Episodes
Community, Calling & The Climb with Dr. Nadia A. Bennett
Dr. Nadia A. Bennett doesn't just talk about leading; she's lived it, from an air mattress on the floor of a Philly apartment to founding her own national education consulting firm, When Brown Girls Lead.In this episode of The Exit Interview: A Podcast for Black Educators, I sit down with Dr. Nad…
More Than A Diversity Hire with Dr. Melissa Leonard-Goodlett
Melissa Leonard-Goodlett, EdD. knew she was a diversity hire. She took the job anyway because she was also the most qualified person in the room.In this episode of The Exit Interview, Dr. Melissa breaks down a career that went from dyslexic kid playing teacher with her siblings, to AP English i…
Out of the Frying Pan into the Fire with Kamye Hugley
Kamye Hugley is back, and this time, she's talking about what happens when you trade the classroom for the nonprofit world. Fan favorite Kamye returns to The Exit Interview to share her truth about making the leap from Black educator to nonprofit professional.Spoiler: it wasn't the escape she i…
Saying No To Unconditional Service with Dr. Jessica Reed-Thomas
Her closing words? Joy chaser. And she means it. Born in Anchorage, raised to become a lawyer, and fully resistant to the classroom, Jessica Reed-Thomas, Ed.D., fought off teaching for years. Then, a mentor, a university empl...
"All Skinfolk Ain't Kinfolk" with Nye Trusty
Nye Trusty brings a candid, layered, and deeply necessary conversation about identity, belonging, and why representation without inclusion is just window dressing.She's worn many names and even more hats: teacher, coach, doctoral student, and now nonprofit founder. In this episode, she gets raw a…
Saying No To Unconditional Service with Dr. Jessica Reed-Thomas
Her closing words? Joy chaser. And she means it.Born in Anchorage, raised to become a lawyer, and fully resistant to the classroom, Jessica Reed-Thomas, Ed.D., fought off teaching for years. Then, a mentor, a university employee with good intuition and an air-conditioned education building at T…
The Tax We Pay with Kelly Mitchell
Kelly Mitchell's journey through education is a crash course in recognizing when systems are working exactly as designed...not for us. From stumbling into teaching via Craigslist after the 2009 recession, to middle school math teacher, to high school dean managing 350 students, to state workforce d…
A Love Letter to the Bronx with Kai-Ama Hamer
Kai Hamer's journey from aspiring rapper to special education teacher to parent engagement director is a love letter to the Bronx. Starting in shelters and after-school programs, she spent 10+ years teaching in her own neighborhood, collecting kids from behind soda machines, visiting grandmothers w…
Hustle, Heart & HBCU Love with Latoya Turner
This conversation is a testament to how classroom teaching can birth movements that extend far beyond what we could ever imagine.In this episode, Dr. Asia sits down with Latoya Turner, M.A., a Detroit-born educator, author, and filmmaker who spent 13 years in the classroom before pivoting to crea…
The Only One At The Table With Monika Robinson
What does it mean to be the only Black teacher at the table year after year?In this powerful episode of The Exit Interview: A Podcast for Black Educators, Dr. Asia Lyons sits down with Monika Robinson, a former public school teacher, instructional coach, nonprofit leader, and founder of Reparat…
The Cost of Perfect Attendance with Whitney Tolliver
This episode with Whitney Tolliver is essential listening for educators at any stage of their career, administrators who wonder why they can't retain staff, and anyone who's ever sacrificed their well-being for a job that demands perfection over presence.In this powerful episode of the Exit inter…
Setting Boundaries, Finding Healing with Khiara "Mills" Mills
In this episode, Dr. Asia Lyons interviews Khiara "Mills" Mills, a licensed therapist and former school counselor, about her journey through education, mental health, and personal growth. Mills shares how setting boundaries became a cornerstone of her healing, both professionally and personally. Sh…
Calling On Ancestral Wisdom with Dr. Jeanine L. Williams
