Learning Specialist Education
Resume:
Joseph Edwards
www.linkedin.com/in/jledwards7 ***************@*****.***
Highly dedicated professional with over twenty years of experience in arts and education. Leads, coaches and encourages interdisciplinary teams to collaborate and exceed goals and objectives. Proven ability to create growth mindset cultures of continuous improvement.
CORE COMPETENCIES
● Professional Actor/Director/Playwright
● AZ Certification 6-12 Theater Teacher
● Growth Mindset Leadership Coach
● Arts-In-Education Specialist
● Excellent Communications Skills
● Team Builder / Leadership Training
● Process Improvement
● ScrumMaster®
● Strategic Planning
● Title IX Training Certification
● Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advocate
● Professional Actor
SELECTED ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Designed: High achieving students at an early college high school were suffering from anxiety and depression as a result of a high stakes learning culture. Designed a dramatic arts program that facilitated the creation of original works in the service of cultivating a socially emotional supportive culture. Result: 50% decrease in reports of anxiety and depression.
Innovation: District of Columbia Public School District had 50% failure rate among rising 9th graders due to math and/or ELA scores. Innovated a Summer Bridge program that including a growth mindset component to boost the math and reading scores of students on the cusp. RESULT: 70% of cohort passing the first marking period in reading and math.
Managed: Founded the Paul Robeson Children’s Ensemble to provide disadvantaged 4-8th grade students an opportunity to receive training in the performing arts. RESULT: 80% of student participants improved their grades, school attendance, and had a decrease in disciplinary referrals. In addition, these students developed and performed plays that demonstrated prosocial behaviors for their peers. Planned: Three stakeholder groups were in conflict regarding their roles and function in raising $500,000 in scholarship funds for students in need. Without funds, there was a 10% decrease in the retention rate of a specific student marginalized groups. Planned a 3-day retreat to clarify purpose, create goals and establish measurable outcomes for each stakeholder group as well as a dramatic monologues presentation for student to dramatize how the scholarships would impact their lives. RESULT: Stakeholders collaborated with a unified vision and exceeded original fundraising goal to raise $750,000, and a greater connection between alumni organizations and students was formed.
Facilitated: Performed a one-man show for more than twenty thousand NYC public school students and facilitated courageous conversations on current topics of gang culture, drug addiction, domestic abuse, and college and career readiness. RESULT: 70% of attending students submitted “Student Agency” forms outlining goals and success strategies they planned to implement.
EDUCATION
Bachelor of Science – Crouse College of Visual and Performing Arts - Syracuse University Joseph Edwards (Page Two)
POSITIONING STATEMENT: Utilizes educational, professional development, and leadership coaching to create highly collaborative results-driven cultures of motivated and committed students and teams. PROFESSIONAL HISTORY
Pima County Health Department Tucson, Arizona June 2022 - Present Cope Division
Operations Manager
• Provide administrative leadership and oversight of Advancing Health Literacy (AHL) program operations.
• Ensure all public health contracted services, county policies and procedures, and Federal and State contract requirements are successfully met within the assigned programs.
• Ensure work plan and evaluation plan deliverables are met by assigning personnel
• Develop and maintain effective working relationships with grant partners/evaluators, sub recipients, state partners, other county departments, and community organizations.
• Recruit, select, supervise, and evaluate assigned professional and support staff.
• Direct the preparation and oversee the administration of the AHL program budget, including expenditures and processing invoices, and assure that activities and services within the AHL program remain within budget and follow all county procurement policies and procedures.
• Collect and summarize data and prepare reports for use in program planning and evaluation.
• Provide trainings or presentations for the department, county boards, county staff or community partners on the purpose of the grant and achievements made.
University of Arizona Tucson, Arizona 2019 - 2020
Project Lead
Division of Equity, Inclusion & Title IX
• Facilitator of division meetings, professional development and strategic planning for 22 offices.
• Editor of weekly office updates provided to Senior Leadership Team.
• Promoter of inclusive excellence practices.
• Managed five UA Office Directors.
• Supervised development of a new division and training of new staff.
• Coordinated weekly reporting system for more than 40 team members.
• Co-Designed a $4 million UA community impact initiative. Mindset Works Inc New York, New York 2015 - 2019
Project Manager
Orientation Pathway, Learning Specialist Project, Culture Builders Initiative
• Designer and Manager of the Coaches Learning Pathway which supports a $3.5 million federally funded study intended to develop Growth Mindset Practices of 150 educators and the learning potential of 15,000 students.
• Designer and Manager of the Learning Specialist Project which increased the capacity of an international team of learning specialists to deliver high quality professional development on equity, diversity and inclusion.
• Manager of the Culture Builders Initiative, a series of trainings that successfully fostered a highly collaborative culture of excellence, diversity and inclusion for a staff of 50 consultants. District of Columbia Public Schools Washington, D.C. 2008 - 2015 Administrative Leader
• Lead Developer of Cluster IV Department vision, mission and goals, overseeing 40 educational sites. Staffed and trained department team members as well as operationalized high-profile initiatives such as Chapter 25 Due Process, Executive Leadership Institute, and Data Driven Decision Making.
• Served as spokesperson and facilitator for Cluster IV Superintendent at Chancellor’s Roundtable, City Council, and Community Leadership meetings.
• Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Program: trained 200 educators to facilitate lessons for 10,000 students on core beliefs about tolerance, diversity and inclusion. Created a gender based Social Emotional Learning
(SEL) curriculum to support Native American, African American, and Hispanic populations.
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Joseph Edwards (Page Three)
• Early advocate for academic program leading to $20-million campaign to open all male Ron Brown Preparatory High School. Developed resources and safe havens for the LGBTQ community and trained 240 counselors and social workers on building anti-bullying cultures of inclusion.
• Summer Bridge Program: Designed a program that provided 800 high school freshmen with internships, diversity leadership training, and academic support, increasing on-track-graduation of rate of cohort by 30%.
• College-Going and Career Readiness Initiative: Guided 1200 First Generation College-goers through the college admissions and career access process, increasing college application submission rate by 25%. ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE
Leadership Coach / Trainer (Center for Collaborative Education) - Trained and coached 125 executive administrators in the use of Turning Points Leadership Practices (Turning Points School Reform Model) which increased motivation and productivity, and improved culture and climate in the workplace and in school communities.
● Teaching Artist (International Theater Arts – Moscow, Buenos Aires, Switzerland, Brazil) – Trained Administrators and Educators how to create arts infused curriculum. ● Founder: African American Male Leadership Program, Black Stream Cultural Arts Organization, Paul Robeson Youth Leaders, Rites of Passage Cultural Arts Center ● Coordinator: Omega Psi Phi Afterschool Tutorial Program Supervisor: Safe Passage for Women on Campus Program ● Certifications: ScrumMaster® ID# LSPO-102134 Certified Critical Friends Coach ● Member: Screen Actors Guild (SAG/AFTRA), Actors Equity Association (AEA), Dramatists Guild TECHNICAL QUALIFICATIONS
Microsoft Word ● Excel ● PowerPoint ● Publisher ●
Adobe Photoshop ● Adobe Illustrator ● Confluence
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