Courtney Parker West

Degree(s)

In progress, Ph.D., Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis, University of Wisconsin–Madison; BA, English, Religion Studies, and Creative Writing, with minor in African American Studies, University of Iowa

Biography

Courtney Parker West is a Ph.D. student in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis who has spent the past 15 years working in public education, education non-profit, community and institutional organizing, and intersectional anti-racist DEI consulting in eastern North Carolina and across the nation. Courtney’s research interests include how educators of color create spaces of healing and spiritual practice to sustain health and wellness, particularly in light of the current political landscape. Additionally, she explores lessons learned, cautionary tales, and a sense of yearning in “Star Trek” as it pertains to racial realism, the power of speculative fiction as a liberatory tool, and the Black radical imagination when it comes to what’s possible for public education. Courtney seeks to leverage podcasting and intergenerational storytelling in community-based research and narrative inquiry to expand how we build bridges between and among community members and institutional agents pursuing policy changes that better reflect the dreams we foster around possibility.