Deeper Learning 2023

Brandi Hinnant-Crawford is a self-described motherscholar, critical pragmatist, liberation theologian, and aspiring scholar-activist. She currently serves as an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at Clemson University.  Crawford’s scholarship focuses on equity and inclusion for marginalized students across the P-20 pipeline as well as how research, particularly improvement science, can be leveraged as methodological tools to catalyze just outcomes.  Her work has been published in diverse venues such as Black Liberation Theology, Urban Education, the International Journal of Teacher Leadership, and the Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem Based Learning.  In her 2020 book, Improvement Science in Education: A Primer, she reconceptualizes improvement by centering equity and justice as the purpose of improvement.  
Brandi holds a doctorate in philosophy from Emory University in Educational Studies, a master’s degree in Urban Education Policy from Brown University, and bachelor’s degrees in English (with teacher licensure) and Communication (media concentration) from North Carolina State University. From the time she first stepped foot in the classroom in the rural south to working in central office in the urban north to conducting research across the county, she has been committed to providing equitable opportunities to learn for all children.  While she loves research and teaching, her first priority is being the mother of her ten-year-old twins, Elizabeth Freedom and Elijah Justice Crawford.


J. Luke Wood, Ph.D. is Vice President of Student Affairs & Campus Diversity and Dean’s Distinguished Professor of Education at San Diego State University. Wood also serves as the Co-Director of the Community College Equity Assessment Lab (CCEAL), a national research and practice center that partners with community colleges to support their capacity in advancing outcomes for underserved students of color. Wood’s research focuses on factors affecting the success of boys and men of color education, with a specific focus on early childhood education and community colleges. In particular, his research examines contributors (e.g., social, psychological, academic, environmental, institutional) to positive outcomes.  Dr. Wood has delivered over a 1,000 scholarly professional and conference presentations. His research has been featured by NBC, New York Times, Chronicle of Higher Education, Huffington Post, Fortune Magazine, Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, San Francisco Chronicle, C-SPAN, and National Press Club. Dr. Wood has authored over 160 publications, including more than 70 peer-reviewed journal articles and 15 books. Dr. Wood is a former recipient of the Sally Casanova Pre-Doctoral Fellowshipfrom which he served as research fellow at the Stanford Institute for Higher Education Research (SIHER), Stanford University. Wood received his PhD in Educational Leadership & Policy Studies with an emphasis in Higher Education and master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Early Childhood Education from Arizona State University (ASU).
He also holds a master’s degree in Higher Education Leadership with a concentration in Student Affairs and a bachelor’s degree in Black History and Politics from California State University, Sacramento. Luke is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated.