This landmark, two-day conference at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center in Washington, D.C., convenes 25 of the nation’s most highly regarded thinkers examining the urban realities of suburban life.
Can’t attend in person? Join the keynotes and panels via live stream.
#SuburbanUrban | @JHUSafeSchools
Day One | November 29
9 a.m. | Welcome
Vice Provost for Research Denis Wirtz will welcome attendees and guests to the Hopkins Bloomberg Center, the university’s new home in the nation’s capital, followed by remarks from Hua-Yu Sebastian Cherng, vice dean for diversity, equity, and belonging at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development.
9:15 | Opening
Conference co-host L’Heureux Lewis-McCoy, associate professor in Sociology of Education at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, will kick off the discussion.
L’Heureux Lewis-McCoy
Associate Professor in the Sociology of Education in the Department of Applied Statistics, Social Science and Humanities
New York University Steinhardt
L’Heureux Lewis-McCoy
Associate Professor in the Sociology of Education in the Department of Applied Statistics, Social Science and Humanities
New York University Steinhardt
9:45 | Panel 1
“Troubling the Suburban/Urban Divide”
Moderated by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Distinguished Professor Odis Johnson Jr., the first panel will call upon experts in sociology and the history of education to examine the suburban context and its unique challenges to educational equity.
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James Earl Davis
Professor and the Bernard C. Watson Endowed Chair in Urban Education
Temple University
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Ansley Erickson
Associate Professor of History and Education Policy, Co-Director, Center on History & Education
Teachers College, Columbia University
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Karyn Lacy
Associate Professor of Sociology; Associate Professor of Afroamerican and African Studies
University of Michigan
James Earl Davis
Professor and the Bernard C. Watson Endowed Chair in Urban Education
Temple University
Ansley Erickson
Associate Professor of History and Education Policy, Co-Director, Center on History & Education
Teachers College, Columbia University
Karyn Lacy
Associate Professor of Sociology; Associate Professor of Afroamerican and African Studies
University of Michigan
11 a.m. | Lunch
While invited panelists break to confer, attendees will enjoy a complimentary lunch.
Noon | Keynote Address
After lunch, Dean Christopher Morphew will bring greetings from the Johns Hopkins School of Education and introduce Peggy G. Carr, Commissioner National Center for Education Statistics, who will deliver the conference’s Keynote Address.
1 p.m. | Panel 2
“World Café – Suburban D.C.”
Through a “world café” format moderated by conference co-host L’Heureux Lewis-McCoy, the second panel will engage three experts on opportunity in the D.C. metropolitan area and its neighboring suburban counties.
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Willow Lung-Amam
Associate Professor in Urban Studies and Planning, Director, Small Business Anti-Displacement Network
University of Maryland
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Willow Lung-Amam
Associate Professor in Urban Studies and Planning, Director, Small Business Anti-Displacement Network
University of Maryland
3 p.m. | Panel 3
“Suburban Housing as a Springboard for Educational Equity”
In the day’s third panel, experts will address the impact of housing insecurity on learning and student behavior—and possibilities for housing mobility opportunity—moderated by conference co-host Odis Johnson Jr.
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Kimberley Johnson
Affiliated Faculty, NYU Wagner; Professor of Social & Cultural Analysis, NYU College of Arts & Sciences
New York University
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Genevieve Siegel-Hawley
Professor, Educational Leadership
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Education
Kimberley Johnson
Affiliated Faculty, NYU Wagner; Professor of Social & Cultural Analysis, NYU College of Arts & Sciences
New York University
Genevieve Siegel-Hawley
Professor, Educational Leadership
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Education
5 p.m. | Welcome Reception
The reception, hosted by Dean Christopher Morphew, celebrates some of the nation’s top experts on issues of equity and educational opportunity.
Day Two | November 30
9 a.m. | Fireside Chat
After a welcome and recap by Johns Hopkins School of Education Dean Christopher Morphew, the second day of the conference kicks off with a conversation between two nationally recognized experts: Pulitzer Prize-nominated journalist Erica Green and 2023 AERA Outstanding Public Communication of Education Research Awardee Annette Campbell Anderson.
9:45 a.m. | Panel 4
“Poverty in the Promised Land”
National experts in sociology and education will discuss the interplay of families’ school and residential choices, demographic changes, and persistent inequality of “the new suburban poverty.” Moderated by L’Heureux Lewis-McCoy.
11 a.m. | Lunch
While invited panelists break to confer, attendees will enjoy a complimentary lunch.
Noon | Keynote Discussion: “Suburban School Changemakers”
Moderated by Sonya Douglass, founding director of the Black Education Research Center, this conversation engages the deep experience of leaders in higher education, foundation and state board administration—and one of the largest public school systems in the country.
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Sonya Douglass
Professor of Education Leadership, Founding Director, Black Education Research Collective; Co-Director, Urban Education Leaders Program (UELP)
Columbia University
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Sonya Douglass
Professor of Education Leadership, Founding Director, Black Education Research Collective; Co-Director, Urban Education Leaders Program (UELP)
Columbia University
1 p.m. | Panel 5
“Ethnicity and Educational Opportunity in the ‘Burbs”
Moderated by Odis Johnson Jr., this panel of experts in sociology, education, and policy will discuss the lingering issue of ethnicity and educational opportunity as it plays out in suburban America.
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Simone Ispa-Landa
Associate Professor, Sociology and Human Development and Social Policy
Northwestern University
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Gabriel Rodriguez
Assistant Professor, Education Policy, Organization and Leadership
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
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Simone Ispa-Landa
Associate Professor, Sociology and Human Development and Social Policy
Northwestern University
Gabriel Rodriguez
Assistant Professor, Education Policy, Organization and Leadership
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
3 p.m. | Panel 6
“The Future of Suburban Educational Opportunity”
Engaging the perspectives of leading scholars in urban and regional planning, education and criminal justice, and diversity and cultural processes, the event’s final panel will take a look forward to the possibilities on the urban fringe. Moderated by L’Heureux Lewis-McCoy.
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Natasha Warikoo
Lenore Stern Professor in the Social Sciences, Department of Sociology
Tufts University
Natasha Warikoo
Lenore Stern Professor in the Social Sciences, Department of Sociology
Tufts University
4:15 p.m. | Closing
After in-depth discussion and debate of some of the nation’s most pressing social issues, the convening draws to a close with remarks by conference co-host Odis Johnson, Jr.
Odis Johnson, Jr
Bloomberg Distinguished Professor
Johns Hopkins University
Executive Director
Johns Hopkins Center for Safe and Healthy Schools
Odis Johnson, Jr
Bloomberg Distinguished Professor
Johns Hopkins University
Executive Director
Johns Hopkins Center for Safe and Healthy Schools
The event is hosted by the Johns Hopkins School of Education’s Center for Safe and Healthy Schools and the New York University Steinhardt School’s Metro Center, and has been made possible by support from the Spencer Foundation.