CONSCIOUS EDUCATION CONSULTING - Key Persons
Alexes M. Terry is an educator, author, and founder of TwistED Teaching Educational Consultant company. She specializes in Urban Education and is passionate about supporting and empowering educators, in inner-city schools, creating equitable learning spaces where all students can succeed. She possesses a B.A. in History, an M.A. in History, and M.Ed in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Urban Education. Using the theories of Culturally Relevant Teaching and Reality Pedagogy, Alexes strives to help all educators "twist" the way they do teaching and learning by creating learning experiences that are engaging, relevant and will empower all students to thrive in the 21st century and beyond.
Taylor A. Gilley comes to Conscious Education Consulting with a background and a passion for providing equitable classroom communities for diverse learners. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Marketing from Texas A & M University in 2001. After her time in the Human Resources sector of corporate America, she returned to school to receive her teaching certification in 2011. Ms. Gilley received her Masters of Education in Teacher Leadership with an emphasis in ESL in 2016. She will complete her Ph.D. in Urban Education from Texas A&M University in December 2020. Ms. Gilley's personal experiences growing up as a student and the child of an educator in a diverse, rural school district in deep East Texas, and her own experience as a white teacher in an urban district, fueled her desire to provide leadership and direction for teachers new to urban school settings. Currently serving as a Lead Development Specialist for Spring ISD, she provides professional development, mentoring, and coaching to teachers to support their efforts to provide a successful environment for today's population of diverse learners. "I have always heard it said that a student will do for the teacher long before they will do for the task. By truly understanding the cultural component of today's learners, teachers can build meaningful relationships with students, parents, and stakeholders empowering them for a successful future." - Taylor G.
Elissa Frazier is an Education Consultant and specializes in professional & organizational learning in the areas of culturally responsive teaching, technology integration, instructional design, and continuous improvement through coaching. She draws from extensive knowledge as an educator having served in several capacities, as an English teacher, Reading Specialist, Instructional Coach, Edtech Integrationist, Researcher, and Evaluator. Her ability to understand the needs of intersecting communities of practice is an asset as well as her professional and personal knowledge of the challenges teachers face when creating learning environments that are designed for all kids to thrive. Her current research focuses on culturally responsive teaching with technology & digital equity in K12 schools. Elissa lives with her wonderful husband and fantastic kids. She is also a proud Autism advocate.
Maiya Turner is an educator with a background in English Language Arts Instruction. Maiya is passionate about creating equitable learning spaces for all students through accessible and culturally relevant professional development for educators. She is excited to work with educators and guide them towards becoming culturally responsive. Maiya received her M.Ed in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Urban Education in 2019 from Texas A&M University. Currently, Maiya is a full-time graduate research assistant pursuing a Ph. D in Multicultural Education from Texas A&M University. Maiya also holds an Advancing Educational Leadership (AEL) certification.
Lakisha Thelusma is a former teacher in both urban and gentrified areas in the District of Columbia. In this capacity, she has witnessed first-hand the perplexing myriad of disparities in high-quality education, opportunities, and exclusionary disciplinary methods. She believes education is the cornerstone of our society and is a partnership between students, parents, teachers, and the community. As an advocate for high-quality public preschools in marginalized communities, Lakisha received a Masters in Early Childhood Education with a focus on Advocacy. She advocated on Capitol Hill toward this cause and took her efforts to the classroom to provide young children with the education they deserve. In the past year, Lakisha has worked directly with educators at her son's public school to ensure children receive a culturally relevant and equitable education. She reviews teacher's lesson plans to ensure children of color are represented throughout every facet of the school day. She's also championed the need for black history to be taught throughout the year and has founded a Black History club. In this capacity, she teaches children rich African history which is beautified with the stories of many wise and wealthy Kings and Queens. Lakisha is hyper-focused on helping more and more teachers and school staff become culturally responsive educators.
Jo Ann Robisheaux, Ph.D started her career in the Denver Harbor neighborhood of Houston. While working there, she was so amazed by the power of bilingual education, she returned to school to learn Spanish, earned her bilingual education certification, and spent the next forty-plus years specializing in the education of English language learners. Dr. Robisheaux has authored several academic articles, taught university-level classes, and worked as an elementary classroom teacher.