Lisa Brooks (she/her) is a leader in social justice and early childhood education with a passion for innovative approaches to teaching and learning. She is founding director of The Acorn School, an urban outdoor education program for young children. In her decade of teaching in independent and DC Public Schools, Lisa launched and led several initiatives helping educators, families, and students engage in anti-racist dialogue and learning. Prior to joining the ranks of classroom teachers, Lisa supported state and local governments throughout the US as a criminal justice researcher and consultant. Locally, she served the Executive Office of the Mayor of the District of Columbia as a criminal justice policy analyst and as the Director of Justice Grants Administration. Lisa holds master’s degrees in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School and early childhood special education from The George Washington University, as well as a bachelor’s degree in religious studies from the University of Virginia. In her free time, Lisa is an obsessive gardener, a novice beekeeper, and of course, an avid reader.