Who is Dr. Brenda K. Williamson?
(Brenda, Bren, Ms. Brenda, Dr. BK, and Dr. Williamson)
If asked the question, “Who is Dr. Brenda K. Williamson?” The initial responses one may hear are “She’s a passionate educator who demands no less than the BEST from her students regardless of age and ends all correspondences with Knowledge is powerful!”. She reiterates, “to whom much is given much is required and why it is so important to give back for the betterment of our fellow human beings which must be done from the heart.” And, from the visions given by God, she’s a “mentor, encourager, motivator, and stretches one out of their comfort zone towards their greatest potentials”.
Let’s dive a little deeper in the life of Dr. Williamson who has been an educator for 36 years. After graduating from NC Central University with a BA in Elementary Education, she secured a position as a Kindergarten teacher where all her students were African American and ended her teaching career with Pre-K students whom she’s often referenced as “this class looks like the United Nations” (diverse). She has been facilitating culturally responsive practices way before it became key terms to articulate.
While attending required and optional professional development training where most facilitators were White and Brenda questioned, “Why weren’t there Black presenters?” So, her childhood memories came into play. “What are you going to do to change the situation?” Therefore, she started Brenda’s Educational Consultant Services (BECS) so Black educators could see and hear someone who looked like them who was knowledgeable of content and articulate it in a manner for application of best practices. The next step of her career lattice started teaching at Durham Technical Community College (DTCC) in the Adult Basic Education program where she relied on degree and elementary teaching experiences then transferred to the Early Childhood Education program where she got the representation of being “a hard but fair teacher”. During this time, she secured her master’s degree in Human Sciences (Thesis – Parenting Styles of African Americans with Preschool Age Children) and Doctor of Philosophy degree in Early Childhood Education (Dissertation – Early Childhood Practitioners’ Strategies for Working with Aggressive Children). Coinciding with obtaining her terminal degrees, she began her tenure at four-year institutions of higher education which were NC Central University, University of Mount Olive, Shaw University and Anderson University in the departments of Human Sciences and Education as assistant and associate professor where students heard quite often “Yes, they said in unison”.
Brenda has been blessed with a plethora of career opportunities which has expanded her experiences in addition to ones shared above where she conducted research at Frank Porter Graham on strategies to lessen aggressive challenging behaviors of children enrolled in Head Start programs, a contributor to the North Carolina Foundations for Early Learning and Development book (see page vii) along with being a consultant for Teaching Strategies traveling throughout the United States building both professional and personal friendships. In addition, she served on NCaeyc Board of Directors chair of Public Policy, NAEYC’s Higher Education Accreditation Peer Reviewer, Durham Technical Community College Early Childhood Education Advisory Committee and Durham Head Start School Readiness Committee.
God has brought multiple events full circle for Dr. Williamson through giving, to the County Outreach Ministry (food, STEM summer camp, Back-to-School), proctoring at local elementary school, providing food during Thanksgiving and Christmas for selected families, and donating along with delivering school supplies to “Dr. Williamson loves Pre-K teachers” recipients. It was important that she modeled what was reiterated to her students throughout the semester, “we are called to service through our actions”.
From childhood, her maternal grandmother Lottie Louise Barksdale Gunter instilled the importance of being still and listening to God as He guides one’s life. One visionary call to action God laid on Brenda’s heart was the focus on equitable work ensuring she leaves an impactful mark on lives of young and mature adults. The three action steps taken were, where she championed DTCC Early Childhood Education faculty to intentionally interweave equity cultural anti-bias practices into all coursework at county level and at the State level she started the NCaeyc Equity Circle in Education with phenomenal co-facilitators Dr. Valerie J. McMillan and Angela Wilson. After approximately after six months, additional co-facilitators were brought on and there were Margo Ford-Crosby, Kelly Green, Tammy Sneed, and Joanna Aquillar where the format has been a safe brave candid space for conversations on timely issues along with self-reflections for actionable changes for a better society at-large. In addition, the central focus of her presentations has centered around strategies/techniques to reduce/eliminate the suspension/expulsion of African American preschool age children which has presented at NAEYC and Smart Start.
Every morning as Brenda rises, she carves out time for morning devotion to commune with God through scripture readings and spiritual songs which are followed by reciting affirmations. Here are three of those daily affirmations (1) I expand in abundance, success, and love every day, as I inspire those around me to do the same, (2) I commit to living in my Zone of Genius now and forever, and (3) I commit to maximizing my money by expanding my mind.
Scripture~ . . . the ear of the wise seeketh knowledge. Proverbs 18:15
Knowledge is powerful towards being an agent of social justice change through ACTIONS living in your purposeful life using skills/talents bestowed upon you.
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