Reggie Jackson is a nationally heralded independent scholar and much sought-after speaker, researcher, writer, and consultant to the media on race relations. He helps institutions and individuals understand how our country’s racial hierarchy developed historically, its impact on our lives today, and how we can realize America’s promise for all its citizens. Reggie shares seldom-told stories and data about the experiences of African-Americans and other peoples of color past and present.

Reggie has an amazing capacity to read, research, and absorb American history. He has a talent for synthesizing the material to make it compelling and meaningful for youth and adults from diverse racial/ethnic, socio-economic, and educational backgrounds.

Dr. Fran Kaplan has spent fifty-five years working against poverty and for social justice and peace locally, nationally, and internationally. She holds a Doctorate in Educational Leadership and a Master of Social Work degree in Community Organizing and Administration. Her work as an adult educator, social worker and community organizer has taken her into a variety of fields, including farmworker rights, women’s healthcare, child protection, parenting education, and public history. She has served as an executive, program, and training director. She is multilingual and an award-winning published author and filmmaker.

Fran is adept at uncovering and understanding the unique needs of organizations in order to custom design educational experiences that are relevant and engaging for them. She brings a deep understanding of socio-cultural dynamics and educational theory to her work.

In addition to her primary role booking programs and answering questions for NDP’s clients, Gail occasionally co-presents and facilitates NDP programs. She spent 8 years working in television and film in Los Angeles and the last 21 years as a high school film and media literacy teacher. She has taught middle school students to adults about the power of the media to mold ideas, shape public opinion and communicate messages. Gail has a strong interest in racial justice and LGBTQ rights and started a Kindness Movement at Franklin High School, where she currently works as a TV/Film Production Teacher. She is a past advisor for the Multicultural Club and Sexuality and Gender Equality Club. Gail’s BFA in Theater, BA in Communications, and MFA in Education support her goals of being a change agent in her school and community.

When NDP started offering facilitated dialogue programs, we recruited and trained a diverse group of impressively talented community members to facilitate small group discussions using the Caring Circle method. They have worked with us to deliver Deep Dive Dialogue programs to a wide range of clients, including school districts, churches, community-wide collaborations, and more. Their abilities to listen deeply, share authentically, and guide groups in the use of our structured process have been instrumental in the success of these programs.

The more we become familiar with the valuable perspectives and skills this group of individuals brings to the table, the more we have invited them to collaborate with us in a variety of ways: co-presenting with one of our Lead Trainers for large programs, presenting and leading discussions on their own for smaller programs, consulting with us on their areas of expertise, and more.

We look forward to posting bios for all of our NDP Facilitators in the near future.