AISNE 2024-25 DEIB Practitioners Cohort

AISNE 2024-25 DEIB Practitioners Cohort

The role of a diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging practitioner in an independent school is dynamic and multifaceted. You engage with every school constituent—including students, families, faculty and staff, and trustees—to plan and execute strategies that create organizational change.

AISNE’s DEIB Practitioners Cohort is a yearlong program aimed at DEIB leadership development in New England schools. Over a series of virtual and in-person meetings, you will discuss the current opportunities and challenges of the field, share your professional triumphs and tribulations, and receive leadership coaching aimed at creating enduring system change in your community.

You will learn alongside peers, led by acclaimed educational leader Martha Haakmat, who has worked with independent schools nationwide on comprehensive and systemic DEIB action planning, leveled training, and assessment. Martha will lead your cohort through topic presentations, case studies, discussions, and peer problem-solving.

Your fellow learners will consist of Directors of DEIB and other similar roles from around the region. It will be a place to forge and fortify deep professional relationships, engage in generative conversations, find support and creative feedback for your ideas, and explore the current and future landscape of the profession.

Topics covered include:

  • Exploring best practices in DEIB leadership
  • Interpreting and using quantitative and qualitative data
  • Strategizing engagement and stakeholder relationships
  • Co-creating the growth of DEIB in independent schools
  • Examining your leadership self-journey

The DEIB Practitioners Cohort is an 8-part program. Martha will lead 4 of these sessions with rich presentations and learning resources. The intervening sessions will create space for peer presentations, networking, and group support to build a powerfully connected regional group of DEIB leaders.

Invest in yourself and your community and reinvigorate your commitment to the values of DEIB work.

Dates & Registration

The DEIB Practitioners Cohort is an 8-part program, 5 sessions on Zoom, and 3 in-person. Your registration includes admission to all sessions, as well as access to learning materials and resources.

Cost: $499.

This cohort is included in the AISNE DEIB Practitioner Pro Pack, a bundle of professional development events discounted by 20%.

2024-2025 Dates

  • Session 1 | Tuesday, 9/24, 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM | Virtual, led by Martha Haakmat
  • Session 2 | Wednesday, 10/23, 8:00 AM – 10:30 AM | In-Person, Sheraton Framingham, MA, led by Martha Haakmat (Breakfast Included)
  • Session 3 | Tuesday, 11/19, 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM | Virtual, peer-led
  • Session 4 | Tuesday, 12/10, 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM | Virtual, peer-led
  • Session 5 | Tuesday, 1/28, 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM | In-Person, Wentworth by the Sea, New Castle, NH, led by Martha Haakmat (Lunch Included)
  • Session 6 | Tuesday, 3/4, 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM | Virtual, peer-led
  • Session 7 | Tuesday, 4/8, 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM | Virtual, peer-led
  • Session 8 | Tuesday, 5/6, 12:30 – 3:30 PM | In-Person, Tenacre Country Day School, led by Martha Haakmat (Lunch Included)

REGISTER HERE

About the Facilitator

Martha Haakmat is an experienced educator who has spent her 36-year career teaching and leading in New York City independent schools. She brings a depth of understanding and perspective to her work, having held various faculty and leadership positions in a wide variety of school communities. Coming from her most recent service as a head of school, Martha worked specifically on enrollment, marketing and finance in a changing admissions landscape, and she developed strategic planning expertise, which included diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) goal setting and ongoing systemic work. She is now the Executive Director of Haakmat Consulting LLC, providing leadership coaching and support for DEI strategic planning for schools and other organizations.

Martha is a former lower, middle and upper school educator, Diversity Director and Middle School Head. She was a faculty member for the NAIS Institute for New Heads, has served as an independent school trustee, and has been a member of various committees for the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), the New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS), the Independent School Admission Association of Greater New York (ISAAGNY) and New York City Guild of Independent School Heads. She was also the founder and director of Educators for Growth and Empowerment (EDGE), a diversity consulting team with regional and national recognition.

