Born in Kingston, Jamaica, RENEE O’CONNOR moved with her family to Miami when she was 6 years old, and later became a first-generation college graduate when she earned a degree in international affairs – and a minor in Black studies – from Florida State University. After a successful career in the hospitality industry, she started her own business and ran a dance company for five years before pivoting again after hearing former President Barack Obama speak about the state of public education in America. Her interest captured, she began doing research and discovered that the statistics, particularly for Black and brown kids in public school, were dismal. Soon after, she applied and was accepted to the Teach For America program and was placed at Miami Norland Senior High School 13 years ago. In October 2023 she traveled with the Community Justice Project to Geneva to testify before the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights at the United Nations during its review of the United States Human Rights contract. She spoke directly to the ICC on the ways in which she believes the state of Florida is infringing upon its citizens’ freedom of expression, in particular teachers who teach African American history.
