2025-26 INSTITUTE FOR TEACHERS OF COLOR COMMITTED TO RACIAL JUSTICE
ITOC is on-going critical professional development space designed to support wellbeing, strengthen racial literacy, and cultivate the racial justice leadership capacities of teachers of Color who work in K-12 public schools that serve students of Color. A unique collaboration between the disciplines of Teacher Education, Educational Leadership, and Ethnic Studies, this national conference rigorously selects and supports ITOC Fellows across the U.S. and beyond each year. Our virtual programming includes keynotes, workshops, our femtorship program, our well-being collective, and a book club.
Applications are now open for our virtual programming for the 2025-2026 school year.
Applications are now open for our virtual programming for the 2025-2026 school year.
VIRTUAL PROGRAMMING KEYNOTES
Building the World Anew Through Land-Based Learning
Dr. Chris Jadallah
September 24, 2025; 4:30-6:00pm PST
From climate catastrophe to the ongoing genocide in Gaza, we live in a time of interlocking social, political, and ecological crises. This period ought to be understood not as an aberration from history, but rather as the logical outcome of systems of domination and dispossession that structure our current world. In this context, where do we locate and sustain hope? Drawing on stories and examples from California to Palestine, this talk will explore how community-based and land-based approaches to teaching and learning – building from the knowledge and practices of non-dominant communities – can serve as a container for the kinds of creative, relational, and intergenerational activity that is needed to engage in worldmaking projects.
Chris Jadallah is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Justice in Education at the UCLA School of Education & Information Studies. His research examines the social, political, and relational contours of teaching and learning with youth and communities as they participate in land-based projects toward the goal of socio-ecological revitalization. Chris earned his Ph.D. at UC Davis and his B.S. at UC Berkeley. He is also a seed saver, growing and sharing Palestinian heirloom seeds in community with other farmers and land workers in California.
Dr. Chris Jadallah
September 24, 2025; 4:30-6:00pm PST
From climate catastrophe to the ongoing genocide in Gaza, we live in a time of interlocking social, political, and ecological crises. This period ought to be understood not as an aberration from history, but rather as the logical outcome of systems of domination and dispossession that structure our current world. In this context, where do we locate and sustain hope? Drawing on stories and examples from California to Palestine, this talk will explore how community-based and land-based approaches to teaching and learning – building from the knowledge and practices of non-dominant communities – can serve as a container for the kinds of creative, relational, and intergenerational activity that is needed to engage in worldmaking projects.
Chris Jadallah is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Justice in Education at the UCLA School of Education & Information Studies. His research examines the social, political, and relational contours of teaching and learning with youth and communities as they participate in land-based projects toward the goal of socio-ecological revitalization. Chris earned his Ph.D. at UC Davis and his B.S. at UC Berkeley. He is also a seed saver, growing and sharing Palestinian heirloom seeds in community with other farmers and land workers in California.
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Workshop: Teaching in a Race-Evasive Climate: Navigating the Political Legal Landscape Impacting Public Education
Nitasha Sawhney, JD Garcia Hernández Sawhney, LLP October 22, 2025; 4:30-6:00pm PST |
Workshop description coming soon!
Nitasha Sawhney is an equity partner in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles offices of Garcia Hernández Sawhney, LLP. Nitasha specializes in education, labor and employment law. Nitasha serves as legal counsel to public school districts, community college districts, charter schools and other educational institutions on matters concerning school governance and policy, labor negotiations, employment, educational foundations, public meeting, ethics laws and strategic planning and problem solving. She also serves as a Commissioner on the California Commission on Asian Pacific Islander Affairs, which is charged with advising the Governor and the State Legislature on issues impacting California’s Asian Pacific Islander communities.
Nitasha is also active with a number of national and local civil rights organizations. Nitasha currently serves on the Board of Directors of South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT), a national civil rights organization dedicated to raising the voices and perspectives of South Asian individuals and organizations in the United States. Nitasha also serves on the legal advisory council of the Sikh Coalition and as a volunteer with the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF). Nitasha frequently provides counsel on matters involving hate crimes, civic engagement, and employment discrimination. She also speaks on the issues of employment discrimination and sexual harassment prevention, ethics, workplace investigations, school bullying in a post-9/11 environment, hate crimes and was featured as an expert in the award-winning documentary Divided We Fall: Americans in the Aftermath regarding hate crimes in the Sikh Community.
