During the height of the George Floyd protests, a group of African American men with professional experience in education, policy, research and social work were determined to address the school to prison pipeline by focusing on implicit bias in early education. Black Men for Educational Equity (BMEE) was formed during the summer of 2020. Since its inception, BMEE examined the disparities and inequalities that exist in the system for young Black children and have created a plan of action for addressing these systemic issues

Founding Members

Khieem Jackson

Khieem Jackson is the Founder and CEO of Mission Strategy Group. Khieem is a Veteran and senior level government professional with diverse experience with federal, state and local government advocacy, issue management, and bi-partisan coalition building.  Khieem has world-wide experience in supporting engagement of peer-to-peer discussions with decision makers, and in supporting the development of effective, and responsive legislative institutions. 

Committed to serving others and supporting future generations, his service in education blends his passion for service and love of children in order to lead, shape policies that increase education investments and efforts on TK-12 educational programs.  Khieem is the former Deputy State Superintendent of Public Instruction for the California Department of Education. 

Khaim Morton

Khaim Morton, Founder KRM STRATEGIES, brings nearly 20 years of government and public policy experience encompassing legislative staff work that spans from policy to community field relations, to advocating for local businesses. Khaim has extensive government experience from the local level to the California State Legislature, and within the Administration of former California Governor Jerry Brown, serving as the Deputy Secretary for Legislation of the Government Operations Agency.

Ayodeji Taylor

Ayodeji Taylor is currently the Associate Director of Media Relations and Strategic Communications with the California Primary Care Association (CPCA). Additionally, Ayo manages the media and government affairs communications for California Health+ Advocates, a subsidiary of CPCA, which represents approximately 1370 community health centers in California and 7.2 million patients. His strengths include media relations, coalition building, public communications, stakeholder engagement and a unique understanding of government programs and services brings fresh ideas and insights.

Adonai Mack

Adonai Mack is the Senior Director of Equity Services for the Association for California School Administrators (ACSA). As Sr. Director of Equity Services, Mack focuses on increasing diversity and awareness and providing relevant equity leadership training to build capacity in cultural proficiency and educational equity. Prior to this position, Mack was the Senior Director of Federal Relations where he led ACSA’s federal advocacy activities. In addition, Mack has also served as the Director of Political Affairs and Strategy leading ACSA’s efforts to select candidates for endorsements and investments in political campaigns. Mack directed ACSA’s Political Action Committee (PAC), which has supported Democrats and Republicans, incumbents and new candidates. Mack also led ACSA’s legislative advocacy for members during ACSA’s Legislative Action Day. Mack has advocated of members of ACSA in the areas of the state budget, special education, transportation, pupil services, and preschool other areas for just under a decade.

Dr. Sia-Maat

Dr. Sia-Maat has worked in numerous capacities providing academic support services in traditional and nontraditional education environments. He brings over twenty-seven years of service to disadvantaged, low-income and first-generation students.  

Currently, he serves as an Education Programs Consultant at the California Department of Education in the Career and College Transition Division. He previously served in the After School, P-16 and School Improvement Divisions at the department.

He has a Ph.D. in Education, a Master of Public Administration and Bachelor of Science degrees from the University of Southern California. He also studied at Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan.  

J. Luke Wood, Ph.D.

J. Luke Wood, Ph.D. is Vice President of Student Affairs & Campus Diversity and Dean’s Distinguished Professor of Education at San Diego State University. Wood also serves as the Co-Director of the Community College Equity Assessment Lab (CCEAL). Wood’s research focuses on factors affecting the success of boys and men of color education, with a specific focus on early childhood education and community colleges. Dr. Wood has delivered over 1,000 scholarly professional and conference presentations. Dr. Wood has authored over 160 publications, including 80 peer-reviewed journal articles and 16 books.

Dr. Joseph Johnson

Dr. Joseph Johnson is the Founding Executive Director of the National Center for Urban School Transformation (NCUST) at San Diego State University.  NCUST identifies, studies, and promotes the best practices of urban schools that achieve outstanding results for every racial/ethnic/income group of students.  While serving at NCUST, Dr. Johnson served as a Professor at SDSU, then as the College of Education Dean, and finally as the University’s Provost and Senior Vice President.  Prior to coming to SDSU, he served as a teacher, school and district administrator, state department official, and as the US Department of Education’s Director of Title I. 

Dwight Bonds

Dwight Bonds is the Executive Director of the California Association of African American Superintendents and Administrators (CAAASA). This organization consists of educational leaders committed to identifying and addressing the critical issues in education relative to the status and performance of African-American students in California.
 
Mr. Bonds has been an educator for over 40 years and has worked in many capacities including School Administrator with Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE). He also served as an Associate Director for a federal education teacher training program at the University of Southern California.  As an employee of LACOE he established meaningful educational programs including Hollywood Entertainment Museum Arts Academy. This High School was created to provide adjudicated students with career preparation and employment in the entertainment art industry. Mr. Bonds also established work partnership programs for students with disabilities including Target stores, Vons Company, Johnson & Johnson companies, Paramount Studios and McDonalds national and state corporate offices. Mr. Bonds has spent most of his Professional career working with challenged student populations including incarcerated youth, students with disabilities and students in alternative settings. He serves on the National Alliance of Black School Educators Foundation (NABSEF) Board of Directors; National Council on Educating Black Children (NCEBC) Board of Directors, Co-Chair of the Education is a Civil Rights Committee and many other educational and civil rights organizations.

Chaddrick Owes

Chaddrick Owes began his educational career in 2005 as an elementary teacher and extended learning program manager in Atlanta, Georgia. Later transitioning roles working with both elementary and middle school students. As a district-level Director; Dr. Owes oversaw Student Services and Technology Services prior to relocating to California where he served in several administrative roles at the school, district, and state levels. Presently Dr. Owes is an Education Administrator for the California Department of Education. Dr. Owes has a Bachelor’s degree in Social Science and Business Information Systems, a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership, and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership & Innovation.

Jason Henderson

Jason Henderson is a Legislative Analyst with the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA), where he devotes his time to both state and federal education policy. Jason advocates for equitable education opportunities for all students in California through representation of educational leaders.

Jason's current legislative portfolio at ACSA largely consists of Student Mental Health, Nutrition, and Restorative Practices. His professional career in education policy started in 2010 for the California Department of Education - Nutrition Services Division.

An alumnus of California State University Long Beach, Jason continues his work as a Mentor with the Beach Nexus Mentoring Program for incoming and transfer students.

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Kory Wright

Kory Wright is an engaged, enthusiastic leader with over 15 years experience advocating for marginalized individuals and communities. Presently, he serves as a social worker with Sacramento County, Child Protective Services Division, focusing on family reunification. In this capacity, Kory also advances the Black Child Legacy Campaign by connecting at-risk families to social services in an effort to mitigate the need for judicial intervention. His experience extends to volunteer work with the NAACP, providing financial literacy sessions for underserved populations, and rehabilitation services for juvenile delinquency. Kory lives in the community that he serves and his passion for social justice is evident through his work and community engagement.

Article(s)

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