TRACY L. GRAY
CEO. Founder. President. Ed Tech Consultant. Public Speaker. Entrepreneur.
Throughout my career, I’ve been asked to share my expertise and advice for 21st Century Learning with thousands of educators and students in Connecticut, California, Michigan, Ohio, New York, China (Fuzhou and Yiwu) and Nigeria (Lagos). In my commitment to advance 21st century teaching and learning competency skills, I joined the Council on Women and Girls and the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance at President Obama’s 2016 I Have a Dream Workshop on Inclusive Youth Entrepreneurship. The White House recognized the Sankofa Global Project’s programs in the official release of the White House Fact Sheet as an organization committed to expanding STEM Learning for students nationwide. I was nominated, and subsequently attended, South by South Lawn, a White House festival of ideas, art, and action. I continue to serve as integration stakeholder with My Brother’s Keeper Alliance, which is now an initiative of the Obama Foundation.My journey began over 20 years ago as a classroom teacher at P.S. 175 in Harlem. My experience led to a path as a progressive educator at the Ethical Culture Fieldston School in midtown Manhattan. After leaving the classroom to pursue educational leadership, I was hired to serve as Director of Studies at The Carey School in San Mateo, California. As the lead administrator, I focused on curriculum, instruction, assessment, and teacher supervision and student life.I am a professor the Borough of Manhattan Community College supporting the success of over 50 educators. On nights and weekends, I develop S.T.E.A.M. education programs and curricula through my organization,The Sankofa Global Project.In April 2017, I hosted the Sankofa Global Project's first Tech Education Conference, in partnership with Ifetayo Cultural Arts Academy, Wellness Interactive, Global WRITeS and NYC First. I brought educators, entrepreneurs, elected officials, students, parents, and experts in the S.T.E.A.M. fields together to discuss strategies for effective measures to increase S.T.E.A.M. education in Brooklyn’s schools. This conference led me to the launch a women-led team of founders, entrepreneurs, and educators who produced "It's A Family Affair” (IAFA). This venture featured an education conference, a hack-a-thon, and Community S.T.E.A.M. for families, communities, and educators throughout New York City.I presented “From Strategies to Routines: Implementing Professional Development to Shift School Culture to Inquiry-Based Pedagogy” with my colleagues from the Borough of Manhattan Community College at the American Educational Research Association (AERA) April 2019 Annual Meeting. AERA is the world’s largest gathering of education researchers and a showcase for groundbreaking, innovative studies in an array of areas. In my role as Education Committee Chair of the Brooklyn NAACP, I moderated the 21st Century Education for All Fireside Chat Series, an initiative that I designed and lead with the committee.In Fall 2020, I launched the Racial Equity ⚖ Justice Initiative in with the mission of leading hearts and minds to actively pursue truth, reparations, and reconciliation.Long story short, I know a thing or two about what it takes to succeed as an educator, an entrepreneur, and an advocate!
Notable Accomplishments:
Sankofa Global Project Launch: March 2013
Food, Fitness, Tech Hack-a-Thon: May 2014
Education Conference Presenter (Yiwu China): July 2015
National Week of Making: June 17 - June 23, 2016
World Maker Faire at the New York Hall of Science: October 1 - October 2, 2016
White House SXSL Festival of Ideas, Art, and Action: October 3, 2016
Sankofa Global Project’s Tech Education Conference: April 2017
Education Cultural Exchange Program (Agege, Nigeria): August 2017
"It's A Family Affair” (IAFA): October 2018
American Educational Research Association (AERA) Presentation: April 2019
“Build Your Own Wakanda” Hack-a-Thon: July 2019
21st Century Education for All Fireside Chat Series: January - March 2020
Racial Equity & Justice Initiative (REJI): September 2020
GED+ Ed Tech Program: November 2020
East Brooklyn DEIJ Offshore Wind Workforce Development: March 2022