JUANITA KIRTON, PH.D.
You definitely want Dr. Juanita Kirton to have your back. Kirton is a compliance monitor for the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Bureau of Special Education, and she represents her state on the International Bullying Committee, the Diversity Summit and the Cultural and Linguistic Competence Initiative. While providing awareness of bullying against LGBTQ students and those with disabilities, her other concerns are students of color who are suspended and expelled from schools. And she couldn’t be more qualified. In addition to her B.A. in psychology, advanced degrees in special education and educational administration, and Ph.D. in developmental disabilities, Kirton obtained an M.F.A. in creative writing. An accomplished poet, she facilitates a New Jersey writers group, participates in the Women Reading Aloud workshop series, directs the QuillEssence Writing Collective and is a poetry editor for the Goddard College Clock House Literary Journal. Her other achievements are too numerous to list, but what you need to know next is she does it all on a motorcycle! Riding with the Lehigh Valley Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club, she’s the Road Captain. “When I walk into a school building, just my presence makes an impact and statement,” she tells GO. “Here comes Dr. Kirton: a black lesbian mother and motorcycle rider.” –SLO
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