Darryl Joseph, a 19-year-old student at Fayetteville State University, majors in Business Administration with a focus on Entrepreneurship and has earned Chancellor’s List Honors for his academic excellence. A graduate of Fuquay-Varina High School, where he played varsity football, Darryl now dedicates his time to mentoring youth, demonstrating his commitment to community service. He has 4 siblings. In his free time, he enjoys sports and playing video games, balancing his studies and hobbies with a passion for personal and professional growth.

DJ’s internship was sponsored by the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation’s Non-Profit Internship Program.

Lekira Moore, a native of Raleigh, NC, embarked on her academic journey after graduating from Broughton High School in 2019, eagerly anticipating her collegiate career at NC A&T State University. In 2023, Lekira graduated with honors, earning her Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies.

Throughout her educational and personal endeavors, Lekira developed a deep passion for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (D.E.I), striving to ensure equitable representation. This commitment led her to join the High School Voices of Color Group during and after high school, facilitating a safe space for students of color to address their concerns and advocate for their success regardless of socioeconomic background.

During her undergraduate years, Lekira established Project Purpose, which promotes mental health and well-being in her community. In addition to community efforts, Lekira mentored other students through the Big Brother Big Sister program and various other mentoring opportunities to provide guidance and support in their academic and personal endeavors. She is pursuing her Master of Public Administration at UNC-Chapel Hill, focusing on D.E.I and Educational Equity within the Non-profit and Local Government sector.

LeKira internship was organized through the Master of Public Administration Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel-Hill.

Hey! My name is Jackson Streit, and I’m a sophomore undergraduate at Duke University, although I’m initially from Austin, TX. At Duke, I study public policy, psychology, and education. In particular, I study the intersectionality between the three, where policy-making in education reinforces systems of inequality. I hope to combat the underlying political rhetoric and complex policy challenges that have contributed to this inequality in education. I have begun this journey through my work with the foster care system, where I seek to uplift the voices of foster children through non-profit work and research, and through Jumpstart, where I mentor and build relationships with children in low-income classrooms. At the Dudley Flood Center, I look forward to continuing my journey of legal and policy exploration, and I hope to contribute to their vital work in improving educational opportunities for all.”

Evelin’s internship is sponsored by the Southern Education Foundation through its Southern Education Leadership Initiative.

Selena Collins served as a summer intern for 2023 at the Dudley Flood Center for Educational Equity and Opportunity. She is a North Carolina native and went through K-12 in the Guilford County Public School System. She’s currently a sophomore BN Duke scholar at Duke University. She plans to major in history, minor in education, and get a certificate in documentary studies. Through her studies, she hopes to create a foundation for a career as an educator and an advocate for education policy. During her time over the summer, she hopes to become more informed and involved in the fight for education equity in North Carolina and support the Dudley Flood Center in whatever capacity she can be helpful.

Selena’s internship was sponsored by the Benjamin N. Duke Scholarship Program

I am Evelin Ortiz-Munoz, a first-generation Latinx student from Siler City, North Carolina. In the fall, I will be entering my second year at UNC Chapel Hill where I am majoring in public policy with a minor in journalism. Since high school, I have volunteered with various non-profits in my community. Witnessing the dedication of these non-profits has motivated me to further work toward providing proper information and resources to marginalized groups. I hope to continue building onto my experience in the non-profit sector and look forward to contributing to the Dudley Flood Center’s vision of a high-quality, equitable education for every student in North Carolina.

Evelin’s internship was sponsored by the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation through its Non-Profit Internship Program.

I am a lifelong resident of Scotland County, North Carolina, and a proud member of the Lumbee Tribe. I graduated in 1996 with a Teaching Fellows Scholarship to attend UNC-Pembroke. While in college, I worked at the Scotland County Schools District Office as a Data Specialist for Federal Programs and Indian Education and as a Pharmacy Technician at CVS Pharmacy. I graduated with my Bachelor’s Degree in History with an Elementary Education Certification. After college, I taught second and third grade at Laurel Hill Elementary School. During my eight years of teaching, I completed my National Boards in 2005 and was also the 2005 Teacher of the Year at my school. I received my Master’s in School Administration from UNC-Pembroke in 2007 and served as an assistant principal for four years at the elementary level, two years at the high school level, and one year at middle school. After seven years of being an assistant principal, I served Laurel Hill Elementary as principal for five years and was the Principal of the Year in 2017 – 2018 for Scotland County. Next, I served as principal of Scotland Early College High School for four years and now in my seventeenth year in administration, I am back at Laurel Hill Elementary School as principal. In May 2023, I received my Superintendent’s Licensure from Appalachian State University. I am currently finishing my Educational Specialist Degree (EdS) and Doctor of Education (EdD) in Educational Leadership at Appalachian State in May 2024.

I am married to Jason Hood who works at INA Baring in Cheraw, SC. We have two sons: Nichalus Williams who is 28 years old and serving in the Army Reserves and Daetyn Williams who is 22 years old and works for Scotland County Schools and Premier Solutions.

