Lena Dalke
Lena Dalke taught middle school for 10 years in New York City, and was part of the founding staff at Community Roots Middle School, a Roots ConnectED learning site. As an educator, Lena strengthened and developed inclusive practices that provided equitable access to educational opportunities for all students in her classes. Lena was also a department head and a member of the Anti-Bias Education Collective, where she facilitated professional development workshops for staff while she taught at Community Roots. Lena has co-facilitated Roots ConnectED workshops since 2019, focusing on supporting educators with their development of curriculum that addresses social justice issues. Currently, she works for New York Appleseed, an organization that advocates for integrated schools and communities in New York. She passionately believes that the change needed to undo centuries of educational injustice happens through the creation of equitable policies as well as the interpersonal work that we do in school communities.