Windows and Mirrors: How Education Creates Opportunity to See the Brilliance in All
Windows are stories about seeing others, while mirrors are stories about seeing ourselves. At the beginning of the school year (across our state and around the country), Ashanti Bryant will open his own “picture book” chronicling his personal learning journey. He will also share how education remains a transformational tool for experiencing the true possibility and potential of all children in all communities.
Bio: Ashanti Bryant serves as Senior Program Officer for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation in Grand Rapids. In this role, he supports the Foundation’s efforts to promote thriving children, working families and equitable communities.
A native of Detroit, Ashanti received a high-quality early childhood and public education that positioned him to break patterns in his family. A first generation graduate, Bryant holds a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education (Science and Mathematics) and a Master of Social Work degree in Policy, Planning and Administration from Western Michigan University. He also earned a Certificate of Advanced Study in Educational Administration from National-Louis University in Chicago.
Bryant has decades of experience as a teacher and school principal, in childcare settings, public & private schools. Most recently, Bryant served as the Director of Early Childhood Services at IFF, a nonprofit community development financial institution in Grand Rapids, Michigan. As Director, Bryant led policy and advocacy agendas at all levels of government as well as community engagement initiatives, real estate planning and development, finance and lending and early childhood research and needs assessments. Bryant also served as the Education Director at Amplify GR, where he cultivated initial strategy for ensuring all children in the target community had access to high-quality Pre-K to 12th-grade education. He’s also been an active and engaged Adjunct Instructor and Consultant, working in universities and alongside social service organizations throughout the Midwest.
Ashanti and his wife (also an educator) have 3 children and call the southeast side of GR their home.