Child Advocacy Nonprofit Welcomes Rev. Willie Bodrick, II as Keynote Speaker, Awards Former Boston Public Schools Teacher with “Rise Up for Equity” Award

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact:          

Lilia Melikechi
Communications Manager
Massachusetts Advocates for Children
lmelikechi@massadvocates.org
(617) 357-8431 x3232

Child Advocacy Nonprofit Welcomes Rev. Willie Bodrick, II as Keynote Speaker, Awards Former Boston Public Schools Teacher with “Rise Up for Equity” Award 

Boston-based child advocacy nonprofit Massachusetts Advocates for Children (MAC) will welcome Reverend Willie Bodrick, II, as the keynote speaker for their R.I.S.E. Up event on November 10th.

Bodrick, the Senior Pastor of the Historic Twelfth Baptist Church in Roxbury, currently serves as President and Chairperson of the Boston Network for Black Student Achievement (BNBSA) and as a member of the Boston Public Schools Opportunity and Achievement Gap Taskforce.

Rev. Bodrick will present Barbara Fields, former Boston Public Schools teacher and administrator and a founding member of the BNBSA, with the nonprofit’s inaugural “Rise Up for Equity” award. Bodrick calls Fields his “education grandmother”, a mentor and friend who oriented him to the Boston education advocacy landscape when he first arrived in the city.

“Rev. Bodrick and Ms. Fields have led the way in creating more equitable schools for all students. We can’t think of a more deserving recipient of our inaugural award, or a better person to present it to her,” said Kevin Murray, MAC’s Executive Director.

The new Rise Up for Equity Award is awarded to a Massachusetts education advocate whose work exemplifies MAC’s commitment to removing barriers to education and life opportunities for Massachusetts children and youth.

MAC’s R.I.S.E. Up event will celebrate the nonprofit group’s work during the COVID-19 “recovery” period in schools – centering inclusion, support, and equity for every student as they return to in-person learning and work to overcome widened opportunity gaps from the education disruptions of the last two years.

The event takes place online on November 10th at 6:30 PM. Tickets can be purchased at massadvocates.org/rise-up

 

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