Martha currently serves on the Board of Trustees for NYSAIS, the Brearley School and Early Steps. She is also a lead presenter for the NAIS Institute for New Heads and is a credentialed Montessori administrator. Martha has led various programs for AISNE, including its Heads of Color leadership development cohort and workshops at AISNE’s annual Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Conference and Heads of School Retreat.

Join Your Peers

Particpate in this cohort to learn with esteemed New England DEIB leaders, including

  1. Thomas Allen, Dean of Community, Justice, and Belonging, The Taft School
  2. Ivy Alphonse-Crean, Director of DEI, Dedham Country Day School
  3. Jaleesa Anselm, Director of DEI, Tenacre Country Day School
  4. Jill Anthony, Director of Equity & Inclusion, Fay School
  5. Alix Baez, DEIB Manager, International School of Boston
  6. Nikki Baldwin, Co-Director of DEI, Riverview School
  7. Becky Biggs, Director of Professional Learning and Community Programs, AISNE
  8. Kimberly Boland, Director of Equity and Inclusion, St. George’s School
  9. Prince Botchway, Head of Institutional Equity & Inclusion, Emma Willard School
  10. Kim Bullock, Director of Equity and Inclusion, St. George’s School
  11. Eddie Carson, Dean of Residential Life and Belonging, Vermont Academy
  12. Caleb Collins, Director of Community and Diversity, Belmont Hill School
  13. Emmanuel Daring, Associate Director of Equity and Inclusion, St. George’s School
  14. Rick DaSilva, Director of Community & Equity Affairs, St. Mark’s School
  15. Rene Davis, Associate Head of School, Kents Hill School
  16. Mistral Dodson, Director of Admissions & Marketing, The Phoenix School
  17. Mattie Edwards-Kemp, Director of DEIB, The Pennfield School
  18. Delonte Egwuatu, Chief Engagement and Inclusion Officer, Beaver Country Day School
  19. Mika Farbo, Director of Academics, Faculty, and Incusion, The Learning Project
  20. Laniesha Gray, Director of Equity & Inclusion, Shady Hill School
  21. James Greenwood, Dean of Equity and Social Justice, Northfield Mount Hermon School
  22. Rebecca Harper, Director of Equity and Community, Hopkins School
  23. Marc Harrison, Educator & DEI Practitioner, Independent
  24. Dennis Hill, Director of The Center for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Boston College High School
  25. Kerryn Hinds, Director of DEI, The Chestnut Hill School
  26. Linda Hughes, Director of DEI, Walnut Hill School for the Arts
  27. Kirsten Johnson, Director of Co-Curricular Programs and CEB, Heronfield Academy
  28. Shanez’e Johnson, Assistant Upper School Dean for Equity and Inclusion, Bancroft School
  29. Craig Jones, Director of DEIB, Bancroft School
  30. Jenny Jun-lei Kravitz, Director of DEI, The Rivers School
  31. Mike Marroquin-Castillo, MS Director of Engagement & Inclusion, Beaver Country Day School
  32. Rachel Nagler, Director of Community, Equity, and Inclusion, Dana Hall School
  33. Terri Ofori, Dean of DEIB, Brooks School
  34. Lisa Palermo, Dean of Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging, The Cambridge School of Weston
  35. Reena Patel, Director of Community and Belonging, Derby Academy
  36. Orlando Patterson, Associate Director of Community & Equity Affairs, St. Mark’s School
  37. Sabrina Perez, Dean of Equity, Inclusion, and Leadership, Eagle Hill School
  38. Josie Sanchez, Equity and Belonging Coordinator, Proctor Academy
  39. Jason Sport, Chief Officer for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Middlesex School
  40. Kate Thomas, Director of Inclusion and Instruction, Inly School
  41. RoseMarie Wallace, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Belonging, Tabor Academy
  42. Ann-Marie White, Director of Diversity & Equity, The Putney School
  43. Starry Zhu, Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.Middlesex School

Cancellation Policy

Cancellations and transfer requests must be sent via email to info@aisne.org. Cancellations received up to 10 days before the start of the event will receive a 100% refund, less a $100 administrative fee. Transfers of registrations from one person to another are permitted up to 3 business days before the start of the event, or the first event of a series of events.

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