JUDGES Morell Jones
History Educator, Geffen Academy at UCLA. Morell Jones is a history educator at the Geffen Academy at UCLA. He is an alumnus of UCLA, where he received an undergraduate degree in history and received his master’s in education from Cal State San Marcos. Morell has served as an educator in the Greater Los Angeles area for over 20 years and has taught at both the elementary and secondary levels. Most recently, Morell stepped out of the classroom to become a student support/intervention specialist. The Geffen Academy is a university-affiliated, tuition-based school with a public mission to support and improve secondary education. The Academy is uniquely positioned between public and private school traditions, with the freedom to develop a fully research-based curriculum aimed at participating in the national conversation about modern education.
Ian Kumamoto
Writer, New York
Ian was born in Mexico City to a Chinese mother and a Mexican father before immigrating to Dallas, Texas. His words have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, VICE News and others. He is currently a lifestyle writer at Mic. Ian graduated from New York University and is currently pursuing a non-fiction MFA at Columbia. Ian’s writing covers everything that has to do with the lives and wellbeing of queer people and people of color, across themes of identity, mental health, representation, and community.
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