Tag: interview

Episode 131: Do What You Can: In Conversation with Sharon McMahon of @SharonSaysSo

Posted on by LesLee Bickford

Sharon McMahon of @SharonSaysSo joins Elena today to discuss a wide-range of topics, including: Sharon’s effective approach to combating lies and conspiracy theories with openness and facts, the power of individual actions, and how you can make a meaningful contribution by doing what you can, a transformational approach to teaching and learning history (and current day events), the perils of teacher appreciation week, and what we should be doing instead, how focusing on your sphere of influence and control can make or break your experience in the classroom and what your favorite animal might say about you.  […]

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Episode 130: What to Read This Summer with Dr. Kimberly Parker

Posted on by LesLee Bickford

Wondering what to read this summer? Look no further! In this episode, Elena shares her top book recommendations for personal growth, professional development, and distraction. She also shares what’s on her to-read list this summer, and is joined by fellow author, Dr. Kimberly Parker to discuss her book (which is one of Elena’s top summer picks!), Literacy is Liberation. […]

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Episode 103: In Conversation with Kute Blackson

Posted on by LesLee Bickford

What if your identity is a prison? 

This is one of several questions Elena explores with her guest, author Kute Blackson. Kute’s most recent book, The Magic of Surrender: Finding the Courage to Let Go aims to help readers harness the power of relinquishing control to discover more purpose and meaning in their lives. Listen in to hear more about Kute’s fascinating path to finding his calling and hear concrete ways you can work to uncondition yourself to hear your truth.  […]

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Episode 96: In Conversation with Kimberly L Jones and Gilly Segal

Posted on by LesLee Bickford

Kimberly L Jones went viral when she brilliantly used a Monopoly analogy to explain how 450 years of breaking the social contract in our country leads to civil unrest. 

But before those 2 million+ YouTube views and appearances on The Daily Show with Trever Noah, she and her co-author, Gilly Segal, were making headlines as best selling authors of I’m Not Dying With You Tonight, and have since released a second YA must-read, Why We Fly. 

On today’s episode, the two join Elena in a conversation around what it takes to build a trusting partnership, how books can be used to forge a more just society, what they’d change in education, and what is giving them hope for a better future.  […]

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Episode 80: In Conversation with Trisha Moquino

Posted on by LesLee Bickford

This week Elena is in conversation with Trisha Moquino, the founder of Keres Children’s Learning Center (KCLC) in Cochiti Pueblo, NM. KCLC is a Keres-language revitalization school that uses an intergenerational approach to immersion and dual-language with Montessori pedagogy. It is one of very few schools in the country that provides children with the opportunity to learn through their heritage language. And a few short years ago it didn’t exist. Over the course of this conversation Trisha graciously teaches about the history of displacement and war on Native peoples and also beautifully shares the pressing need to support Indigenous people today in reclaiming their children’s education and honoring their heritage in school systems. […]

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Episode 71: In Conversation with Crystal Echo Hawk

Posted on by LesLee Bickford

This is an interview. Today Elena is in conversation with Crystal Echo Hawk. Crystal is an enrolled member of Pawnee Nation in Oklahoma and the founder of IllumiNative, a nonprofit working to increase the visibility of—and “challenge the negative narrative about”—Native Nations. Listen in to learn more about what Crystal believes to be the greatest threat to Native peoples, hear a specific call-in to educators, learn about a tv show you might be missing out on that you don’t want to miss, and much more. […]

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