AISNE 2024 Middle School Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Conference

Saturday, February 3, 2024
In-Person!
The Park School
171 Goddard Avenue
Brookline, MA 02445

AISNE’s Middle School Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Conference lifts up the voices and experiences of student identities often marginalized in independent schools and serves to build community, knowledge, and skills through workshops, keynotes, and student-to-student learning, sharing, and socializing. Students of all backgrounds and experience levels are welcome to participate in the conference. The conference focuses on a range of issues related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice. Middle School programming places primary emphasis on conversations around racial equity and racial identity development.

Pricing

This conference is now sold out.
If you are interested in purchasing tickets, should any become available via cancellations, please join the waitlist below.

JOIN THE WAITLIST HERE

Please Note: If tickets become available, we will reach out to wait list requests on a first-come first-served basis. If contacted, you will have 2 business days to purchase tickets. After 2 business days, the tickets will be forfeited and we will contact the next group on the wait list

We strive to create an inclusive learning environment for all. If you have any questions or accessibility needs, please contact us at  msdei2024@parkschool.org.

Agenda at a Glance

• 8:30 – 8:30 AM | Arrival and Registration
• 9:00 – 10:00 AM |  Opening Keynote
• 10:15 – 11:15 AM | Workshops
• 11:15 AM – 1:00 PM | Affinity Groups, Lunch and General Session
• 1:00 – 2:00 PM | Workshops
• 2:00 – 3:00 PM | Closing Keynote

Keynote Speaker

Mariana Atencio
Mariana Atencio took the world by storm in 2017 when her TEDx talk on authenticity “What makes YOU special?” went viral. To date, it has over 22 million views and has been translated into 13 languages.  Her book “Perfectly You: Embracing the Power of Being Real” was an Amazon Best Seller and selected by Audible and AppleBooks. 

In the last decade Mariana worked at Univision and NBC News as an anchor and reporter, and has since founded “GoLike” a media company named among the 100 most powerful Latina businesses in the U.S.  Mariana is featured in the award-winning HBO series “Habla Now” as one of the leaders defining the Latinx Experience in the U.S. Her work has been honored with a Peabody, a Gracie Award, Columbia University’s “First Decade Award” and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists Presidential Award. She is a spokesperson for the American Latino Museum in Washington, D.C. and a 2020 fellow at the Aspen Institute.

Featured Speakers and Workshops

Kassandra Rateu
Kassandra Rateau is a graduate of University of Massachusetts Boston. Kassandra specializes in high energy, Raw Hip-Hop, Step, Afro-Caribbean, and performance skills. Kassandra believes in all of her students and always coaches to build confidence, motivation, endurance, and precision.

Jennifer De Leon &  Adam Stumacher

Jennifer De Leon is the award-winning author of the YA novels, Borderless, featured on the TODAY show, and Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From. She is also the author of White Space: Essays on Culture, Race, & Writing, which won the Juniper Prize from the University of Massachusetts Press. As an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at Framingham State University and faculty member in the Creative Writing & Literature Master Program at Harvard University, Jenn is the founder of Story Bridge, which aims to bring people together from all walks of life to shape, share, and hear each other’s unique stories. 

Adam Stumacher is an author and educator whose work has appeared in The New York Times, Granta, Narrative, The Kenyon Review, and others, was anthologized in Best New American Voices, and won a Nelson Algren Award and the Raymond Carver Short Story Award. Adam has taught at MIT, The Harvard Kennedy School, The University of Wisconsin, and elsewhere. An award-winning longtime educator in urban schools, his commentaries on education appear regularly on NPR.

Dariana Guerrero 

Dariana Guerrero (she/her) began her journey as an artist, activist, and educator in her hometown of Lawrence, Massachusetts. After graduating from Smith College in 2017, she taught high school English at Phillips Academy Andover, and Noble and Greenough School, respectively, committing herself to creating equitable and safe spaces for underrepresented students. In 2018 the Institute of Caribbean Studies recognized Dariana as a 30 Under 30 Caribbean American leader and change-maker for her community leadership and social activism in Lawrence. 

Brandon Boston & Tanya Lynch

Tanya Lynch currently serves as a High School Principal in South Florida, where she oversees all academic programming for students from both domestic and international communities around the globe. Tanya is the co-founder of The Boston Group, where she consults for school communities and delivers professional development workshops for faculty and staff. 

Brandon Boston is the founder of The Boston Group, where he consults for school communities, delivers faculty workshops, and counsels families on school choice at both the K-12 and higher education levels. Brandon has been able to channel his talents and extensive expertise in special education, technology integration, accessibility, and service learning to make a significant impact on student learning and outcomes.

Linda N. Wells

Linda’s mission is to create a wellness rebellion by teaching people how to assert personal agency by reclaiming themselves through adaptable yoga and body trust. Recognizing that stress may be an unavoidable part of our lives, Linda draws upon her in-depth study to help her students develop resilience in the face of modern life demands.
 

Albert D. Nascimento

Albert D. Nascimento is a teacher and mentor who was raised in Brazil, immigrated to the United States, and attended a New England boarding school. He has taught in multiple disciplines at independent schools, and for the past 10 years has worked in many positions including, Director of Equity and Inclusion and a Director of Multicultural Affairs. He works with school administrations to review DEI systems and structures, and with students on personal identity development and exploration. Albert has served as a faculty member for the National Association of Independent School’s Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC) since 2017. Albert actively works toward raising awareness around issues of equity and inclusion. He believes in the power of having a growth mindset and seeks to help those who are willing to become comfortable being uncomfortable. He identifies as multi-racial and uses he/him/his pronouns.

Closing General Session

The Haus of Glitter Dance Company (based in Providence, RI) works, through movement and choreography, to shift the energetic center of the universe towards Queer Feminist BIPOC Liberation. In the work we share and co-create with audiences, we strive to embody ancestral liberation, healing and love in every step and every breath of our creative process and pedagogy. Our choreography aims to reach beyond the stage and into the streets into the streets, into our homes, into our institutions, into our hears. 

Cancellation & Transfer Policy

Tickets to the AISNE Middle School Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Conference are non-refundable. Transfers of tickets from one student to another are allowed until January 15, 2024. Transfers of tickets from students in one school to another are not permitted.

Questions: 

Please contact  msdei2024@parkschool.org for more information.