Nitasha Sawhney is an equity partner in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles offices of Garcia Hernández Sawhney, LLP. Nitasha specializes in education, labor and employment law. Nitasha serves as legal counsel to public school districts, community college districts, charter schools and other educational institutions on matters concerning school governance and policy, labor negotiations, employment, educational foundations, public meeting, ethics laws and strategic planning and problem solving. She also serves as a Commissioner on the California Commission on Asian Pacific Islander Affairs, which is charged with advising the Governor and the State Legislature on issues impacting California’s Asian Pacific Islander communities.
Nitasha is also active with a number of national and local civil rights organizations. Nitasha currently serves on the Board of Directors of South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT), a national civil rights organization dedicated to raising the voices and perspectives of South Asian individuals and organizations in the United States. Nitasha also serves on the legal advisory council of the Sikh Coalition and as a volunteer with the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF). Nitasha frequently provides counsel on matters involving hate crimes, civic engagement, and employment discrimination. She also speaks on the issues of employment discrimination and sexual harassment prevention, ethics, workplace investigations, school bullying in a post-9/11 environment, hate crimes and was featured as an expert in the award-winning documentary Divided We Fall: Americans in the Aftermath regarding hate crimes in the Sikh Community.
Public Keynote: Queerly Responsive Pedagogy in Anti-Queer Times
Dr. Ed Brockenbrough
November 5, 2025; 4:30-6:00pm PST
Co-Sponsored by: UCR School of Education's K-12 Ethnic Studies Speaker Series
*This keynote is free and open to the public!*
Join us at this registration link!
Dr. Ed Brockenbrough
November 5, 2025; 4:30-6:00pm PST
Co-Sponsored by: UCR School of Education's K-12 Ethnic Studies Speaker Series
*This keynote is free and open to the public!*
Join us at this registration link!
Queerly responsive pedagogy is a framework for teaching and learning that counters anti-queerness and other forms of domination that marginalize LGBTQ+ youth with critically caring attention to these young people’s identities, agency, desires, community-building, and knowledge production. As anti-queerness expands its pernicious reach across US K-12 schools, queerly responsive pedagogy has become more necessary—and more dangerous. This presentation will define queerly responsive pedagogy and consider how to manage the risks associated with its implementation in our current anti-queer milieu.
Dr. Ed Brockenbrough is an associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education (Penn GSE) in Philadelphia, PA, where he teaches courses on diversity and social justice issues in education to doctoral students as well as to current and future K–12 educators. His research focuses on negotiations of identity, pedagogy, and power in urban educational spaces, particularly through the lenses of Black masculinity studies and queer of color critique. Previous projects include a study of an HIV/AIDS community-based agency that functioned as a pedagogical space for Black queer youth; and the SENT Study, an examination of how young Black queer males used social media and internet sites as alternative sources for sex education, which was funded by the University of Rochester’s Center for AIDS Research and the University of Pennsylvania’s Calvin Bland Faculty Fellowship. His latest research project explores the sexuality education experiences of queer Gen-Zers in the United States. Dr. Brockenbrough’s work has appeared in a variety of peer-reviewed journals and edited collections, and he is the author of two books: Black Men Teaching in Urban Schools: Reassessing Masculinity (Routledge, 2018), and Learning While Black and Queer: Understanding the Educational Experiences of Black LGBTQ+ Youth (Harvard Education Press, 2024).
Dr. Ed Brockenbrough is an associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education (Penn GSE) in Philadelphia, PA, where he teaches courses on diversity and social justice issues in education to doctoral students as well as to current and future K–12 educators. His research focuses on negotiations of identity, pedagogy, and power in urban educational spaces, particularly through the lenses of Black masculinity studies and queer of color critique. Previous projects include a study of an HIV/AIDS community-based agency that functioned as a pedagogical space for Black queer youth; and the SENT Study, an examination of how young Black queer males used social media and internet sites as alternative sources for sex education, which was funded by the University of Rochester’s Center for AIDS Research and the University of Pennsylvania’s Calvin Bland Faculty Fellowship. His latest research project explores the sexuality education experiences of queer Gen-Zers in the United States. Dr. Brockenbrough’s work has appeared in a variety of peer-reviewed journals and edited collections, and he is the author of two books: Black Men Teaching in Urban Schools: Reassessing Masculinity (Routledge, 2018), and Learning While Black and Queer: Understanding the Educational Experiences of Black LGBTQ+ Youth (Harvard Education Press, 2024).
