ZAKIYAH ANSARI
Organizer, Alliance for Quality Education (AQE) and the New York City Coalition for Education Justice (CEJ)
Zakiyah Ansari is an organizer with the New York State Alliance for Quality Education (AQE) and the New York City Coalition for Educational Justice (CEJ). Previously, she was a parent volunteer with AQE for over six years. She resides in the East Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, and is the mother of eight children, all of whom have attended or are currently attending public school. She was an active parent volunteer in her children’s PTAs and was a founding parent leader with CEJ. She represents CEJ on the steering committee of Communities for Excellent Public Schools (CEPS), a coalition of over thirty parent, youth, and community, faith, and advocacy groups from nineteen states that seeks changes to federal policy that will bring sustainable transformation to schools. Ms. Ansari has been frequently invited to speak before parents, educators, elected officials, and administrators about the importance of organizing parents and communities in schools.
JITU BROWN
Organizer, Kenwood Oakland Community Organization (KOCO), Chicago, IL
Jitu Brown, married and father of one child, is the education organizer for the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization (KOCO). Born and raised on the south side of Chicago, Jitu has organized in the Kenwood Oakland neighborhood for over 17 years bringing community voices to the table on school issues. He helped develop the Mid-South Education Association, a grassroots advocacy group made up of administrators, parents, teachers, young people and local school council (LSC) members to meet the needs of schools in the area. They were the first group to certify parents as LSC facilitators, which has become a model being replicated across the city of Chicago. In addition, they successfully organized to stop several school closings in the area and secured resources for neglected neighborhood schools. The Kenwood Oakland Community Organization has served as a resource for organizations nationwide, dealing with school closings and the elimination of community voice from the decision-making process.
Jitu also teaches African-American history at St. Leonards Adult High School, the only
accredited high school in that nation that exclusively serves people who have been formerly incarcerated. A believer in working locally and thinking globally, Jitu has taken youth leaders from KOCO to the United Nations, to the Passamaquoddy Native American reservation in Maine and to the UN Conference on Racism in South Africa. He has been published in the national education journal, Rethinking Schools, Ebony magazine and has appeared on several talk shows, including WBEZ’s Community Voices and CLTV’s Gerard McClendon Live.
STEVE FLETCHER
Executive Director, Minnesota Neighborhoods Organizing for Change, Minneapolis, MN
Bio and photo coming soon.
ROBERTA FURGER
Associate Director of Organizing & Policy, PICO California, Sacramento, CA
Roberta Furger is the Associate Director of PICO California, the statewide organization of the PICO National Network, responsible for organizing and policy. Roberta plays a leadership role in PICO’s statewide and national education work, including providing support to PICO’s 19 local organizations throughout California and working with partners to ensure that the priorities of parents, students, and community members are reflected in the development of the state budget and education policy. Prior to joining PICO California, Roberta was a writer and editor for 20 years, covering education issues for a number of national publications and for the George Lucas Educational Foundation. She is the author of a book on gender and technology issues and a contributor to a volume on innovative and successful schools and districts.
