Our Team

Leonard Medlock is an expert at designing culturally responsive technologies and experiences that address the needs of black and brown students. His experiences range from co-leading the design of four NYC public high schools, which in their fifth year have graduated hundreds of students from New York City’s most under-served neighborhoods, to managing the first ever pilot of Google Chromebooks and Khan Academy in the world.

Leonard was a founding team member of EdSurge, the foremost authority on education technology and entrepreneurship, where his thought leadership reached tens of thousands of teachers, administrators, entrepreneurs and investors. During his tenure, he also co-created and managed a service for selecting the right education technology, which was used by hundreds of schools and districts across the U.S. Throughout his career, Leonard has coached or advised dozens of K-12 leaders and social impact entrepreneurs through organizations such as the Stanford d.school, Camelback Ventures, and Cambiar Education, where he currently serves as General Manager. He hustles 5-9 as CEO of Playback Worldwide, a technology firm focused on helping student-athletes build life skills while excelling at sports.

Leonard has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Duke University and a M.Ed in Learning, Design and Technology from the Stanford Graduate School of Education.

Juliet Silveira is a multi-disciplinary artist, writer, educator and homeschooling mother. After graduating from Pratt Institute with a BFA in Painting, she worked for Bill Hodges gallery in New York City and went on to manage the office of Gunn Landscape Architecture. Her murals can be found in both the US and Brazil, and her figure paintings and drawings have been exhibited in galleries such as New York’s The Westbeth Gallery and The Painting Center. Juliet also uses portraiture as a means of giving art directly to her community. In her first year teaching at a public charter school, she presented a collection of more than 100 portraits as gifts to her first graduating class of students.

As a teacher, Juliet introduced the first choice-based arts program in her school’s network, and served as her school’s first Diversity, Equity and Inclusion team leader. Driven by an endless love for children and learning, Juliet helps community leaders, parents and educators recognize how history and bias impact the ways we teach and interact with children and how current cultural norms push us into unsustainable and unhealthy ways of living. With a passion for social justice, sustainability and self-directed education, her goal is to help adults find new ways to partner with children to create a more equitable world. Juliet is also an amatuer gardener and dedicated martial arts practitioner. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and their two daughters.

Dr. Veronica Benavides is an experienced educator, researcher, facilitator, change management strategist, and leadership development specialist. Veronica is driven by a commitment to her community and is an advocate for education as the practice of freedom. She works across international settings to improve outcomes for children, clients and communities through strengths-based strategies.

As the founder of Benavides Consulting, Veronica supports clients with systems change projects and capacity building initiatives. Her clients include Harvard University, The Gates Foundation, and Familias de Esperanza. Previously, Veronica served as the Executive Director of the Center on Culture, Race & Equity at Bank Street College where she partnered with educators, community members, and leaders to collaboratively shift beliefs, behaviors, and practices so that children of all backgrounds can thrive and realize their full potential. Veronica was also the Director of Leadership Development at the NYC Leadership Academy and a middle and high school teacher in New York City and Mexico City.

Veronica earned her doctorate in education leadership from Harvard University, and holds an M.S. in Teaching from Fordham University. She currently lives in Copenhagen with her curious son and supportive partner.

Dr. Brittany Erickson has spent the past 15 years intensely focused on understanding how learning happens. She has a reputation for designing provocative and impactful learning experiences, helping teams work collaboratively and nimbly, and supporting leaders to realize greater authenticity and impact in all they do. Britt began her career in education as a sixth-grade teacher in San Francisco, CA. To this day, transforming school and school systems remains her passion and she has led dozens of school design projects in the United States and abroad with a common goal of advancing equitable and bold outcomes. Outside of education, Britt supports leading companies in design, technology, healthcare and energy to craft strategy and implement practices to be more innovative, inclusive and effective.

Tamar Lawrence-Samuel consults for organizations, providing expertise in strategic planning, DEI, change management, social justice and other issues.

Tamar has led strategic development of integrated advocacy, communications, and policy campaigns in the areas of food security, climate change, tobacco control and access to water. She has also led organizational strategic planning, including integrated DEI and strategy for the long- and short-term.

Previously, as International Policy Director at Corporate Accountability, Tamar lead the policy analysis and strategic campaign development that guided Corporate Accountability's climate, food, tobacco, and water campaigns to challenge the life-threatening abuses of transnational corporations. In that capacity, Tamar represented the organization around the world: in the media, with civil society, and with governments. Tamar also represented the organization at United Nations bodies, including at the World Health Organization, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the United Nations Economic and Social Council. Tamar is an international human rights lawyer who previously advocated for the rights of deported people as a visiting scholar at Boston College, and promoted legislative reform and access to justice as a Judicial Affairs Officer at the United Nations mission in Haiti.

Tamar is licensed to practice law in the state of New York, holds a Juris Doctor from The George Washington University Law School, and received her bachelor's degree in political science from California State University, Chico.