Jeremiah J. Sims, Ph.D.Jeremiah J. Sims may not have seen it all, but he’s seen enough to know what hunger feels like and the ways that violence transmogrifies dreams into nightmares. A first-generation college student, born in Oakland and raised in Richmond, CA, Jeremiah experienced racism, especially in the form of low education expectations, food insecurity, and housing insecurity. He was also system-impacted. Jeremiah grew up in the East Bay Area and saw fratricidal violence, firsthand, both in and outside of his home. Like many poor Black and Brown students, he faced trying circumstances, but was able to eventually excel academically. He credits his Heavenly Father, his faith and his community for his academic success. Based on his own experiences. As a result of his own life experiences, Jeremiah has devoted his career to the pursuit and ultimate realization of educational equity for hyper-marginalized students. He is currently the Director of Equity for the College of San Mateo. and an alumni of the University of California, Berkeley where he earned a B.A. in rhetoric, with honors, as well as an M.A. and Ph.D. in education.
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Rachel Sims, M.A.Rachel Sims has over 15 years of experience in developing and directing equity-centered programs in the nonprofit world and in education. She was at the helm of a summer residential STEM program for under-resourced students of color for eight of those years and was instrumental in scaling it nationwide. Her passion is ensuring that heart intentions are preserved in policy and practice; that students' "self" is not compromised with outcomes in mind. While planning the path forward is one of her strengths, she is drawn to situations that necessitate walking by faith and breaking with tradition. In the past few years, Rachel has also been working with a group of artists and acting as liaison for students and communities of color in the creation of large-scale murals. Rachel is a Bay Area native and is raising five amazing boys with Jeremiah. She holds a bachelor’s in business management from UC Berkeley and a master’s in educational administration from San Francisco State University.
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Because love is an act of courage, not of fear, love is a commitment to others. ~Paolo Friere