G.+Group+Member+Biographies

Karlisa Smith
Born and raised in Gary, Indiana, Karlisa is currently employed by the public school system as an Educational Specialist where her primary responsibilities are assisting in the development of Individualized Education Plans, professional staff development, and overseeing the implementation of a pilot literacy program with special populations.After obtaining her undergraduate degree in elementary education at Howard University, she returned home to get experience teaching students with Learning Differences. She took great joy in this and was quite pleased to see her students go on to be successful in general education classes. She holds a Master's degree from Purdue University in school counseling and is currently pursuing a terminal degree in Education Management at Hampton University.

**Isreal Eady, III**
As a proud son, brother, husband, and Servant of Christ these special roles are the culmination of a life which commenced on August 3, 1974. I was born in Camilla, Georgia to two hard-working, intelligent, progressive, and self-determined educators. I became an hier to my parents’ values, which were imparted to them by their parents. Further, I was engulfed with high expectations to: excel in educational pursuits, exhibit strong work ethic, value the cohesiveness of family, and serve the Kingdom of God. These expectations were met through my interactions with my large immediate and extended family in Camilla. Further, these expectations were met through my participation and achievement in numerous church, school, and community activities. Eventually, these expectations were continued as our family journeyed to Griffin, Georgia after my sophomore year of high school. In Griffin, I continued a legacy of achievement in church, school, and community activities.

In 1992, I graduated from high school and sojourned to Alabama to attend Alabama A & M University on a band scholarship. This experience forced to exit my comfort zone and explore new personal and educational possibilities. At Alabama A & M, I gradually became engaged in a myriad of university, fraternal, and community activities. Subsequently, I graduated from Alabama A & M in 1996 with a Bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education. This milestone catalyzed a succession of scholastic achievements which included: Master’s degree in Educational Administration; Educational Specialist’s degree in Educational Administration; and graduate credit in History.

These academic degrees prepared me for a teaching career which has spanned 14 years. My teaching assignments have been in the cities of Selma and Tuscaloosa, Alabama. These assignments and experiences have been diverse and included: 7th-12th grade History, Civics, and Government teacher, Special Education teacher, Alternative Education teacher, adjunct.

**Stephanie M. Phillips **
Stephanie is currently serving as the Federal Relations Officer for Hampton University, (Hampton, VA). Based in the Washington D.C. area, she represents the university at meetings with federal agency officials and congressional staff. Phillips is responsible for identifying, analyzing, monitoring and the timely reporting of new and emerging federal funding opportunities. Prior to taking her current position she worked with the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities where she worked with various federal agency representatives while performing in-depth research such as analyzing federal agency contributions to HBCUs, assessing enrollment trends and summarizing new federal grant and contract opportunities available to HBCUs. She has experience across educational sectors, K-12, school social work, school counseling, drop-out prevention and higher education, education policy, federal and government relations, and college student programming and student affairs administration. Her research interests include equity and access in higher education, the role of context in education policy implementation, the impact of social and cultural context on college readiness, post high school educational transitions, the intersection of race, gender, and class on student achievement, and implications for institutional fit for African American undergraduate students. Stephanie earned Bachelor of Arts and Master of Science degrees in Social Work from Texas Southern University and University of Texas at Austin, respectively and is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Education Management at Hampton University.