Wade Colwell

Wade Antonio Colwell is a learner. His calling to education involves serving school communities as a "creative catalyst" for deepening and healing relationships across generation and difference. As a rising advocate for systemic equity, inclusion and excellence, Wade understands the power in engaging the artistic modalities of song, spoken-word, movement, ceremony and restorative practice. He is the co-founder of Youth Equity Stewardship (YES), an arts-based, experiential and inter-generational process of collectively uplifting our learning environments. His touring multi-media performance Borderless, with YES co-Founder Benjie Howard, is a cross-genre musical journey of folk & hip hop that examines the intersections of race, class, identity, immigration, sexual orientation and gender while rooted in environmental & indigenous peoples' justice. His professional journey includes roles as national consultant for Deep Equity / Corwin Press, co-founder/producer of pioneering academic hip hop duo Funkamentalz, lead restorative practices educator with New York City's Counseling in Schools, and curriculum specialist & founding poet laureate of Tucson Unified School District's Mexican-American / Raza Studies Department.