JOY: A Student Diversity and Leadership Conference

Schedule:
 • 8:45-9:15am - Arrival and Light Breakfast
 • 9:15-9:45am - Welcome and Tone Setting
 • 10-11:45am - Session One students with Kyle; adults with Rodney
 • 11:45am-12:15pm - Lunch
 • 12:30-2:15pm - Session Two students with Rodney; adults with Kyle
 • 2:15-2:35pm - Breakouts
 • 2:40-3pm Wrap Up

Kyle Willliams from A Long Talk
CPR: Reviving the Art of Meaningful Conversations
This session equips participants with practical tools to navigate difficult conversations with confidence and empathy. Using the CPR Protocol—Clarify, Probe, Redirect—participants will learn how to engage peers and adults in meaningful dialogue, address ignorance constructively, and foster cultures of understanding and positive change in their schools and communities.

Kyle Williams is a leader. Whether leading his three sons into manhood, leading a community-based elementary school in Washington, D.C., leading the #1 youth basketball program in the country, or leading this incredible team at A Long Talk, he has always been a leader. Raised in Plainfield, NJ, the son of Artie B. and Jocelyn, is a child of Hip Hop and a servant of the community.

As a professional educator, Kyle has amassed over 25 years teaching children and adults alike. Highlighted by his time at the Community Academy Public Charter school where, in 1998, he applied and interviewed to serve as a volunteer and was "coerced" into accepting a provisional teaching position instead. After six short years of service in the classroom and on the school's leadership team, he would be appointed as the school's third Academy Leader in 2004. Following his 17 year career at CAPCS, he began working with Discovery Education helping teachers and school leaders all over the country make the shift to becoming more technology savvy, 21st century educators.

Change and progress through educational empowerment has always been at the heart of the work he has done. He brings that same focus and energy to the fight for social justice and racial reconciliation as the Chief Empowerment Officer and creator of "A Long Talk About The Uncomfortable Truth."

Rodney Glasgow from FCE and The Glasgow Group
Inspired On Purpose: Institutional Changemaking
This interactive workshop explores the difference between solving a problem and making institutional change that creates lasting cultural impact. Participants will engage in guided protocols to identify a change they feel called to lead and map actionable steps toward bringing that vision to life.

Grounded in key concepts of vision building, sensemaking, human-centered design, and change management, this session equips participants with both the mindset and tools to move from intention to implementation. Together, we will consider what it means to lead change that is not reactive, but inspired - rooted in purpose, aligned with values, and designed to endure.

Dr. Rodney Glasgow has dedicated his career to empowering communities and fostering inclusive, joyful learning and working environments. A compelling educator, dynamic administrator, and passionate advocate for diversity, equity, and social justice, he brings nearly 25 years of transformative experience across various educational settings. His leadership journey spans both boarding and day schools, as well as religious and non-denominational institutions, including impactful roles as Head of Middle School and Chief Diversity Officer at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Potomac, and Head of School at Sandy Spring Friends School. Currently, he serves as the Associate Director of Friends Council on Education, the National Association of Friends Schools.

Rodney's presence radiates on the national stage, captivating audiences with his impactful keynote presentations and workshops, igniting conversation and sparking change. He has consulted with schools and organizations across the country, sharing his insights and expertise to drive meaningful change. As a featured writer in Diversity in Independent Schools, he also penned the prologue for One Teacher in Ten in the New Millennium: LGBT Educators Speak Out About What’s Gotten Better…And What Hasn’t, and has contributed to the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning’s Think Differently and Deeply series.

Proudly an alum of Gilman School in Baltimore, MD, where his passion for education and social equity took root, as a student himself Rodney was a founding member and then longest-serving Co-Chair of the National Association of Independent Schools’ annual Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC). ​Rodney holds a joint degree in Afro-American Studies and Psychology from Harvard University, a Master of Arts in Organization and Leadership from Columbia University, and an Ed.D. in Human and Organizational Learning from George Washington University. Rodney embodies a fierce commitment to academic excellence and the promotion of inclusive communities that offer a sense of belonging. His mission is to elevate the human experience, one meaningful interaction at a time, and to inspire this generation and the next to create a world where love and justice thrive.