Meet Our Team
Dr. Howard Stevenson
Co-Founder & Lead Facilitator
Howard Stevenson, Ph.D. is the Constance Clayton Professor of Urban Education, Professor of Africana Studies, in the Human Development & Quantitative Methods Division of the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the Executive Director of the Racial Empowerment Collaborative, a research, program development, and training center that brings together community leaders, researchers, authority figures, families, and youth to study and promote racial literacy and health in schools and neighborhoods. From 2015 to 2021, he was co-director of Forward Promise, a national philanthropy office that funds community-based organizations that help families of color heal, grow, and thrive above the trauma of historical and present-day dehumanization.
He received the 2020 Gittler Prize, by Brandeis University, for outstanding and lasting scholarly contributions to racial, ethnic, and/or religious relations. He was listed in the 2021 RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings of the top university-based scholars in the United States who did the most to shape educational practice and policy. In 2021, Dr. Stevenson was elected to membership in the National Academy of Education (NAEd). The NAEd advances high-quality education research and its use in policy and practice and consists of U.S. and international associates who are elected on the basis of outstanding scholarship related to education.
Dr. Charlotte Jacobs
Co-Founder & Lead Facilitator
Charlotte E. Jacobs, Ph.D. earned her doctorate in the Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education program at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. Her research interests focus on issues related to the intersections of identity, race, and gender in education concerning students, teachers, and schools; justice-centered teacher preparation practices; and participatory action research methods. Charlotte is the co-founder of the EnGenderED Research Collaborative, a space for research, program development, and practitioner training. She has also co-authored two books, Teaching Girls: How Parents and Teachers Can Reach Their Brains & Hearts (Rowman & Littlefield) and Investing in the Educational Success of Black Women and Girls (Stylus), and has authored several journal articles.
Charlotte is currently an adjunct assistant professor and the director for the Independent School Teaching Residency program (ISTR) at Penn GSE. In this role, Charlotte coordinates and designs the residency-based collaborative teacher education program. Charlotte also teaches a course on adolescent development in the Urban Teaching Residency program (UTR) at Penn GSE.
In addition to serving on the Penn FQT/GSWS (Feminist, Queer, Transgender center and Gender, Sexuality, & Women’s Studies program) Executive Board, Charlotte proudly serves as a board member for the Girls Justice League, the Christina Seix Academy, and the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls.
Dr. Jason Javier-Watson
Co-Founder & Lead Facilitator
Jason Javier-Watson, Ed.D. specializes in helping leaders create healthier, racially literate teams and organizations. Jason received his doctorate in Reading, Writing, and Literacy from the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, where he also completed a postdoctoral fellowship working with the Racial Empowerment Collaborative in the Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methods. During his postdoctoral fellowship Jason facilitated hundreds of hours of racial literacy research and training to over 1,000 educators, mental health professionals, non-profit sector employees, and police officers.
Jason is currently a school leader in Folsom, CA. Jason is passionate about training educators to use human development and racial literacy perspectives to foster a stronger sense of belonging in schools.
Currently, Jason is the staff laison for his school’s student-lead Diversity Council. He was formerly an assistant principal at St. Francis Catholic High School in Sacramento, where he served as the chair of the Student Life Council and moderator for the Racial Justice League, a student-led club. Jason also participates as a member of the Diocese of Sacramento Anti-Racism Taskforce. Jason also serves as an adjunct professor in the Mid-Career Doctorate Program at the University of Pennsylvania, Graduate School of Education.
Nicole Javier-Watson
Co-Founder & Director of Operations
Nicole Javier-Watson, M.S. brings nearly two decades of direct experience with K-12 students, educators, and leaders. Her journey began as a middle school teacher in the School District of Philadelphia and later at Excellence Boys Charter School in Brooklyn. Nicole transitioned to school leadership at Mastery Schools in Philadelphia and led a dedicated team in fostering academic achievement and a positive school culture grounded in high expectations and comprehensive student support.
Currently, Nicole works at the Relay Graduate School of Education to provide professional development to leaders from schools, districts, and state offices of education from across the country. Her work is driven by a deep commitment to developing, investing in, and advocating for marginalized individuals to achieve equitable outcomes.
She is passionate about nurturing school leaders with the skills and mindsets necessary to guide students toward academic and character success. Nicole earned her Master’s degree in Urban Education from the University of Pennsylvania. After spending a significant chapter of her life on the East Coast, she is back home in Folsom, CA.
Dr. Kelsey Jones
Co-Founder & Lead Facilitator
Kelsey M. Jones, Ph.D. received her doctorate in Interdisciplinary Studies in Human Development from the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship with the Racial Empowerment Collaborative in the Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methods. Kelsey pursues participatory and qualitative scholarship focusing on dis/ability and giftedness in the narratives of Black and Brown youth, the racialized school-prison nexus, and racial literacy education as a means of healing for children and adults. Her current research centers on developing accessible racial literacy materials for youth, families, and educators.
Kelsey is an Assistant Professor of Human Development at California State University, San Marcos.
Previously, she was the Williams College Distinguished Visiting Professor of Education (2020-2022). As a faculty member, she serves on several campus committees, including the Faculty Mentoring Program, the Committee for Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity, and the Campus Climate Actioning Workgroup.
Kelsey recently earned her master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from San Diego State University. She is deeply invested in community mental health programming and collaborates with nonprofit organizations to provide therapeutic support for immigrant, refugee, and under-resourced populations, focusing on new parents and families healing from domestic violence.