THE POWER OF EDUCATORS: VOICES SHAPING AMERICA’S FUTURE – NONFICTION

CARESHIA MOORE, ESQ., is an author and the founder and principal consultant of Compete to Succeed Educational Resources, where she provides strategic guidance to for-profit and nonprofit organizations and focuses on systemic education reform through school redesign research and development. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education and her Juris Doctor from the University of Florida. She has more than 20 years of experience in leadership, advocacy, and program development, with a strong focus on creating equitable educational opportunities for historically marginalized communities. Her published works include Mikaela the Koala and Raising America: A Visual Celebration of Educators, and contributions to multiple publications.

Miami native CESARE TURNER is a versatile musician, educator, and conductor whose career bridges classical, pop, and jazz traditions. A graduate of Florida Memorial College, he earned his Bachelor of Arts in music performance, studying trumpet under the legendary Melton Mustafa. During his college years, he also performed in ensembles led by Latin Grammy-winning saxophonist Ed Calle. Shortly after graduation, he began his teaching journey in public schools and with the South Florida Youth Symphony (SFYS) - an organization that had once nurtured him as a young violist – and ultimately spent 13 seasons there as both a teacher and conductor. As a performer, he has shared stage, screen, and studio with world-class artists including John Legend, Rick Ross, Will.I.Am, Timbaland, Luis Fonsi, Luis Enrique, Arturo Sandoval, Nestor Torres, and others. He also played trumpet on Calle’s 2015 Latin Grammy album of the year, “Mamblue.” Today, Turner is a band and orchestra director at the historic Arthur & Polly Mays Conservatory of the Arts in Miami.

CHANTEL JIROCH is a photographer, creative director, and entrepreneur whose work captures authentic narratives and human connection. With a passion for storytelling and visual artistry, she uses her lens to amplify voices, highlight beauty in everyday people, and create imagery that tells a story.

DR. PRECIOUS SYMONETTE, Ed.D., is a 19-year veteran educator with Miami-Dade County Public Schools. This award-winning educator has been featured on NPR, is a TEDx Miami speaker, a Fulbright scholar, a National Geographic Grosvenor teacher fellow, and a Polar STEAM fellow. She is a poet and published author; her most recent work can be found in the books Dear Freedom Writer: Stories of Hardship and Hope from the Next Generation and Stories of Belonging: A Celebration. She is the founder and CEO of the Florida Freedom Writers Foundation, a youth-focused nonprofit dedicated promoting free expression both in written and verbal form and helping teens develop into global citizens. She is also an adjunct professor at Miami Dade College.

With a decade of experience, KEKE POWELL has taught students in Hawaii and Texas across grades 2 through 5. Currently, she teaches second grade at Sunfield Elementary School in Buda, Texas, where she fosters creativity, curiosity, and kindness in her classroom. She was honored with the Alliant Group Spark Award for Outstanding Elementary Science Teacher, recognized as an H-E-B in Excellence in Education Rising Star Finalist, and received the 2024 Literacy Fellowship Impact Award from The Leaders Readers Network.