Liz Kleinrock (she/her), an award-winning
educator and bestselling author, will speak on March 4, in Gannett Auditorium
at 5:30 PM. Liz is the guest speaker for the Education Studies Department’s 5th
Annual Colloquium.
She describes herself as a Korean-American
transracial adoptee, queer, Jewish woman. In 2018, she was honored with the
Teaching Tolerance Award for Excellence in Teaching, and the following year
delivered her TED Talk, "How to Teach Kids to Talk about Taboo
Topics." Her first book, Start
Here, Start Now: A Guide to Antibias and Antiracist Work in Your School
Community, was published in 2021. She collaborated with Joanna Ho, a New
York Times bestselling author, on a picture book that told her adoption story
titled Eyes That Weave the World’s Wonders. Most recently, Liz
released What Jewish Looks Like, a middle grade biography
collection celebrating the beauty and diversity of the Jewish community.
Beyond the classroom, Liz
consults with schools and organizations on equity, inclusion, and culturally
responsive practices. Her clients have included The North Face, The Jim Henson
Company, and the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center. She was named one
of the Top 100 Influential Jews by The Tel Aviv Institute in both 2022 and
2023. Liz currently lives and works
in Washington, DC, where she serves as a Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging in a K-12 school.
Her talk will focus on antiracist pedagogy and antibias
education at this particular political moment in the US.