It’s a Big Change.
“I cried all the way here,” Whitney said as she burst into the room where the senior class of Amistad-Elm City High School was anxiously awaiting the start of their graduation ceremony. The students paced around the room, a mess of vastly different emotions- expressing excitement, fear, pure joy, relief and sadness. They put on each other’s caps, hugged, watched a slideshow of photos from the past eight years and waited- alternating between joking and heavy silence. I love rites of passage. Heck- I cried at my 5th grade graduation more »
Congrats!
We arrived back from Accra early yesterday morning and we aren’t wasting any time getting back to work. Today we are shooting the graduation of the senior class at Amistad-Elm High School in New Haven which we have gotten to know (and fallen in love with) in the past two months. These students demonstrate the transformative power of education to create community leaders. I am in awe of every single one of them. We were there at their Signing Day ceremony where all the seniors announced where they are attending more »
Achievement First
In just a few short hours, we will be hopping on a plane to Ghana to work with Of Rags. But first, we want to share a video that we made for Achievement First, a network of public charter schools who believe that all children, regardless of race or economic status, are capable of succeeding with a good education. In addition to creating videos to inspire their teachers (especially those who work in younger grades who don’t often get to see the long term benefits of their work) and broader more »
Introducing Of Rags Collaboration
I am thrilled to announce our collaboration with Of Rags, a sustainable fashion company co-founded by my good friend Branson Skinner, who is driven by the belief that we need to change the way we think about consumption, so that our purchases work for good and build connections between communities and people. His partner Raam, the head designer for Of Rag, is an artist from Labadi town in Accra, Ghana who was a fashion entrepreneur selling his hand painted shirts before he met Branson. Together, they are building a movement which more »
Advantages of Outdoor Education: Trip to the Passaic, Great Swamp, and Raptor Trust
Last Tuesday I took a trip with students at George Washington HS in Washington Heights out to New Jersey to get a breath of fresh air. We scooped the Passaic river and looked at the creatures inside, did some birding, and netted insects in a field which we looked at more closely with microscopes. Then we went on this boardwalk tour of the Great Swamp wetlands, and checked out the Raptor Trust, where wounded raptors like bald eagles, falcons, hawks, and vultures go to heal. On the trip I met student more »
Genesis Be Mississippi to Manhattan Release Party
Last night was Genesis Be’s Mississippi to Manhattan Release Party at Katra Lounge. The energy and love for Genesis was absolutely incredible. Genesis has grown her movement to be something really powerful and last night was definitely a testament to that. I’m proud to say I know her and as long as she is doing what she’s doing, I’ll support her however I can. Also, check out the images we took for her album cover. Check out Nyle Emerson (above) and Miles Megaciph (below) See all the photos here Tweet
