New year! New vision! New leadership!

The Board of Directors of the Badass Teachers Association, a grassroots public education advocacy organization of nearly 65,000 members are excited to announce a few recent changes within the BAT leadership team.

Melissa Tomlinson, former Assistant Executive Director, has now been named Interim Executive Director and Dr. Denisha Jones, Esq. will serve as interim Assistant Executive Director.

“I am excited to step in to this role and continue to serve the Badass Teachers Association. It has been a pleasure watching this organization grow and I am committed to using my skills and talents to support the important work we do on behalf of teachers, students, and public education.” ~ Dr. Denisha Jones, Esq.

Under the guidance of Melissa and Denisha, the BAT Steering Committee Directors and Executive Board members have recently been given the task of looking internally at the organization, its vision, goals, purpose, and mission. As we head into 2019 we will be meeting for strategic planning and goal setting, as every organization must do to meet new challenges.

“Moving this organization forward has been my commitment since I first joined. I am looking forward to seeing what comes next and energized to have Dr. Jones with me in this.
The only way that we will be successful in this work is to challenge ourselves and each other to grow, to stand up, and to fight back in solidarity.” ~ Melissa Tomlinson

Being constantly within the fight for public education, it is sometimes hard to see the growth and progress that has been made. With the life expectancy of organizations such as this averaging only around five years, it is important to reflect upon what has been accomplished and complete a strength analysis so we can be prepared to meet the battles that lie ahead.

As we undergo change, we hope to still provide a space for you to connect what you experience with the bigger national picture of corporate education reform. We hope that you join us in our quest to infuse or work with and to make space for social and racial justice. While we recognize that not all of us enter this space at the same place, it does not benefit neither ourselves nor our students to refuse to progress along the journey for equity.

We have created a Google survey form for you to share some of your thoughts with us about what matters to you. We would also like to get a little more information about you so that we can better focus our actions and directly call in people to join when needed.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdVB8UqTkQTUQv93rQJHwrhNhcH4XxT9_dwASA_WIJrQNXrZQ/viewform?usp=sf_link