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Meet Our Founders
Pastor Geremy L. Dixon
Lead Pastor, Center of Hope LA
Pastor Geremy has served as an associate and now Lead Pastor for over 20 years at Center of Hope LA in Inglewood, CA. Known for his approachable demeanor, and common sense approach to Kingdom living he has the unique ability to connect with individuals from all walks of life. Pastor Geremy’s particular blend of humor, inspiration and sound biblical grounding has opened doors for him to be a guest facilitator and a sought after speaker for churches, conferences, and conventions both nationally and internationally. Articulate, passionate, and driven; Geremy is one of the emerging voices proclaiming God’s desire to establish His Kingdom in the market place. Married to Adrienne Dixon, they have the joy of parenting four wonderful children, Kennedy, Micah, Roman and Jordyn.
Dr. Stefanie C. Baker
Executive Director of Schools,
HOPE ACADEMY
Dr. Stefanie C. Baker has over two decades of experience in educational leadership, strategic planning, and student-centered program development. She brings a proven ability to lead diverse teams, drive equitable outcomes, and build systems that elevate student success especially for historically underserved communities.
Stefanie currently serves as Coaching Coordinator at the University of California, Berkeley, where she collaborates with academic and community partners to expand coaching opportunities for K-12 school leaders, and provide K-12 leaders access to high-impact, equity-centered learning opportunities. Dr. Baker’s professional journey has included directing large-scale educational programs, managing large-scale operations, and leading national initiatives focused on academic equity, such as the 5Essentials project through the University of Chicago’s Urban Education Institute and the National Urban Alliance for Effective Education.
Stefanie’s leadership philosophy is grounded in inclusive excellence and data-driven strategy. She has directly managed teams of up to 25 professional staff and over 200 educators, developed and implemented performance evaluation systems, and overseen operations that span instructional design, compliance, and stakeholder engagement. Dr. Baker is especially proud of securing $400K in new contract work while serving as Executive Director of the National Urban Alliance—demonstrating both fiscal responsibility and mission alignment.
Stefanie’s overarching leadership goals include: 1) Elevating student learning, 2) Fostering inclusive peer support, 3) Advising institutional leaders, and 4) Designing professional development experiences that challenge educators to examine the systems and structures in which they lead to ensure equal-high-quality opportunities for all children, regardless of race, color, religion, age, income-level identity, or national origin. Dr. Baker’s deep commitment to educational equity, combined with a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis, positions her well to support strategic alignment with organization-wide goals that address existing and emerging student needs.
Dr. Baker is the proud mother of twin college-aged children; son Kevin and daughter Kendel, who she describes as her “Why”), who ensure daily that her decision-making and disposition are grounded in deep gratitude, intentional preparation and conscious humility.
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Meet Our Team
Augusta Mann
HOPE ACADEMY Senior Scholar
Touching The Spirit™
Augusta Mann is recognized for her Touching the Spirit literacy skills workshops, demonstration lessons, and programs in practical teaching models for underperforming students. Touching the Spirit teaching strategies are designed to accelerate learning for students who need to achieve multiple years’ growth in a short period of time. Her many years as a successful classroom teacher, literacy professional development specialist, and manager of district and university-based staff development centers has inspired her work and led to the design of her Touching the Spirit intensified accelerated teaching strategies. Augusta’s seminal work in exploring the role of culture in education reached an apex during the mid 1990s at San Francisco State University. Her position there was manager of the professional development programs of the Center for Applied Cultural Studies and Educational Achievement (CACSEA). It was at CACSEA, under the tutelage of the director, Dr. Wade Nobles, that she deepened her study of his work and that of other leading history and cultural scholars. This research led to the development of her Touching the Spirit set of principles and new culture-centered teaching strategies. These were introduced in CACSEA teacher workshops in the Bay Area and other California cities.
Dr.Nicole Joseph Russel
HOPE ACADEMY Senior Scholar
Nicole M. Joseph is an associate professor with tenure of mathematics education in the department of Teaching and Learning at Vanderbilt University. She directs the Joseph Mathematics Education Research Lab (JMEL), an intergenerational lab that focuses on training and mentoring its members on Black Feminist and intersectional epistemological orientations. Using critical perspectives, JMEL produces theoretical and methodological scholarship that challenges hegemonic notions of objectivity to emphasize more humanizing, empowering, and transformative research. Dr. Joseph’s research explores two lines of inquiry, (a) Black women and girls, their identity development, and their experiences in mathematics and (b) gendered anti-blackness, whiteness, white supremacy and how these systems of oppression shape Black girls’ learning, access, underrepresentation, and retention in mathematics across the pipeline. Her scholarship is published in top-tiered journals such as Educational Researcher, Review of Educational Research, Teachers College Record, Harvard Education Review, and the Journal of Negro Education. Her latest book with Harvard Education Press is called Making Black Girls Count in Math Education: A Black Feminist Vision of Transformative Teaching. She is also the founder and director of Black Girls Becoming Summer Research Institute, a two-week residential program at Vanderbilt for rising 7th and 8th grade Black girls focused on a holistic STEAM curriculum.
Aija Simmons
HOPE ACADEMY Senior Scholar
Aijeron (Aija) Simmons is a transformational education leader, expert facilitator, and coach. Aija specializes in designing learning experiences that leverage the unique identities of each participant, connecting them with the tools that will move them forward in their practice. Through coaching, inquiry, reflection, and adult SEL strategies Aija has supported administrators, teacher leaders, and equity centered professionals to create the conditions necessary for belonging and transformation. Aija currently serves as the Director of the UTK initiative in the 21st Century School Leadership Academy, providing professional learning for CA school leaders pursuing equity in the implementation of the state's universal transitional kindergarten policy. In 2022 Aija founded Artesian Well Coaching to provide a deeper level of partnership for leaders looking to focus inward as a strategy for enhancing their leadership. A speaker, writer, and avid reader. Aija’s writing has been published in, Inside our Schools Teachers on the Failure and Future of Education Reform by Harvard Education Publishing Group and she has been featured in Ed Leadership Magazine, Center for Teaching Quality reports, Visual Thinking Strategies Digital Newsletter, and an episode of Life Kit on National Public Radio.
Dr.LaGarrett J. King
HOPE ACADEMY Senior Scholar
LaGarrett J. King is an internationally recognized scholar of Black history education.
A former teacher in Texas and Georgia, King studies how Black history and race is taught and learned in schools and society. His research also examines critical theories of race, teacher education and curriculum history.
King’s extensive published work on these topics includes several edited or co-edited books, ranging from “Perspectives of Black Histories in Schools,” which brings together a diverse group of scholars to discuss how Black history is understood in K-12 education, to “We Be Lovin’ Black Children,” which shares strategies and activities for ensuring Black children are loved and safe, facilitating their cultural and academic excellence.
King is founding director of the Center for K-12 Black History and Racial Literacy Education at UB, which focuses on research and teacher professional development activities that seek to improve K-12 Black history education. The center also builds networks of people and organizations committed to Black history education, including through its signature Teaching Black History Conference, an annual event for educators interested in transformative and engaging ways to teach K-12 Black history in history and humanities courses.
