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Mikal Anderson
Chief Executive Officer
Mikal Anderson is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Equity in Education – a national nonprofit organization focused on improving the academic, professional, and economic outcomes of people of color and those who are from low-income backgrounds. As a seasoned educational practitioner and consultant, he has witnessed and encountered first-hand the complex issues that perpetuate educational inequity and poverty within urban communities. He holds the knowledge of decades of national reforms aimed at improving the quality of teaching, increasing accountability for districts and schools, and creating more and better choices for families through the creation of new schools and investments in human capital. Despite all these efforts, success is only evident in pockets, and sustaining success has been challenging for high and low performing schools alike. Given such, Mikal created Equity in Education as a vehicle to provide holistic solutions, grounded in the ecosystem of experiences that lead to student learning and success, to combat educational inequity and poverty.
Prior to joining Equity in Education, Mikal led system-wide initiatives focusing on the acquisition, retention, and diversification of educator pipelines, which included talent development endeavors concentrating on the cultivation of new teachers and school administrators. He managed relationships between universities and K-12 institutions to enhance teacher preparation and community-based programs, and has guided partnerships between local educational agencies and the private sector in the areas of career and technical education and workforce development. Additionally, he supported and continues to work with educational organizations in the areas of strategic planning, talent acquisition and management, talent development, and the program evaluation processes; and he delivers professional development trainings covering the topics of race, equity, diversity and inclusion, cultural competence, culturally responsive pedagogy, and restorative practices.
During his tenure in New Orleans, Mikal served on the YouthForce NOLA Steering Committee where he worked collaboratively with systems leaders from Orleans Parish School Board and the Recovery School District to strategize and implement school redesign efforts related to career and technical education in alignment to Louisiana’s Jump Start Graduation Pathways. In addition, he consulted and thought partnered with leaders at the state-wide Recovery School District on strategies to revise the OneApp enrollment process; and make school selection procedures more inclusive of the diverse array of programs offered in New Orleans, rather than a system driven by entire schools as the units of selection. Mikal also led efforts with colleagues at the Recovery School District and national consultants to codify best practices in special education and generate a blueprint to ensure quality instruction and services for special needs populations in all New Orleans public schools. Prior to his work in New Orleans, he served in numerous instructional, cultural, and supervisory roles as an educational practitioner in the Philadelphia area.
Mikal is a second generation graduate of The Episcopal Academy located in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Sociology from the University of Pennsylvania, a Master of Education in Secondary Education from Temple University, a Certificate in Education Policy and Program Evaluation as well as an Executive Certificate in Nonprofit Management from the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University, and currently is a doctoral student in the Global Executive Doctor in Education program at the University of Southern California Rossier School of Education. Additionally, he has completed graduate studies in Special Education at Saint Joseph’s University and is a licensed trainer in the Restorative Practices model credentialed through the International Institute for Restorative Practices.
Clayton Platt
Vice President of Programs and Advancement
Clayton Platt, Vice President of Programs and Advancement, has long been committed to social justice and the need to provide open access to social capital to all who seek it and work hard to earn it. He has brought this passion and personal values to Equity in Education (EE) where he works closely with senior leadership and the board to create ambitious yet appropriate funding goals and the strategies to achieve them.
Clayton’s previous professional journey helped cultivate the broad range of skills, experiences and community that serve him most well in his capacity of master fundraiser for EE. After over twenty years in banking and wealth management, ending with twelve years at Smith Barney/Citigroup where his focus was on managing investment funds for small to mid-sized endowments and foundations, Clayton later traded personal success for significance and moved to the nonprofit sector. There he worked in fundraising leadership roles with various nonprofit organizations such as The Episcopal Academy (EA), the Philadelphia Zoo, and the Community Partnership School (CPS). Clayton was instrumental in helping to build scholarship funds at EA, and assisted the school with broadening its racial and socio-economic diversity. At the Philadelphia Zoo, his signature accomplishment was the conception, solicitation, and closing of a multi-million dollar gift that permitted free admission to thousands of Title I school children. While at CPS, his legacy was creating a scholarship fund that supports students, largely from the lowest income zip codes in Philadelphia, from their entry in pre-kindergarten through their graduation after the fifth grade.
More recently, Clayton has been deeply involved in executive coaching and organizational training (both facilitation and content development), with much of his work centered around brain-based coaching and training. He uses the understanding of neuroscience to help his clients reach their full potential around leadership and communication which empowers them to be proponents of diversity and inclusion. Among Clayton’s client organizations have been Cigna, Met Life, State Street, HSBC, eBay, Intuit, and Princeton University’s Graduate School where he developed and facilitated workshops for Ph.D. students around Grit, Resilience and the Growth Mindset.
Clayton is a graduate of Princeton University with a degree in Economics. Additionally, he earned his Certified Investment Management Analyst designation from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and is a Registered Life Planner through the Kinder Institute of Life Planning. Currently, he is undergoing studies for the Certificate in the Foundations of NeuroLeadership at the NeuroLeadership Institute, and is enrolled in the Mindfulness Meditation Teachers Certificate Program led by Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach. Clayton and his wife Pam live in Newtown Square, PA and have three adult children.
Dr. I. Augustus Durham
Instructional Design Lead
I. Augustus Durham, Ph.D. serves as the Instructional Design Lead at Equity in Education (EE) and is responsible for the content and curricula design of all programs. He completed his Master's and Doctorate degrees in English, as well as certificates in African and African American Studies, College Teaching, and Feminist Studies, at Duke University. In addition, he holds a Bachelor's degree in Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania and a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary. With work that spans the nineteenth to the twenty-first centuries, his primary interests include black studies, sound studies, film, performance studies, and American literature writ large, and most especially how they might be put in conversation with psychoanalysis or affect theory, broadly understood. He has published work in CAA Reviews, Black Camera: An International Film Journal, Palimpsest: A Journal on Women, Gender, and the Black International, and the Journal of Religion and Health. As a Fellow in the Department of English at the University of Maryland, College Park, he will further his research on melancholy and genius. Dr. Durham believes that all students have the potential to unlock their genius, and he is excited by the opportunity to support EE students and fellows on their academic journeys.
Akela Lacy
Communications Manager
Akela Lacy is the Communications Manager at Equity in Education. At the organization she leads all outreach and communications efforts and supports fundraising initiatives. Akela is also a Fellow at The Intercept in Washington, D.C. where she reports on political and immigration topics. Her previous experience includes her work with Politico where she produced the company's flagship newsletter, Playbook, and co-authored the afternoon newsletter, Playbook PM. Prior to that, she worked in non-profit international reporting at the Pulitzer Center. Akela graduated from the College of William and Mary with a B.A. in Sociology and Italian. She is originally from Philadelphia, and is a graduate of The Baldwin School. Her hobbies include international travel, distance running, and meditation.
Linda Randall
Program Coordinator and Administrative Assistant
Linda Randall serves as the Program Coordinator and Administrative Assistant for Equity in Education (EE). In her role, she coordinates logistics and provides technical support for all EE programs. Her previous experience includes working with media conglomerates such as Time Warner, Inc. as well as international and Wall Street-based law firms in various executive administrative capacities. Linda is strongly connected to the community and to initiatives that advance education and social justice. She supports numerous community-based organizations that focus on youth development and has spent a considerable amount of time volunteering both domestically and in Africa to uplift those living in poverty. In addition, she donates her time to mentoring both adolescents and adults on the topics of community development and economic empowerment. Linda attended the New York City College of Technology where she pursued a degree in Nursing.