. Moore founded The Privilege Institute (TPI) which engages people in research, education, action and leadership through workshops, conferences, publications and strategic partnerships/relationships. He is co-founder of the online journal, Understanding and Dismantling Privilege, co-editor of Everyday White People Confront Racial and Social Injustice: 15 Stories (2015), The Guide for White Women who Teach Black Boys (2017), The Diversity Consultant Cookbook: Preparing for the Challenge (2019), Teaching Beautiful Brilliant Black Girls (2021), and Lil’ e - The Big Misunderstanding (2020). For over 10-years he was Director of Diversity at Brooklyn Friends School and The Bush School.
Find Dr. Moore: website, X @eddieknowsmoore, Instagram @eddiemoorejr , LinkedIn
Featured Speaker: Julia Volkman
Teacher Burnout: How Administrators Help and Hurt
Teacher burnout is at an all-time high. Trained, skilled professionals are leaving the profession in droves. What can we do to stop this? Are administrators inadvertently contributing to this mass exodus? In this workshop, Julia will discuss what her research team has learned so far from their academic-year, longitudinal study of teacher burnout, self-efficacy, and mentoring. Early findings from the research study will be presented along with practical tips for how to work skillfully with all adults in our schools.
About Julia: Julia Volkman has been teaching children and mentoring teachers in private and public schools since 1997. She is a Faculty Member of the Brain Health Initiative, guest lecturer for Harvard University’s Neuroscience of Learning course, and educational researcher, a teacher mentor, and the founder and president of the educational project Maitri Learning. Ms. Volkman earned her AMI 3 to 6+ diploma from the Montreal Montessori Training Centre (a bilingual program) and her Master’s degree from Harvard University. Her graduate research on early literacy (the Montessori movable alphabet) won her Harvard Dean’s prize for outstanding research. Her work focuses on transforming education into a transdisciplinary, scientific pedagogy grounded in mind, brain, and education.
Find Julia: website, Facebook, Instagram @maitrilearning , LinkedIn, YouTube