Breaking Barriers: Advancing Educational Equity

Kevin Beckford is a longtime advocate for educational equity,
digital inclusion, and justice-impacted youth. He is the co-
founder of The Hustlers Guild, an education nonprofit
creating access to career pathways for students from under-
resourced communities. As a doctoral researcher, Kevin
studies the experiences of Black male leaders in education
nonprofits, with a focus on organizational culture, safety, and
belonging. His work bridges research and practice, drawing
on years of experience in youth development, education
policy, and systems-level reform. Kevin’s scholarship and
leadership have been recognized by the Fund for New
Leadership, the Mellon Mays Fellowship, and the Atlantic
Fellows for Racial Equity.

Charles Foust is an Executive Coach for SYDKIMYL.
Charles was the Superintendent of New Hanover County
Schools (NHCS) and the Southeastern Superintendent of
the Year 2024-2025. Under Charles’ leadership, NHCS
moved from 50% proficient to 61.1% proficient, placing the
school district in the top 10 academically proficient districts
in the state of NC. Additionally, NHCS’ had 90% of the
schools exceed or meet growth.
Prior to joining NHCS, Charles was the superintendent of
Kansas City Kansas Public Schools, where several schools
achieved double-digit growth in one year removing the entire
district from being one of the lowest performing school
districts in Kansas.
Foust earned his bachelor’s degree in Elementary
Education, from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical
State University, two masters degrees: Instructional
Technology from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical
State University and School Administration from the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a doctoral degree in Professional Leadership from the University of
Houston. He is currently an MBA student at Wake Forest
University, Winston Salem, North Carolina.

Brandon Kitchin serves as the Assistant Director of Social
Change and Intercultural Engagement within SMU’s Division
of Student Affairs, staff advisor to four student organizations,
and is the current president of the university’s Black Faculty
and Staff Association.. He produces educational
programming for cultural heritage months, coordinates the
recruitment and training of mentors for his office’s
mentorship program designed to help the transition of
incoming first-year and transfer students, and regularly
presents and facilitates workshops to the campus
community.
Outside of work, Brandon is an award-winning writer and
freelance journalist. He also holds several leadership
positions on boards, including his fraternity, Omega Psi Phi
Fraternity, Inc., his undergraduate alma mater, Texas
Christian University, and the American College Personnel
Association (ACPA).

Larry founded LCSIMMONS Consults in July 2020 to
support the growth and sustainability of BIPOC-led
organizations. As a Baltimore City School Board
Commissioner, co-primary investigator, and Director of the
Nobody Asked Me Campaign and Research Team, he is
deeply committed to the city of Baltimore and improving its
neighborhoods. His experience spans the nonprofit and
public sectors, including Baltimore’s Promise, the Baltimore
City Health Department, Elev8 Baltimore, the Child First
Authority at Westside Elementary, and the Y of Central
Maryland. Larry is a 2018 JHU Bunting Fellow, a BMe
Vanguard, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation IRL Fellow
and currently serving as the Director of Community
Engagement for the Nobody Asked Me Campaign Research
Team, Chair of the Board of Directors for the Baltimore
Children and Youth Fund, and CO Chair of both Wide Angle
Youth Media and New Song Academy Board of Directors.

Dr. Rhonda Tsoi-A-Fatt is an internationally recognized
researcher, published author and speaker, and social justice
advocate. She is also a public policy expert who focuses her
research and advocacy on education, youth development,
race, and poverty. As the Founder & CEO of The Moriah
Group, Dr. Tsoi-A-Fatt partners with philanthropy,
government, and nonprofits to build solutions that disrupt the
dehumanizing social policies and practices which block
progress for young people of color and their communities.
She earned a B.S. in Human Services, an M.A. in Urban
Affairs and Public Policy, and an Ed.D. in Education
Leadership.