Dr. Dawn Brooks-DeCosta (Founder)

Dawn Brooks DeCosta, EdD, is the deputy superintendent of Harlem Community School District Five in Harlem, New York City, where she leads the district’s Culturally Responsive and Affirming Social-Emotional Leadership and Learning framework. She is the former principal of Thurgood Marshall Academy Lower School, where she focused her leadership on cultural responsiveness, social-emotional learning, and academic achievement. Dawn began her service of teaching in 1994, worked as a teacher for New York City public schools in Harlem for 16 years, and served as principal for 11 years. Before that, she taught at St. Gabriel’s Catholic School in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York.

Dawn holds a bachelor’s in education from St. John’s University in Queens, New York City, and a master’s in art education from Queens College. She also holds a doctorate in education and a master’s in educational leadership from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Dawn’s awards and recognitions include Teacher of the Year 1998, the Heroes of Education Award 2002 for her work with students after the September 11, 2001, tragedy, and Outstanding Educator 2002. She is a 2015 Yale Institute Marvin Mauer Spotlight Award winner and a 2015 Cahn Fellow with Teachers College, Columbia University. Dawn’s dissertation, “Black Principal Perspectives on SEL and CRSL in Urban Schools: The Role of Beliefs, Values and Leadership Practices,” was completed in 2020. Her research has appeared in The Journal of Folklore and Education, Educator’s Voice, Voices in Urban Education, and Comparative Education. Her chapter, “Restoring the Village Through Radical Self-Care,” appeared in the book From Being Woke to Doing the Work in 2023.