WaziHanska Cook (he/him)

WaziHanska Cook has over 35 years experience as a teacher, administrator and leader in American Indian education. He retired as National Senior Managing Director of Teach For America's Native Alliance serving American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian students. Prior to joining staff at Teach For America, he was principal of Pine Ridge High School on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Cook has served as president and board member of the National Indian Education Association (2006-09 and 2014-2017) and board member of the South Dakota Education Association and South Dakota Indian Education Association and as a founding school board member on the American Indian Academy of Denver. In addition, WaziHanska served on the Technical Review Panel of the National Indian Education Study and was previously called to serve by President Obama on the National Advisory Council on Indian Education. 

Cook is the recipient of many teaching awards including Teacher of the Year at Little Wound, Lower Brule and Crow Creek Tribal Schools; South Dakota’s 2005 Milken National Educator; Crazy Horse Memorial/SD American Indian 2006 Teacher of the Year; and the National Indian Education Association 2006 Teacher of the Year. Additionally, Cook has been named one of Black Hills State University’s 125 Most Accomplished Alumni. 

An enrolled citizen of the Oglala Lakota Nation, Cook received his bachelor’s degree in secondary education from Black Hills State University and a master’s degree in education administration from Oglala Lakota College. He is married to Daphne Richards-Cook, and they have two sons.

Cook is retired and works as a contracted consultant with KMG Consulting Firm.

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Jubilee Otero Bravo (she/her)

Jubilee Otero Bravo is a 25-year-old trans woman and a native of Cali, Colombia whose journey through high school shaped her into a passionate advocate for transgender rights and education. Transitioning during her formative years, Jubilee understands firsthand the challenges faced by trans students navigating educational systems. Fueled by her own experiences, she has become a vocal advocate for awareness and inclusivity in schools.

A valued speaker in trainings across her school district, Jubilee shares her story to educate teachers, faculty, and students on the treatment of trans students. Through heartfelt discussions, she highlights the importance of empathy, understanding, and unwavering support for transgender youth. By weaving her personal journey into these sessions, Jubilee aims not only to educate but also foster empathy and acceptance among her peers.

After graduating high school, Jubilee’s work in advocacy on behalf of students continued, as she became a vocal advocate for the rights of transgender students at her college. Her advocacy has sparked meaningful conversations about gender diversity and inclusion in the university setting. Her willingness to share her story in academic settings demonstrates her dedication to creating a more understanding and accepting society for all.

Jubilee co-authored “7 Non-Negotiables for Supporting Trans & Nonbinary Students in Your Classroom” with Kabir Amari 

Jai Davis (they/them)

Born in Mobile, AL and raised in Atlanta, GA, one can say that the South raised me, but it could never accept me for who I am today. I grew up in the CHURCH, though there were no sermons explicitly saying, “being gay is a sin” this mentality and moral belief was taught and communicated through various methods.  The talk of sexuality, gender, or even how the body functions became nonexistent, these “talks” never existed because the Church was and continues to be afraid of the intersections that we ALL CARRY within us!  

I am a Scholar.  I am Black. I am Trans. Yet, I don’t fit absolutely into one category with also embracing the non-binary, multidimensional nature of life, the diversity that naturally exists within life with studying the seamless intersections of faith, transness and blackness. It took me a while to really sit with my own trans body. One of my favorite quotes by Gloria Anzaldua states the following “I must forsake “home”, comfort zones, both personal and cultural every day of my life to keep burgeoning into the tree of myself.” Gloria Anzaldua, speaks to the way in which they must break the binary of what they’ve been forced to live into. Forsaking homes is placed around the ideology of living beyond the binary, so that one can become their most authentic selves. Though home may seem like a foreign land, I am only a stranger to those who refuse to see me, the way God created me, as a Black, trans, and sacred being. #TransisHoly  

Jai is an alumnx of Tuskegee University (Tuskegee, AL), where they received a Bachelor of Education Degree in Elementary Education. In May 2020, they graduated with a Master of Divinity from Duke Divinity School at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. In May of 2023, they graduated from Candler School of Theology with a Master of Theology, where their thesis focused on Black Trans Narratives within the Black Church while asking, “Can the Black Church go back to being Trans?”

As the faith organizer for GA Equality, Jai received their first grant fellowship with the organization “Pride in the Pews” where their project focused on curating conversations that center on how faith-based communities can become inclusive spaces for the LGBTQIA+ community. Jai plans to continue their research by pursuing a PhD focusing on areas in religion, sexuality, and gender with an intersection of Queer Theory. In their free time, Jai enjoys reading, writing, cooking, hiking, and relaxing with those they love. Jai is a child, sibling, friend, and lover of all things.

Jack's impactful work has not gone unnoticed. They were featured on TLC’s “I Am Jazz” as an art activist, and the ACLU of Florida has highlighted their significant contributions to transgender activism. Their dedication was further acknowledged when they were nominated as one of South Florida Gay News’ “Out 50,” a prestigious list that honors openly LGBTQ+ individuals making a difference in South Florida. They were specifically recognized as “The Young Revolutionary,” a title that aptly reflects their innovative and impactful approach to activism.

They earned a bachelor's degree in Social Work with a minor in Nonprofit Management from the University of Central Florida in 2023. Currently, they are the Youth Engagement Organizer with Georgia Equality, where they facilitate education on LGBTQ+ youth acceptance and participate in coalition building for various issues affecting the well-being and healthy development of LGBTQ+ youth for both college-aged youth and students in K-12 school districts throughout Georgia.

Sam Obeid (she/her)

Sam(ira) Obeid is an internationally renowned spoken word poet and a reputed educator on systemic discrimination. A masculine, Indian lesbian raised Hindu on her mother’s side and Muslim on her father’s side, Sam moved to the U.S. in 2007 earning her second and third masters in Multimedia Journalism and Women’s & Gender Studies.

Formerly, Sam served as Program Director at Community Tampa Bay, a non-profit organization focused on justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion education for youth and adult audiences alike.

During her five year tenure with the organization, Sam executed multi-year contracts with Hillsborough, Pinellas, Sarasota, Polk, and Pasco school districts, specifically around the intersections of race, gender identity and sexual orientation. Each of these contracts included district assessment, curriculum development, administration, teacher and student training, and post-training evaluation. In this time, Sam also elevated existing summer youth programs by creating a catalog of year-round programming that provided high school students with the tools and the platforms to make their voices heard from local school board meetings to the State Capitol.

In collaboration with USF Professor Dr. Sarah Crawley, Sam gave her first TEDx Talk titled “We Are All Trans” using poetry, personal experience and queer theory to provide thoughtful perspective on why and how we perform gender the way we do. Her second TEDx Talk is titled “Boxes Are Square Not Round” and was given at Palm Harbor University High School in 2023. Sam was most recently published in an international anthology, The World That Belongs to Us: An Anthology of Queer Poetry from South Asia by Harper Collins India. Her poems The Journal and Pigtails have been featured on Button Poetry.

Sam has also featured at the Racial Justice Convening by the California Conference for Equality and Justice and in 2024, facilitated a workshop titled Why Are We Still Talking About Allyship at the Creating Change Conference in New Orleans. She was recently awarded the 2022 Charlie Hounchell Spirit of Service & Leadership Award by Equality Florida for her work as an activist in the Tampa Bay community.