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Teacher Educator of Color Convening: Building Communities of Resistance Amidst the Layered Racial Repression of Teacher Education
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The Institute for Teachers of Color Committed to Racial Justice is hosting our annual Teacher Educator of Color Workshop to support the needs of university-based teacher educators of Color pursuing racial justice in their programs. This year's convening will include a panel discussion and breakout groups with racial justice leaders in teacher education entitled, Building Communities of Resistance Amidst the Layered Racial Repression of Teacher Education on Friday, January 23, 12-2 PM PST.
For decades, scholars and practitioners have pointed to the racialized policies and practices of teacher education that serve to maintain an overwhelming whiteness and white comfort within demographics, curriculum , and structures. Compounding this challenge is the current national political climate, where anti–diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) campaigns, anti–critical race theory (CRT) legislation, and increasing surveillance of equity-related teaching have produced chilling effects on racial justice work within universities and K–12 schools (The Education Trust, 2025)— the two key contexts that make up teacher education. Join the Institute for Teachers of Color Committed to Racial Justice to think together about how we build communities, and stay connected in our resistance within institutional structures that have and are entrenched with racism and whiteness, particularly during this time of racial repression.
If you are interested in joining this workshop with a community of racial justice-oriented teacher educators of Color, please apply by Sunday, January 4th, 2026. Notifications regarding attending this workshop will be sent by January 12th.
Current ITOC fellows will be accepted to attend, but must still apply so we can plan accordingly.
Dr. Martin is the founder of Martin Psychological Services. She practices therapy, provides consultation services and conducts workshops focused on anti-oppressive care, burnout, racial identity development, parenting, and racism-related stress. Dr. Martin is a sought-after speaker who practices what she preaches as part of a personal journey toward self-care and mental health. She is both transparent and transformational, sharing her stories and experiences as a Black woman, mom, wife, professor, and human being. Dr. Martin also hosts the Mind Ya Mental podcast, which seeks to educate, empower and uplift stories along the pathway to mental health and wellbeing. Her insights are impactful – building community among diverse listeners.
For decades, scholars and practitioners have pointed to the racialized policies and practices of teacher education that serve to maintain an overwhelming whiteness and white comfort within demographics, curriculum , and structures. Compounding this challenge is the current national political climate, where anti–diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) campaigns, anti–critical race theory (CRT) legislation, and increasing surveillance of equity-related teaching have produced chilling effects on racial justice work within universities and K–12 schools (The Education Trust, 2025)— the two key contexts that make up teacher education. Join the Institute for Teachers of Color Committed to Racial Justice to think together about how we build communities, and stay connected in our resistance within institutional structures that have and are entrenched with racism and whiteness, particularly during this time of racial repression.
If you are interested in joining this workshop with a community of racial justice-oriented teacher educators of Color, please apply by Sunday, January 4th, 2026. Notifications regarding attending this workshop will be sent by January 12th.
Current ITOC fellows will be accepted to attend, but must still apply so we can plan accordingly.
Dr. Martin is the founder of Martin Psychological Services. She practices therapy, provides consultation services and conducts workshops focused on anti-oppressive care, burnout, racial identity development, parenting, and racism-related stress. Dr. Martin is a sought-after speaker who practices what she preaches as part of a personal journey toward self-care and mental health. She is both transparent and transformational, sharing her stories and experiences as a Black woman, mom, wife, professor, and human being. Dr. Martin also hosts the Mind Ya Mental podcast, which seeks to educate, empower and uplift stories along the pathway to mental health and wellbeing. Her insights are impactful – building community among diverse listeners.
Registration Rates
2025-26 Virtual Yearlong ONLY:
- $250 Registration Rate
- $125 Financial Hardship Registration (cannot be sponsored by employer)