# 2026 Schedule We look forward to connecting, learning, and exploring **Rewriting the Narrative: Persistence as Innovation.** ## Friday, March 6th: Conference Schedule and Session Information Open all sections Close all sections ### 10:00AM - 4:00PM Registration expand\_more Registered attendees can check-in and pick up a name badge. Location: Gutman Library 1st Floor ### 11:45AM - 1:00PM AOCCx expand\_more SortGritty Geniuses: What Happens When You Give a Student Unlimited Retakes? Longfellow, Askwith Hall Miles To Go: Persistence as Innovation in Education Longfellow, Askwith Hall Before “The Father of Black History,” There Were Mothers Longfellow, Askwith Hall I Belong, We Belong: Solidarity Is Our Collective Power Longfellow, Askwith Hall ### 1:00PM - 2:15PM Breakout Session #1 expand\_more SortRadical Actors: The Role of Public Education in American Social Change Gutman Conference Center 2 Learning Systems That Refuse to Stay Fixed: Persistence in Multilingual Education Larsen 214 Imagination for Justice: Dreaming the Futures We All Deserve Gutman Conference Center 4 Community Advisory Councils as Innovation: Sharing Power for Lasting Change Gutman Conference Center 3 Shape the Culture Through Your Vote: Rewriting the Narrative Through Film, Persistence, and Civic Action Larsen G08 From Endurance to Infrastructure: Rethinking Persistence in Education Leadership Gutman Conference Center 5 From Harm to Healing: Participatory Design for Just AI Futures Longfellow 228 From Research to Reform: Persistence as the Engine of Police Accountability and Educational Change Longfellow 229 Leveraging Liberatory Computing to Develop Future Leaders Gutman Conference Center 1 ### 2:30PM - 3:45PM Breakout Session #2 expand\_more Sort“We Both Can be Students”: Reimagining Middle School through Childishness, Joy, and Persistence Gutman Conference Center 3 Rooted in Resistance: Rehumanizing Persistence as Collective Care Larsen 214 Vogue Oceania: An Indigenous Futurist Archive Longfellow 228 The Next Generation: Rewriting Our Story Longfellow, Eliot Lyman Building Bridges: Family, Community, and Mathematical Sensemaking Longfellow 320 Inheritance to Innovation 'moving from what women were given, to what women intentionally create Gutman Conference Center 2 Don’t Forget: Development Starts with You | A fireside chat on the relationship to self Gutman Conference Center 5 From Hustle to Flow: Your Persistence, Your Passion, and Your Peace Longfellow, Askwith Hall Zine-Making A Physical Manifestation of Your Power Gutman Conference Center 1 ### 4:00PM - 5:30PM Opening Convocation and Keynote Address expand\_more HGSE's Dean of Faculty, Nonie Lesaux, and Senior Associate Dean for Academic Programs & Student Services, Maritza Hernandez, will welcome attendees and will deliver the opening remarks to the 2026 Alumni of Color Conference! Opening remarks will be followed by a **keynote address by Dr. Christopher Emdin and Dr. Lisa Delpit titled, "The Sacred Art of Teaching."** Location: Askwith Hall ### 5:30PM - 6:00PM Book Signing expand\_more Meet the authors of the upcoming book, "The Sacred Art of Teaching: The Delpit/Emdin Conversations." ### 6:00PM - 8:00PM Alumni & Student Networking Reception expand\_more End Day 1 of AOCC by joining us for a reception sponsored by Alumni Engagement. Location: Gutman Conference Centers ## Saturday, March 7th: Conference Schedule and Session Information Open all sections Close all sections ### 8:00AM - 4:00PM Registration expand\_more Registered attendees can check-in and pick up a name badge. Location: Gutman Library 1st Floor ### 8:00AM - 9:15AM Affinity Breakfasts expand\_more SortBlack Leadership Affinity Breakfast Gutman Conference Center 4 AAPI Leadership Affinity Breakfast Gutman Conference Center 5 LGBTQIA+ Leadership Affinity Breakfast Gutman 305 Latine Leadership Affinity Breakfast Gutman 437 Women of Color Affinity Breakfast Gutman 404 ### 9:30AM - 10:30AM AOCC Founders - Featured Panel expand\_more This panel titled, "Lessons Learned to Build Pockets of Hope in Precarious Times," features a conversation with Founders of the Alumni of Color Conference. ### 10:45AM - 12:00PM Breakout Session #3 expand\_more SortIn Their Own Words: Student-Led Workshop on How We're Rewriting the Narrative Gutman 305 Who We Are is How We Lead: Identity-Rooted Leadership for Systems Change Gutman Conference Center 5 A Pedagogy of Intergenerational Hip Hop Education Gutman Conference Center 4 “Rooted in Joy, Leading with Hope: A Black Framework for Sustainable Persistence” Larsen G08 Designing Schools for Human Nervous Systems Longfellow, Eliot Lyman Decolonizing the Classroom: The Art of Persistent Black Activism in Education and Surviving the Psychological Damage of Racism (Create a Case Study to Analyze) Longfellow 319 Navigating A Latinx Sense of Belonging: From Students to Educators Larsen 106 Leadership Renewed: Using EIF’s Case Method to Drive Change from Any Position in a System Larsen 214 From Endurance to Design: Intergenerational Systems that Make Persistence Possible Longfellow, Askwith Hall ### 12:00PM - 1:00PM Lunch expand\_more Come grab lunch in the Gutman Conference Center lobby! ### 1:00PM - 2:30PM Keynote Address expand\_more **A** **keynote address by Dr. Didi Watts and Dr. Peter Watts, Jr titled, "Building the Village Black Educators Deserve."** Location: Askwith Hall ### 2:45PM - 4:00PM Breakout Session #4 expand\_more SortPainting the Future: Using LA Street Art Culture for Immigrant Justice and Disability Advocacy in Schools Longfellow, Eliot Lyman The Pedagogy and Practice of Creative Insubordination Gutman Conference Center 4 Purpose, Persistence, and Published; Female Authors Unite! Gutman Conference Center 5 Soil, Land, and Liberation: Reclaiming “Forty Acres” Through Film, History, and Future Dreams of Justice Longfellow 319 The Unapologetic Stay: How to Lead Change When Institutions Resist Larsen 106 We become the Firemen: The Burning Schoolhouse and Collective Persistence for Educational Justice Larsen G08 Learning from Youth Researchers: a CPAR Project Exploring Multilingual Students' Experiences Larsen 214 "Love, Chinatown": What Community Stories Teach Us About Social Justice & Education Longfellow, Askwith Hall Beyond the Obstacle Essay: Reclaiming Authentic Storytelling in College Admissions Gutman 305 ### 4:15PM - 7:00PM Awards Ceremony & Reception expand\_more Join us as we recognize HGSE community individuals who demonstrate outstanding commitment to equity in education. The Awards Ceremony will be followed by a Closing Reception. The following awards will be presented: - The **Alumni Achievement Award** to an HGSE alum - The **Tina Hansar Award for Educational Equity** to a current staff member - The **Kolajo Paul Afolabi Award for Commitment to Educational Justice** to a current HGSE student - The **Faculty Award for Educational Equity** to an HGSE faculty member - The **Turner Cooper Award For Commitment To People-First Practice In Education** to a current HGSE student or alum Awards Ceremony Location: Askwith Hall Closing Reception Location: Gutman Conference Centers