Keynote Speaker: Dr. Crystasany Turner
The Courage to Care: (Re)centering Critical Love and Collective Responsibility in Urban Education
Dr. Crystasany Turner is an Assistant Professor of teacher education at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. Her research centers on early childhood education, teacher education, and urban education, with a focus on the well-being of Black family child care educators and the role of culturally responsive, equity-centered professional supports. Drawing on frameworks such as Endarkened Feminist Narrative and Community Cultural Wealth, her work examines how systems of care, policy, and practice shape educator and child outcomes.
Dr. Turner’s scholarship and community-engaged work are grounded in Black matrilineal pedagogies and an ethos of care, positioning education as a site of healing, resistance, and possibility. She is also a co-editor of the recently published volumes, Black Mothersholarship Within and Beyond the Academy: Reconceptualizing Radical Futurity and the forthcoming Handbook of Research in Urban Education and Communities. Learn more: http://www.crystasanyrturner.com
Panelists
Michele Turner (Moderator)
Michele Turner, PhD serves as the Interim Director of the Institute for Equity and Transformational Change at Madison College, where she leads efforts to advance equity-centered practices across the institution. With a strong background in teaching, learning, and faculty development, she is committed to fostering inclusive, student-centered environments that support success for all learners. Dr. Turner’s work focuses on creating meaningful, sustainable change by partnering with educators and leaders to implement transformative strategies grounded in equity. She brings a thoughtful, collaborative approach to leadership, emphasizing continuous improvement, innovation, and institutional impact.
Tara Adams
Tara Adams earned a Data Entry certificate at Milwaukee Area Technical College. She works in disability advocacy and served as a family advocate for the UW-Madison Wisconsin Promise Program, helping families and youth receiving Social Security Supplemental Income to improve post-secondary outcomes. Tara is a scholar, conducting research published in the book, The Resistance, Persistence and Resilience of Black Families Raising Children with Autism published by Peter Lang. She is currently a co-researcher on a study funded by the Spencer Foundation, titled “Cultivating Black autistic youth agency in the context of police encounters in schools and communities.”
Gregory Cramer
Gregory Cramer, PhD, is an Associate Professor of English as a Second Language (ESL) and Bilingual Education at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. His research interests pertain to immigrant and undocumented students in K-12 public schools, civics and citizenship education, and bilingual approaches to document-based learning. Dr. Cramer worked as a bilingual high school social studies teacher at South Division High School, ALAS High School, and Riverside University High School in Milwaukee.
Elizabeth Drame
Elizabeth Drame, PhD, is a special education teacher educator, racial justice advocate, participatory action researcher, traveler, and mother. She serves as the Special Assistant to the Vice Chancellor of the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and is a Professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where she prepares special educators and coordinates the Autism Spectrum Disorders Certificate Program. Drame is the author of many peer-reviewed articles and books, including Black Participatory Research: Power, Identity, and the Struggle for Justice in Education and Collaborative Practitioners, Collaborative Schools. Drame holds a doctorate in Learning Disabilities/Communication Sciences and Disorders from Northwestern University.
Veronica R. Nolden
Veronica R. Nolden served as a special education paraprofessional, autism advocate and volunteer at a local hospital. She is a cofounder of the Milwaukee Urban Autism Summit, and serves as a speaker on disability-related topics with a specific focus on autism. She conducts advocacy work, supporting families to grow their capacity and advocacy skills. Veronica is conducting research published in the book, The Resistance, Persistence and Resilience of Black Families Raising Children with Autism, published by Peter Lang. She is a co-researcher on a study titled “Cultivating Black autistic youth agency in the context of police encounters in schools and communities.” Veronica is the proud mother of two autistic children.
Maria J. Ruiz-Martinez
Marla J. Ruiz-Martinez, PhD, completed her doctoral work in Equity, Bilingualism & Biliteracy at the University of Colorado Boulder. She is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. A bilingual teacher, teacher educator, and researcher for two decades, she examines how transborder communities create and engage in literacies across home, school, and community. Her current research deploys art inquiry and Chicana feminist methodologies to explore artistic interventions in Milwaukee, tracing how transborder artists create pedagogical moments and literacies that reflect and story the often obscured, intimate encounters of neighborhood, home, and self.