LEADERSHIP

The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Julia Gabor – Mindful Founder, kid-grit

Los Angeles, California

Julia is an award-winning educator and national speaker. She is the grateful co-founder of kid-grit. kid-grit supports students (PK-12) with curriculum and workshops and supports educators with evidence based professional development and coaching. Currently, kid-grit is expanding into corporate learning space in partnership with Academic Solutions Group.

In 2022, Julia won the certification from Women’s Business National Enterprise Council (WBENC). WBENC’s mission is to fuel economic growth globally by identifying, certifying, and facilitating the development of women-owned businesses. In 2014, she was awarded the Women Making a Difference by U.S. Senator of California Lou Correa for her contributions in youth programming in Orange County, CA. In 2013 Julia received the OSTI award from BOOST for her contribution to out-of-school time individuals by providing innovative approaches to support students, families and communities. She also was awarded the Honor and Educator award in 2012 from Cal State Fullerton.

Julia has spent the last 19 years working with esteemed organizations such as the LA-All Stars, the TGR Foundation and WRiTE BRAiN BOOKS. She sits on the board of directors for PCE Solutions, the LEAF Foundation and on a junior board for the Los Angles After School All Stars

In 2014- 2017, as Director of Education of WRiTE BRAiN BOOKS, Julia expanded and introduced the project-based literacy curriculum into education communities across the nation. In just three years, the company has landed in 45 states and over 55k students became published authors.

From 2006- 2014, Julia held several exciting positions at the TGR Foundation. She managed a mentor program for first-generation college students, attending private and liberal art universities. Julia developed specialized programs and activity-based curriculum in a variety of different educational areas. Julia also managed a national character education program called Tiger’s Action Plan (TAP). TAP served close to 10 million students from 2003-2009. TAP is a free youth development curriculum that focuses on leadership, goal setting, service learning and career exploration. Prior to joining TWF, Julia was a Coordinator for the After-School All-Stars in Los Angeles, where she taught a range of middle school enrichment classes- from personal leadership and sports classes to performance and visual art classes.

Julia designs, trains and facilitates workshops for educators, small businesses, mentor programs and students. She loves to create unique activity-based programs and implementation strategies for education communities that enhance student success and pushes students towards a productive and joyful future. Julia has been teaching/leading groups since she was a teenager working alongside her mother, who is a master acting teacher, and coach in the USA and Europe. Julia has served as a trainer/facilitator in disguised learning and cultural diversity throughout California.

Julia is a graduate of the State University of New York, Fredonia receiving her bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts. She received her Master’s in Educational Leadership from Antioch University in 2012.

We rise by lifting others.

Jeffrey L. Jordan, kid-grit Mindful Co-Founder

Jeffrey L. Jordan – Mindful Co-Founder, kid-grit

Bayonne/Jersey City, New Jersey

Jeffrey L. Jordan is a passionate social entrepreneur who has built several businesses, including a holistic health, wellness and life-coaching practice in New Jersey. His passion is centered on holistic youth development, mentoring and kinetic life coaching. His mission has been dedicated to a Mind, Body, Spirit approach to personal empowerment and life balance for adults, families and youth of all ages.

In addition to co-founding kid-grit, Jeffrey also serves as the Associate Director of Athletics at New Jersey City University and previously led Sportika Sports as their CEO during their start-up phase (2016-2018). Under his leadership, Sportika emerged as a leader in youth sports development facilities in the USA. With Jeffrey’s contributions, NJCU and Sportika developed similar holistic missions to provide a comprehensive ‘humanistic’ approach to developing young student-athletes. Jeffrey is committed to developing not only the physical skill of young athletes, but also their intellect, emotion, instinct and intuition. Jeffrey is committed to preparing young student/athletes to be well rounded, socially conscious, global thinking citizens, and to not only help them get into college, but to have them thrive once on campus, whether they are playing their sport or not.

