Acosta Institute

Drisana (Dru) McDaniel, mother-worker-activist and co-founder of the Transformative Teaching Collective, speaks to the power of sitting with paradox and how reorienting ourselves to the present moment can support us with integration and transmutation - what she calls becoming the everyday alchemist. Through sharing her lived experiences and her perspective on ‘turning towards’ versus ‘turning away,’ she provides a transformative and courageous foundation for engaging with the world.

Dr. Angel Acosta guides us through a contemplative practice that supports us in slowing down and tuning into the power of awareness.

Dr. Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz, an award-winning Associate Professor at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her research focuses on racial literacy in teacher education, Black girl literacies, and Black and Latinx male high school students. A sought-after speaker on issues of race, culturally responsive pedagogy, and diversity, Sealey-Ruiz works with K-12 and higher education school communities to increase their racial literacy knowledge and move toward more equitable school experiences for their Black and Latinx students. Sealey-Ruiz appeared in Spike Lee’s “2 Fists Up: We Gon’ Be Alright”, a documentary about the Black Lives Matter movement and the campus protests at Mizzou. Her co-authored book, Advancing Racial Literacies in Teacher Education: Toward Activism for Equity in Digital Spaces was published in May 2021. Her first full-length collection of poetry Love from the Vortex & Other Poems was published in March, 2020, and her sophomore book of poetry, The Peace Chronicles was released in July 2021.
You can find Dr. Yolanda's website here and learn more about her recent work here.
We want to thank Paper Monday for the interviews and portraits, Jo Barratt and Dike Godstime for the audio engineering and Maria Tan from House of Thriving for co-producing this podcast season.

Rashid Hughes is co-founder of the Heart Refuge Mindfulness Community and creator of R.E.S.T. - A Practice for the Tired & Weary. This contemplative practice supports us to settle into a sense of ease and invites us to release our efforting and striving, leaving a space for openness and awareness.

Arlène Elizabeth Casimir, Brooklyn-based educator and owner of her own of educational consultancy, shares how she designs and facilitates culturally sustaining, healing-centered, and spiritually grounded personal and professional development. Operating from the values of freedom, community and love and guided by intuition, she shares her passion for helping people awaken their gifts in order to serve others.