Over the past 20 years, I have collaborated with Glenda in a variety of roles. I coached her as a classroom teacher in the New York City public schools, as a teacher leader who invited other educators into her classroom, and as a mathematics coach/consultant. In each of these roles, Glenda was willing to continually learn and grow and her dedication to self- improvement was inspiring to those around her. She is a person of great passion and some of these passions were a driving force in her learning, commitment, and ability to inspire those around her.
One of Glenda's greatest passions is social justice and I have witnessed how she used this fire to advocate for her students and to teach them how to think, communicate, and advocate for themselves. Her teaching practice was so exceptional that I hosted a number of learning communities in her classroom where I brought other educators in to witness her in action. One comment made by a visiting teacher has always stuck with me--in awe, this teacher said, "how did you get your students to speak like this?" These were students of the disenfranchised and yet, in Glenda's classroom, they spoke with the belief that they mattered, that their ideas mattered and that they could communicate with anyone and be understood.
Glenda is that rare human being--she actually walks her talk! She is a person of enormous talent which she has used to inspire anyone who is fortunate enough to enter into her sphere. Glenda has exemplary communication skills; she knows when to listen, when to nurture, and when to challenge. She has mastered the art of feedback; she knows when and how to give it and has enough self-awareness to know when to be silent.