Jeffrey served on the executive board of the MENtour in 2017 & 2018. The MENtour is a non-profit organization that provides social-emotional workshops and character development programs to middle school boys in Los Angeles, Ca. Over that 2-year span, Jeffrey was a part of a group of men who mentored over 500 middle school boys at the Lennox Middle School in South Central LA each year.

In 2005, Jeffrey founded the GoodWorx Foundation, a non-profit organization that provided mentoring & life-skills programs for children, young adults, and NCAA student-athletes. The GoodWorx Foundation partnered with the New Jersey Department of Education and provided service to over 1000 students over the course of 7 years. Concurrently, Jeffrey mentored and provided life-skills curriculum and support for over 750 student-athletes (all sports) on the University level through a partnership with the NCAA CHAMPS/LIFESKILLS initiative.

Jeffrey is a National speaker with a unique platform inspiring educators and youth program staff to look at a holistic approach to youth development. His mission is to inspire an awareness of the Mind, Body, & Spirit balance to student and staff programming.

Leadership is defined as authentic transformative energy that adds value to others.

Kevin Cashman

Katherine Bihr, Ed.D – Ed Strategy Jedi, kid-grit

Los Angeles, California

With over 30 years in education working in both K-12 public schools and the nonprofit sector, Dr. Bihr is the Co-Founder of Academic Solutions Group, an education consulting agency that provides strategy and coaching to school districts, administrators and educators worldwide. Dr. Bihr’s expertise ranges from program development and leadership to creating sustainable and equitable learning environments for youth, with a focus in serving students from high needs communities.

As the former Vice President of Programs and Education for Tiger Wood’s TGR Foundation, Bihr spent 16 years overseeing the personnel, programs and operations that led to the development of the TGR Learning Lab and the Earl Woods Scholar Program while managing a multi-million dollar budget. Through this work, she realized a critical component of long-term student success correlated directly to educator support and training. With this in mind, Bihr launched TGR EDU: Create, a professional learning program and TGR EDU: Explore, a digital platform designed for educators to use with students.

Prior to joining TGR Foundation, Bihr served as principal of Vista View Middle School in Fountain Valley, CA. She was the 2019 Chair of the STEM Funders Network, a national organization providing resources and professional learning to help teachers, parents and out-of-school providers better inspire and prepare youth in (STEM). She also serves on the board of directors for Project Tomorrow, which supports the innovative uses of science, math and technology resources in K-12 schools and communities; advises a variety of business leaders through an EdTech accelerator; and, provides coaching to non-profit leaders working in the sports and entertainment field. In addition, Dr. Bihr serves as adjunct faculty for the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California.

The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.

William Shakespeare

Michelle Piña – Dynamic Director of Partnerships and Outreach, kid-grit

Houston, Texas

Michelle’s education background began as a toddler accompanying her mom to college classes, helping set up her elementary classrooms, and eventually as a substitute teacher while her mom was a middle school principal. Time was also spent working with children as a Montessori and afterschool teacher and a children’s librarian. Michelle’s professional career launched as middle school teacher and quickly evolved into administrative roles. Her experiences include professional development coordinator, program evaluator, federal grant director, and out-of-school time program director for school districts. She has over 15 years of experience in leading and starting up self-funded OST programs for school districts and 25 years in education management. More recently, as a Consultant, Michelle has worked with out-of-school time organizations, technology companies and various non-profits in the areas of business development, strategic and sustainability planning, professional development, curriculum design and grant writing.

Michelle received a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Houston and a master’s degree in Secondary Education from the University of Tulsa. She completed post-graduate work for a Teaching English as a Second Language certificate at the University of Central Oklahoma, participated in a Business Fellowship for School Leaders at Rice University. Certifications include K-12 Principal in Texas.

A native Houstonian, Michelle spends time volunteering for different passions. She previously held Board positions with the Southeast Texas Afterschool Association and Texas Afterschool Association. She currently is a State Leader for the Young Survival Coalition, the only national organization that supports young breast cancer survivors diagnosed under the age of 40. Other volunteering involves fostering puppies through local Houston organizations. Ultimately, Michelle enjoys connecting people and organizations to ensure a great future for all.