The Exit Interview: A Podcast for Black Educators
Amidst all of the conversations about the recruitment of Black educators, where are the discussions about retention? The Exit Interview podcast was created to elevate the stories of Black educators who have been pushed out of the classroom, main or central office. The podcast asks guests to share their education journey, the "last straw" that made them decide to leave education, and, most importantly, what they are doing now that they have left the traditional education sphere.
Episodes
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 instructor watching Black students pay for a high school education they never actually received, to burning out at a wealthy PWI where parent...
Spoiler: it wasn't the escape she imagined. From navigating workplace dysfunction to rediscovering her worth, Kamye breaks...
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 Temple University, ch...
She's worn many names and even more hats: teacher, coach, doctoral student, and now nonprofit founder. In this episode, she gets raw about what it really means to show up fully in spaces that weren't built for you, including...
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 development, Kelly kept asking, "Who can fix this?"...
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 who couldn't leave home, and fighting for students ...
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 Reparations Ed, to unpack the quiet iso...
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 teachingcombining heart, structure, and intentionality. After being diagnosed with ADHD, Whitney redefined discipline a...
In this heartfelt and inspiring episode of The Exit Interview: A Podcast for Black Educators, Dr. Asia sits down with Dr. Franita Nita Ware, educator, author, and the brilliant mind behind Warm Demander Teachers. Together, they trace Dr. Wares unexpected journey from substitute teache...
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, Virginia, and beyondeach c...
From publish or perish to learn to liberate, Dr. Lance Bennett shares how he reimagined higher ed to serve actual people. We unpack the community care roots of his model (yes, the Black church is a blueprint), the role of therapy and mentorship in big career shifts, and why being well can mean picking Option B or C over the plan you wrote. Come for the origin story of The Peoples Institute for t...
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 to museum-based innovator, Aurelius shares how his early struggles with school shaped his radical approach to teaching...
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 Parkera former finance major turned math educator, tutor, and founder of All This Mathto explore his 20-year journey through classrooms, charter schools, and community spaces. Akil shares honest reflections on being pushed out of schools for challenging harmful...
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