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BranchOut!'s Annual Training Program 
2021

Welcome All BranchOut! Students

Welcome, all students to this year's BranchOut! Summer program!

 

On Saturday, June 12th, 2021, at 2:00-5:15 pm, we will be holding a training session for all mentors. We will discuss instruction, rules, and expectations for all summer options, including tutoring, the community role models project, the research project, BranchOut! Innovator, etc. Additionally, we are honored to have Ms. Kim Jackson attend and talk about their experiences and advice.

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Our training session will be held on Zoom. We look forward to seeing our members and BranchOut! supporters there!

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The Schedule for this year:

2:00-2:05pm                                       Welcome                                               Emcees

2:05-2:20pm                                  Opening speech                               Dr. Larry Bussey (NAACP                                                                                                                     Fairfax, FCPS Minority                                                                                                                           Student Achievement                                                                                                                             Oversight Committee

2:25-2:55pm                         The rise of Anti-Asian aggression           Dr. Wu, Co-Founder

                                                and what we should do about it

3:00-3:30pm                                      Training 1                                     Ms. Kim Jackson, a math                                                                                                                       teacher at Riverside High                                                                                                                       School, is Loudoun                                                                                                                                 County’s nominee for The                                                                                                                       Washington Post’s Teacher                                                                                                                     of the Year Award. The                                                                                                                           nominee for this award                                                                                                                         also is Loudoun County’s                                                                                                                       Teacher of the Year.  

3:30-3:55pm                          1. Student leader introduction                Junior leadership team

                                           2. How BranchOut! Operates (different      members

                                      functional groups + main team + HC team)

                                            3. Introduces our projects this year

                                                             4. Expectations

                                               5. Award ceremony in October                                   

                                                    a. Leadership awards

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3:55-4:10pm                                        Training 3:                                   Junior leadership team 

                                             Email/communication etiquette 

4:15-5:15pm                        Separate Project Team Meetings 

                                           Team meeting and team formation

                                          - getting to know your team leaders

                                                    and work schedules 

Speakers

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-Ms. Kim Jackson: 

Originally from western Pennsylvania, Ms. Jackson holds a BS in Food and Nutrition Science with a minor in Chemistry from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and two master’s degrees from the University of Pittsburgh – one in business and one in health administration. She spent 18 years in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry in sales, marketing, training, and management, where she lived in Baltimore, Atlanta, Chicago, Phoenix, and Washington, DC. Her pharmaceutical claim to fame is that she was the product manager for the first HIV/AIDS anti-retroviral drug, Norvir, to reduce viral load to undetectable levels. 

A mother of three children – one biological child and two children adopted from Russia and Ethiopia – Ms. Jackson “retired” from the high travel pharmaceutical life to become a math teacher. After 15 years of teaching middle and high school math from math 6 to AP Statistics, Ms. Jackson was chosen as both Riverside High School’s teacher of the year and Loudoun County Public Schools’ Washington Post teacher of the year. 

She is currently writing a doctoral dissertation on racial disparities in upper level high school math courses and how culturally responsive leadership may increase the participation rates of students of color in AP Statistics.

- Dr. Yuhsien Wu:

Dr. Yuhsien Wu co-founded Veritas Education, a non-profit organization that aims to promote proactivity, social responsibility, and deep thinking in students. She serves as board of director of Harvard Asian American Alumni Alliance (H4A) and has chaired H4A-DC Chapter since May of 2016. As an active community member, she was appointed by Ryan McElveen, former FCPS school board member, to serve on the Fairfax County Public Schools Career and Technical Education Advisory Committee in 2017 for two years.

 

Yuhsien is an author, speaker, social entrepreneur, and mentor. She obtained a master's degree in Education with a concentration in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard University and a Ph.D. in Business Administration from the University of Missouri. Her commitment to civic engagement led her to co-found BranchOut!, a youth community outreach leadership program, and served as a faculty member for the Massachusetts General Hospital’s Center for Cross-Cultural Student Emotional Wellness. 

 

Yuhsien has been a keynote and guest speaker covering international education, race relations in America, and mental wellness at conferences for Harvard and MIT communities, and other nonprofit and industry groups. Because of her work in public service, she appeared on Virginia Delegate Kenneth R. Plum’s TV program, Virginia Report, to discuss civic engagement.

 

At the beginning of the COVID- 19 pandemic, Yushien was invited to talk at Deutsche Bank regarding racial aggression targeting minority groups. Following this lecture, Fannie Mae, one of the largest financial institutions in the U.S, extended an invitation for her to speak about the rise of anti-Asian discrimination, where about 300 employees attended the talk, including its CEO Huge R. Frater.

 

Because of her community involvement and passion in education, Yuhsien was selected as Committee 100's Next Generation Leader in 2018.

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- Dr. Lawrence Bussey

Dr. Lawrence Bussey is currently Director of Organizational Turnaround Specialists, Inc. —a minority-owned education consulting and management firm. He retired from the U.S. Department of Education in 1997 after 34- years of distinguished service. During his tenure at the Department, Dr. Bussey served in several senior level and supervisory positions in research, statistics, data collection, civil rights and program development and evaluation. Dr. Bussey is recognized as a national expert on civil rights data collection and analysis. He served on the Federal Advisory Committee on the 1990 Census, National Advisory Committee on Limited English Proficient Students and chaired the Standards for Education and Data Collection and Review Committee for the National Center for Education Statistics. He also published several regulations, including the Education Research Grant Program and Research and Development Centers and Regional Laboratories. He was contributing writer for Standards for Education Data Collection and Reporting, in 1991 for the National Center for Education Statistics.  

Dr. Bussey was a teacher, department head and administrator in the New York City Board of Education from 1967 to 1971. His numerous awards and honors include Certificate of Appreciation for Service, Richard Riley, Secretary of Education; and Resolution Honoring Contributions to Minority Student Achievement, Fairfax County School Board. He received a proclamation declaring October 15, 2010 as Lawrence Bussey Day in Fairfax County. Dr. Bussey served as Co-founder of the National Committee on School Desegregation, co-chair of Minority Student Achievement Oversight Committee, board member of the Greater Reston Arts Council and chair of the Southgate Community Center Advisory Council. He served as 1st Vice President, Treasurer and chair for Legal Redress for the Fairfax NAACP. 

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