Today we’d like to introduce you to Alicia Williams.
Alicia, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
After graduating from The Ohio State University, I joined Teach For America in 2016 and moved to Houston to become a Founding teacher at a local charter school. Every day in my classroom I wanted students to see their identities reflected in our lessons and the history we learned. Teaching young people how to be agents of social change was transformational for me and was the catalyst for creating our student SEL & Social Justice curriculum Woke Student.
As a classroom teacher, I witnessed firsthand the school policies and injustices that are at the bedrock of inequity and systemic racism in education. Every day these policies manifest in higher suspension rates for Black and Brown students, white-washed curriculum, and educators who are ill-equipped to make their classrooms culturally responsive and equitable. I wanted to change that.
I founded Teach Woke to create sustainable, engaging, and impactful DEI solutions for educators, schools, and organizations. We provide workshops, coaching, and curriculum to center and advance diversity, equity, and inclusion. Currently, the system does not work. Teach Woke reimagines and concretizes liberatory education. To date, our company has trained over 1,000 educators and impacted over 6,000 students across the country.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Transitioning from a classroom teacher to an entrepreneur has been an enjoyable journey. As educators, we often don’t think about how transferable our skills are and ways to monetize what’s in our hands. As CEO, I wear dozens of hats however, I believe that we can only go so far alone. Currently, I am learning invaluable skills such as navigating scaling our company and bringing on the right people to help us reach our Crazy Faith goals. My secret sauce is asking for help, being resourceful, and always being a student to improve our craft. Teach Woke would not be what it is today without our amazing village and community.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Teach Woke?
Teach Woke is an education consulting company that provides workshops, coaching, and curriculum to schools and organizations to center and advance diversity, equity, and inclusion. We help our clients make their DEI commitments real by providing sustainable, engaging, and impactful workshops so that they can move from theory to implementation. 98% of participants trained would recommend one of our workshops. To date, our company has served over 1,000 educators and has impacted 6,000 students across the country.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
One of the most important lessons I’ve learned along my journey is that “All I have is all I need.” As a proud Black-woman owned business enterprise there are times that I question if I have what it takes and if the work we do is truly making a difference. The answer: absolutely yes! When those thoughts of imposter syndrome come up, I remind myself that I was created for such a time as this and am fully equipped to lead my company and create the life I want.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@teachwoke.com
- Website: https://www.teachwoke.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teachwoke/
Image Credits:
Photosbyjazminee
