I have been a servant leader in community-based and school-based education for over 20 years. I've served in several capacities in the Philadelphia Freedom Schools where I supervised the creation of and edited the Philadelphia Freedom Schools Pathways to a Stronger Future Curriculum Volumes I & II, which integrate literacy, numeracy, cultural democracy, social activism, and servant leadership.  In Philadelphia Freedom Schools, I also developed the Fannie Lou Hamer Trainers (high school) and the William Still Trainers (college) who organized and implemented the Philadelphia Freedom Schools Training that at its height, prepared 300 high school and college students to serve 1,000 elementary school students. I participated in the founding coalition of Sankofa Freedom Academy Charter School, the first public, K-12 freedom school in the country, and served as the first Servant Leadership Coordinator and Female Rites of Passage Facilitator.

 

I planned, prepared, fundraised and managed international service projects with high school students to Jamaica, The Dominican Republic, and The Gambia.

​

I earned a BA in History and Africana Studies from Rutgers University, a Masters in Social Work, and a doctorate in Urban Education from Temple University.  My research involves the cultivation of Servant Leadership among high school students of African ancestry. Presently, I am serving as a Manager for the POWER Up Program a new initiative of Big Brothers Big Sisters Independence wherein adult mentors are employed to provide mentorship to children in the 6th, 7th and 8th grades. 

​

My book titled Philadelphia Freedom Schools was released in 2016 and is begging to be followed up so watch out.  

​

I am married to the love of my life Kenneth Mickens and I am the third parent of Kendra Mickens, who is an awesome licensed social worker who makes me super proud.