Inclusion spotlight: Ejana Bennett

SOE doctoral student and Holmes Scholar is an invaluable contributor to the school’s inclusion efforts.

The VCU School of Education’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee is excited to celebrate committee member Ejana Bennett’s contributions during the fall 2021 semester!

As a doctoral student in the Ph.D. in Education, Concentration in Curriculum, Culture and Change program, and president of the VCU Holmes Scholars Program, Bennett has been an invaluable, above-and-beyond contributor. In fall 2021, for example, she hosted the annual Igniting Progress: Using My Voice to Respond to Resistance event featuring six Virginia educators.

David Naff, Ph.D., associate director of the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium, a center within the School of Education, said that Bennett was exceptional as host. “She did a masterful job setting the tone for the event, which focused on responding to resistance to equity work in PK-12 settings, while honoring the perspectives of our invited speakers,” he said.

Rachel F. Gómez, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning, also highlighted Bennett’s central role in last fall’s workshop: Dr. Julio Cammarota: Clarity, Counteraction, and Critical Race Theory.

“Ejana effortlessly fielded questions from our Zoom attendees to insert them into the live dialogical sessions – an essential variable to the success of our critical engagement with such an important and highly politicized topic in the field of education,” she said.

Learn more about Bennett on her VCU Holmes Scholars bio page and in her student spotlight.