Democratic Possibilities: School Segregation, Charter Schools, and Accessing Quality Education in Dallas

Jai K Brisbon is the Director of Strategic Partnerships at Lumin Education.  She started as an elementary teacher at Lumin Education, a nonprofit founded in 1978 that aims to transform education by starting young, involving parents, and creating learning environments to inspire children from diverse cultural and economic backgrounds. After being a classroom teacher for 8 years she served as a school director, managing a public school and ensuring that Lumin’s culturally and economically diverse students receive an outstanding education.  As the Director of Strategic Partnerships, one of her focuses is to advocate for policies and partnerships that empower, enrich, and support children and their families.

Born and raised in Dallas, Mayra had already completed 1 year of college by age 17. The experience of coming out at that age left her homeless. She quickly learned that despite the age of majority, education and work experience there exist ageist laws that would leave her to face the world alone and without autonomy. Since 2015 she has been involved with local youth organizations with the aim of filling in the gaps in youth services that still exist today. Her recent fight against the juvenile ordinance is summarized by the #SpacesNotCitations. She understands all too well the lack of spaces for youth in Dallas.

Ms. Garcia serves as Dallas ISD board trustee representing District 4 in Southeast Dallas. García is the youngest person and first Latina elected to serve on the Dallas School Board. A product of Dallas ISD schools and a resident of Pleasant Grove, Karla was inspired to run to address the inequities she saw in the public school system. Her vision is for every student to be equipped in defining their own destiny. García is the proud daughter of Carlos and Maria Irene García, immigrants from Guanajuato, Mexico.  A first-generation college student at the University of North Carolina, her unique experiences in the private and public sectors while working in Washington, D.C., London and Dallas helped solidify her aspirations in public service. After graduating from UNC, García returned to Dallas passionate about impacting change in her local community. She is currently working with the Dallas County Promise, an initiative supporting higher education for all students.

Janet Morrison-Lane works for the Vickery Meadow Youth Development Foundation as the Director of EAGLE Scholars, a college readiness program that works with over 150 seventh through twelfth-grade students and 50 college students from over 20 different countries, speaking over 30 languages. Previously, Dr. Morrison-Lane worked at CitySquare for seventeen years where she created and developed after-school programming in two public housing developments, redesigned the food distribution processes in their food pantry, developed programming for permanent supportive housing, and engaged in public policy advocacy. She earned her Bachelor of Social Work from Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas, a Master of Science in Reading and a Doctorate of Education in Supervision, Curriculum, and Instruction from Texas A & M-Commerce. Her passion lies in ensuring all students have equitable access to opportunities that can help them discover and fulfill their dreams. She also enjoys equipping socially conscious young adults to be change agents for students. Dr. Morrison-Lane has been a committee chair for the Friends of the Dallas Public Library, participated in Leadership ISD, was a fellow for the Dallas Public Voices Greenhouse Op-Ed project and a Dallas Morning News Community Voices volunteer columnist. She currently serves on the Conrad Health and Technology Early College High School steering committee and advisory board and is a member of the Conrad High School and Tasby Middle School Site-Based Decision-Making Committees.

Jamila Thomas is a 2019 Presidential Leadership Scholar appointed by the Presidential Centers of William J. Clinton, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Lyndon B. Johnson. She is a native of Dallas, Texas and a graduate of Florida A&M University, located in Tallahassee, Florida. She received her undergraduate degree in Business Administration and a graduate degree, Masters of Business of Administration (MBA). She also has a Master of Arts degree in Divinity from The University of Chicago Divinity School. In 2018, at the direction of the Dallas Independent School District Board of Trustees, Jamila created and established the Racial Equity Office for Dallas ISD. In this capacity, she was responsible for developing culturally responsive policies and programs designed to close the achievement gap and simultaneously build culturally intelligent practices for all faculty and staff. Jamila now serves as the Senior Vice President for Big Brothers Big Sisters and is responsible for building the strategic plan for community and corporate engagement. Jamila currently lives in Cedar Hill, Texas with her husband, Brandon Thomas, and two children, Braylon and Jaidence.