In this episode, Dr. Asia welcomes Jeanine L. Williams, PhD, a retired educator turned ancestral medicine woman, for a powerful conversation about liberation, sovereignty, and healing beyond academia. Dr. Williams shares her journey through higher education, the challenges of navigating oppressive …
When Silence Is Violence with Kamye Hugley
In this episode, I sit down with educator and bibliophile Kamye Hugley to explore what happens when Black women in education refuse to stay quiet in the face of harm.Kamye traces her journey from her grandmother's urging to be a teacher, to a Teach For America placement that threw her from third …
Black Educator Wellness & The Cost of Leadership with Dr. Ashlee Sadd…
In this impactful episode of The Exit Interview, Dr. Ashlee Saddler shares her journey from being a mental health professional to becoming an educational leader, highlighting the unique challenges she faced as a Black woman in mostly white school systems. She discusses the emotional and physical to…
When We Believe In Black Children with Whitney Redd
In this impactful episode of The Exit Interview: A Podcast for Black Educators, Oakland educator Whitney Redd discusses how her experience in after-school programs, youth shelters, and mental health settings has shaped her approach to teaching, combining heart, structure, and intentionality. After …
How Radical Self-Care Saved Me with Dr. Franita Ware
In this heartfelt episode of The Exit Interview: A Podcast for Black Educators, Dr. Asia interviews Dr. Franita Nita Ware, an educator, author, and creator of Warm Demander Teachers. They discuss Dr. Ware's unexpected journey from substitute teacher to scholar, focusing on her purpose, joy, and com…
The Grief of Leaving, the Liberation of Becoming with Candice Renee P…
In this episode of The Exit Interview: A Podcast for Black Educators, Dr. Asia sits down with Candice Renee Person, a 20-year veteran educator, organizer, writer, and soon-to-be digital nomad. Candice shares a deeply layered journey that spans classrooms in New York City, Massachusetts, Kentucky, V…
Degrees, Detours and the Common Good with Dr. Lance Bennett
In this episode of the Exit Interviewer Podcast for Black educators, Dr. Asia Lyons interviews Dr. Lance Bennett, an educator and founder of The People's Institute for the Common Good. Dr. Bennett shares his journey from community college in Philadelphia to earning his doctorate and working in high…
A Disruptor's Journey Through Education with Aurelius Raines II
What happens when the bad kid becomes the kind of educator the system never saw coming? In this episode of The Exit Interview, Dr. Asia sits down with Aurelius Raines II, whose unorthodox path into education began not with a degree, but with curiosity, care, and disruption. From aftercare teacher t…
For the Kids, Not the System with Akil Parker
What does it cost to teach with integrity in a system that demands your silence? In this powerful episode of The Exit Interview, Dr. Asia Lyons sits down with Akil Parker, a former finance major turned math educator, tutor, and founder of All This Math, to explore his 20-year journey through classr…
The Price of Being Passionate with Dr. Mary Hemphill
In this episode of the Exit Interview podcast for Black educators, host Dr. Asia Lyons interviews Dr. Mary Hemphill, an accomplished educator, leader, and founder of The Limitless Leader. Dr. Hemphill shares her journey from growing up in a family of educators in New York to becoming a third and fo…
Reclaiming Rest & Thriving Beyond Burnout with Amanda Miller Littlejo…
In this episode of "The Exit Interview," host Dr. Asia Lyons welcomes Amanda Miller Littlejohn, executive coach, brand strategist, and author of "The Rest Revolution." The conversation centers on the pervasive issue of burnout, especially among Black educators and high-achieving professionals. Aman…
The Cost of Reform and the Power of Community with Representative Jen…
What happens when a Black educator survives a natural disaster, a political awakening, and a broken school system all in the same year?In this profoundly moving episode of The Exit Interview, Colorado State Representative Jennifer Bacon recounts how her early teaching career in New Orleans duri…