Dramaine Freeman is a native of eastern NC and has over twenty years of experience in education, including teaching, tutoring, counseling, and administration. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Electronics and Computer Technology from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. His passion for ensuring that all students have someone in their corner to support them and advocate for their hopes and dreams inspired him to further his education. He obtained a Master’s in Education from the University of Phoenix, followed by a Master’s in Administration and Educational Specialist licenses from Appalachian State University.

He is currently a doctoral student at Appalachian State University because he believes in continual learning and wants to understand educational structures that impact minority students and Black male leadership. He has participated in a New Leaders cohort, a program for assistant principals to learn how to remove barriers to success for underestimated and underserved students and support students in fully realizing their futures as the next generation of great thinkers, innovators, and leaders for our society. As a school administrator, he has planned and implemented diversity, equity, and inclusion practices, math curriculum changes, and cultural shifts at both school and district levels. Throughout his career, he has impacted school outcomes through effective organization, prioritization, and execution of key projects. The learning from New Leaders and school administration and being a part of committees for change continue to inspire him to do the work of positively impacting students’ and families’ lives as they transition through k-12 education.

The Rural Teacher Leader Network: An Analysis from North Carolina 

Amber B. Sansbury is a PhD Candidate in Education at George Mason University (Fairfax, VA). She deeply believes in Black young children’s agency in their learning, evolving in asset-rich families, and development during the early childhood years (birth- age 8). Her own research examines the relational goals of African American teachers and African American families and the ways in which these goals support- or hinder- African American preschool children’s racial identity (e.g., parent-teacher relationships and family engagement) across program and home environments. Her work can be found in the Early Childhood Research Quarterly, Policy Insights from the Behavioral & Brain Sciences, Handbook on the Science of Early Literacy, Virginia Teacher Educators’ Journal, Researchers Investigating Sociocultural Equity and Race (RISER) Network, and the Educare Learning Network. She brings more than thirteen years of community organizing and policy experience in the implementation of Every Student Succeeds Act provisions on family engagement, high-quality preschool, and Title I school improvement- key areas in the Study Group XVI report on the Leandro ruling. These Dudley priorities contextualize the impact of resegregation on North Carolina’s early care and education and public school systems.”

Historical Barriers to Early Care and Education (ECE): An Analysis from North Carolina

Programs & Policy Fellow

In her role, Dre’Sha supported the research efforts that contributed to serval Flood Center projects, such as the Educational Equity Profiles, set to be released later this year.

Dre’Sha is a doctoral student in the Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis program at the College of Education at NC State University. Her research interests include policy narratives in the education policy process, justice in education, and the federal role in education. Dre’Sha has years of experience in Legal Firm Development and Sport & Entertainment Operations. She holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA), a Bachelor’s of Science from Winthrop University, and a Graduate Certificate in Counselor Education from NC State University.

NC School Desegregation Timeline

In her role, Emma was responsible for developing the NC Desegregation Timeline. This timeline explores the policies, court cases, and important historical events that shaped not only school desegregation in North Carolina, but also the resegregation that has occurred in more recent years.

Emma Miller is a graduate student at Western Carolina University, where she is working towards her Master of Arts in Teaching with a concentration in secondary social sciences education. Emma is the former School Desegregation Fellow for the Dudley Flood Center for Educational Equity and the former Policy and Programs Intern for the Public School Forum. Emma’s research interests include using the methodology of oral history to capture the voices and the untold stories of the South. Specifically, Emma is interested in studying rural education disparities, the long Civil Rights Movement, and Southern Appalachian history. Emma graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2020 with a double Bachelor’s in Public Policy and American History with a minor in Education. She now lives back in her hometown Sylva in the mountains of western North Carolina, with her fiancé and their two dogs.

Ny-Aja Boyd, the Spring 2025 Flood Fellow with the Dudley Flood Center for Educational Equity and Opportunity, brings a wealth of experience as a speech-language pathologist serving students from preschool through twelfth grade. Her work provides valuable insights into the intersection of educational equity and specialized student support.

Ny-Aja earned her Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. During her student teaching experience, she recognized a pressing need for additional specialized assistance among students of color, which ignited her passion for advocating for greater representation of diverse educators and role models in schools.

She went on to obtain her Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology from Sacred Heart University. Currently, Ny-Aja is pursuing a Doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership at Appalachian State University. Her research focuses on understanding the experiences of marginalized students in speech-language pathology graduate programs. Through her work, she aims to interrogate systemic barriers and propose actionable solutions to improve equity and inclusion within these programs.

As a children’s author, Ny-Aja is deeply invested in exploring literacy and exceptionalities, particularly as they pertain to marginalized students. She channels her creativity and advocacy into writing children’s books featuring children of color as protagonists, fostering representation and inclusivity in literature. In her free time, she enjoys researching the literacy impacts on marginalized students and crafting stories that inspire and empower young readers.