Brave Voices in Education - The Podcast

"Man up is one of the most expensive pieces of advice we ever gave Black boys. It costs our souls so much."— Craig Aarons-Martin

Most people think Moonlight is a film about being gay. Host Craig Aarons-Martin — Black queer man, NAESP National Distinguished Principal, and proud Phi Beta Sigma — sat down with three D9 brothers to argue otherwise.

This episode uses Barry Jenkins' Oscar-winning film as a doorway into th...

What are men really carrying right now?

In Part 3 of What Men Carry, Craig Aarons-Martin sits down with two clinically credentialed social workers — Alan-Michael Chest, M.Ed., LMHC, SAC and Adrian White, LCSW, LCAS, CCS — for one of the most honest conversations we've had in this space.

We talk about what it costs a man to not know who he is. We talk about seeking love from people who were never meant to give it. We talk ...

What if the most powerful thing an educator can do is ask themselves: who hurt me?

Rodrick Johnson — founder of The Energized Educator, award-winning speaker, literacy coach, and author — joins Craig Aarons-Martin for a conversation that is equal parts healing, hilarious, and deeply honest.

Rodrick grew up in foster care navigating multiple households and multiple names. That journey became the lens through which he sees ...

What happens when a Black woman from Baltimore decides her city's children deserve better — and then actually builds it?

Chizarra Daishell is the Founding CEO and Executive Director of Puzzle Pieces Learning Academy, a community-rooted charter school opening in Baltimore County in 2026.

She joins Craig Aaron Martin for a conversation that's equal parts vision and grit.Chizarra breaks down the whole-child model behind Puzzle Pi...

What if mindfulness is not about escaping the world—

But surviving it with your humanity intact?

In this deeply moving episode of Brave Voices in Education, Craig Aarons-Martin sits with educator, SEL leader, and mindfulness advocate Lindsey Frank for a conversation on breath, belonging, embodied leadership, and the courage required to remain soft in hard times.

Together they explore:

✨ mindfulness as a daily practice🦋 the butt...

A student walks into class every day with no intention of engaging.

Until one lesson changes everything.

In this episode of Brave Voices in Education, Craig Aarons-Martin sits with Yolanda Hood, a veteran educator whose teaching transforms how students see themselves and their voice.

This conversation explores:

✨ creative expression as a teaching tool🔥 What it means to be a “beast of an educator.”🎬 using film (Misery) to...

What starts as a conversation about weighted blankets, travel, and friendship becomes something much deeper.

In this episode, I sit with Dr. Krista Leh for a soulful conversation about courage, curiosity, belonging, and what it means to stay human while leading in hard times.

We explore:

✨ kindness as leadership practice
🧠 curiosity as resistance
🤝 brave conversations, repair, and trust
🏫 reimagining social-emotional lear...

He worked in the Biden-Harris Administration.He helped shape how stories are told at the national level.

But his understanding of power started much earlier — with a poem that helped him finally feel seen.

In this episode of the Brave Voices in Education Podcast, Craig Aarons-Martin sits in conversation with Dr. Chauncey T. Alexander — poet, storyteller, and former U.S. Department of Education leader — about voice, ...

In this episode of the Brave Voices in Education Podcast, I sit with Ron Rapatalo for a deeply reflective conversation about authenticity, leadership, courage, and what it means to remain grounded in the public square.

This is a conversation about truth-telling, relational trust, and the kind of peace that can only come from being held by people who genuinely love you.

Together, we talk about:

✨ speaking truth to power while navigatin...

What does it require for a young person to walk into a room and believe they belong there?

In this layered and deeply human conversation, Craig Aarons-Martin sits with educator and mentor Amir Fralin, founder of Press Please, to explore the relationship between identity formation, grief, mentorship, and the often invisible architecture that shapes how young people navigate opportunity.

Amir’s work is grounded in the understandi...

What happens when humor becomes a bridge to belonging?

In this energizing episode of Brave Voices in Education, Craig Aarons-Martin sits down with viral TikTok creator and special education teacher Phillip Lindsay to explore how laughter, authenticity, and human connection can transform the classroom experience for both educators and students.

Phillip Lindsay has captivated millions online through skits that highlight the shared real...

How can professional learning move from compliance to transformation?

In this episode of Brave Voices in Education, Craig Aarons-Martin sits down with Dr. Michelle Singh, founder of LCT-E Learning Solutions, to explore how instructional coaching, reflective practice, and courageous leadership can transform school culture.

Together, they discuss:

• Designing professional learning experiences that empower educators
• Supporting teach...

What does it mean to keep teaching with heart in a time when educators are exhausted, under pressure, and often undervalued?

In this episode of Brave Voices in Education, Craig Aarons-Martin sits down with Dr. Natalie Odom-Pough — Presidential Award-winning math educator, professor, and founder of The Pough Review — to explore how gratitude, equity, and growth-centered practices can help sustain educators and transform s...

In this energizing and deeply affirming episode of Brave Voices in Education, Craig Aarons-Martin sits down with Kat “Lunch Lady” Crawford, CEO of How Might We, nationally recognized consultant, instructional designer, digital equity champion, and one of the boldest creative disruptors in education today.

Together, Craig and Kat explore what it means to embrace failure as part of the design process, honor the messiness o...

What does it mean to lead when the world feels unstable?

In this special PodcastThon episode of Brave Voices in Education, Craig Aarons-Martin reflects on the emotional and moral weight educators are carrying in this moment — from global conflict and economic pressure to the quiet trauma young people absorb through headlines, social media, and everyday uncertainty.

Through a powerful classroom story with seventh graders near Ch...

Naomi Winston, founder of The Creative Representation Empire (TCRE), joins Craig Aarons-Martin for a powerful conversation about representation, belonging, and building culturally grounded educational tools that help young people feel seen.

Naomi shares why she says, “We don’t make coloring books… we make spaces,” plus her frameworks “Sacred art, profitable business” and Pillars of Purpose &mdas...

Some conversations feel like a strategy session.
This one felt like legacy work.

In this episode of Brave Voices in Education, I sit down with my dear Brother and Mentor (in my head), Sharif El-Mekki — founder and CEO of the Center for Black Educator Development — for a powerful conversation on community, courage, political education, and the urgent need to rebuild the Black teacher pipeline.

Sharif is a Philly son, fo...

What if love wasn’t the reward at the end of the road…
but the foundation we build on from the start?

In this episode of Brave Voices in Education, I’m joined by Annie Paraison, founder and CEO of Love Before All — a movement rooted in wellness, embodiment, and the truth that love is a strategy for liberation.

We talk about what it means to listen to your body, stop normalizing harm, and lead from a place ...

Your child has rights.
Do they know them?

In this episode of Brave Voices in Education, Craig Aarons-Martin welcomes Alison Matulli, attorney, educator, First Amendment expert, and founder of The Little Lawyers, for a timely and deeply human conversation about student voice, civic education, and raising digital citizens in a complicated world.

Together, they explore how young people are learning about freedom through social media,...