Annual Conference

Dr. Annahita Ball is an assistant professor within the School of Social Work at University at Buffalo. Her research focuses on advancing educational justice for vulnerable children and youth through meaningful family engagement in schools and effective school-based social service delivery. Her recent projects include exploring various aspects of family engagement and empowerment in schools, including parent organizing for educational reform and the development of a framework for family engagement practice. Ball also has research and practice experience related to strengthening mental health services in schools and creating inclusive school climates to support marginalized students. She has collaborated with schools and districts to implement student-driven programs and teacher professional development focused on school climate, disciplinary procedures and student mental health. Her publications have been featured in scholarly journals, such as Children & Youth Services Review, Teaching & Teacher Education, and Youth & Society. She is on the editorial review board for Children & Schools and Research on Social Work Practice. Ball teaches courses on diversity and oppression, social work in public schools and intergroup dialogue.

Susan Paul-Saladino has enjoyed a 20+ year career as a teacher working with both middle and high school students in urban and suburban settings. Recognizing the challenge many minority students face in suburban settings, she helped establish meaningful professional development for the staff and faculty of the Amherst School District, beginning in 2004. Around that same time, she worked with students and interested teachers to develop a student-led after school club to promote their leadership skills, as well as to problem solve student-identified issues that impact their feelings of inclusion and self-care. Challenge2Change is part of Paul-Saladino's big-picture vision for student empowerment and leadership development as high school students are prepared to be active and engaged citizens.

Gregory Pigeon has worked in public education for three decades. He is currently in his twelfth year as principal at Amherst Central High School. He has been an adjunct instructor at Buffalo State College and has a background in entrepreneurship as well as a long career in the classroom as a computer science and business teacher. Pigeon has extensive experience in program development and community/collegiate partnerships for secondary public school students.

Candra Skrzypek is a PhD student in the School of Social Work at the University at Buffalo. Her research interests include the impact of policy and organizational structures on student outcomes and the promotion of educational justice. Skrzypek has experience working in schools in a variety of capacities, including middle school science teacher, after-school teacher, university-school program coordinator and school social work intern.

F. Paul Lounsbury has worked in human services with people with disabilities in both New York State and California. Currently, Lounsbury is a training coordinator with People Inc.'s training and employee development — including management/supervisory training, person-centered focus, diversity and cultural competency and disability etiquette.

Kayden Miller (pronoun: he) came onboard as the Out Alliance’s LGBTQ Academy Education Coordinator in August of 2017. He graduated from the State University of New York at Potsdam with a BA in Archaeological Studies and a minor in Museum Studies. Through his academic work, he focused on interactive and experiential educational techniques, as his passion is making learning fun, relevant and memorable. In his current role as Education Coordinator he works towards creating safe and respectful environments for the LGBTQ+ communities. Kayden is a certified SafeZone Trainer and he facilitates an average of 150 LGBTQ+ trainings and presentations per year.

Emily Chiariello is an independent consultant specializing in diversity and equity in K-12 education. She has two decades of experience as a classroom teacher, teacher trainer, curriculum designer, content developer and writer. A former middle and high school teacher, Emily has worked with non-profit organizations such as One World Education, the Children’s Defense Fund's Freedom Schools program and the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Teaching Tolerance Project. While at Teaching Tolerance, she developed a number of resources and helped lead several projects, including the award-winning K-12 literacy-based, anti-bias Teaching Tolerance Curriculum. She is the principle author of the Social Justice Standards, a first-ever set of benchmarks for anti-bias education, and has designed instructional tools such as Civil Rights Done Right and Reading Diversity.  Emily has authored articles about the school to prison pipeline, culturally competent instructional coaching, white racial identity and diverse literature. Today, she works with schools, districts, universities, non-profits, publishers, museums and media companies to build their capacity to promote equity and support diversity, whether in the work they do directly with students and communities or through the products and services they provide to educators.