Morris H Ervin, Jr. is an educator, entertainer, motivational speaker, and Youth Development Professional committed to helping the youth, families, communities, and institutions “turn fear into strength, and pain into passion.” Morris is the founder of Mansa Consulting and he has provided assemblies, workshops, mentoring programs, and leadership camps/retreats to thousands of students in over a dozen school districts across the country. The core of Morris’s philosophy is deeply rooted in Social Emotional Learning, Contemplative Education, and Restorative Practices.
Morris has spread his excitement, optimism, and passion to schools, churches, community centers, juvenile detention camps, colleges, and universities from the east to the west coast. Mansa Consulting has partnered with organizations such as FAMLI INC, Peace Over Violence, Making A Difference Consulting, and The California Conference for Equality and Justice providing Teen Summits that shape and empower our future leaders of tomorrow.
Morris is also partnering with the Karamu House and Thea Bowman center to integrate summer enrichment programming for the youth in Mt. Pleasant and the Fairfax neighborhoods. Morris currently speaks on issues of race, diversity and stress management for local, regional, and national schools, non-profits, corporations and universities and he actively teaches mindfulness trainings in schools and after-school programs to disenfranchised youth.
Julie has been teaching K-12 science in a variety of school settings—public, private, charter, urban, suburban, and even international—since 2008. Throughout this time, mindfulness practices have helped her reconnect with the intentions that support her work, continually revitalizing her relationship with teaching and learning. She has collaborated with colleagues to practice mindfulness with teachers through professional development workshops and presentations on the district, state, and national level. As a doctoral student in Boston College’s Curriculum and Instruction program, Julie is researching the impact of immigration policies on teaching and learning in distinct contexts of reception.
Andrew Jordan Nance is the founder of Mindful Arts San Francisco, whose mission is to provide volunteer mindfulness educators to teach at underserved San Francisco schools. Mr. Nance is also an author, having written Puppy Mind, Mindful Arts in the Classroom, and The Lion in Me. He is also an award-winning actor and director. For almost thirty years he taught performing arts to students from diverse backgrounds, and for eighteen years he was the Conservatory Director at San Francisco's New Conservatory Theatre Center. He is trained in Mindfulness primarily through Mindful Schools & Spirit Rock Retreat Center. He is on the board of directors of several other educational nonprofit organizations including Mindful Life Project in Richmond, California; San Francisco's New Conservatory Theater Center; and Arts Ed Matters, a California-based arts-integration organization. Mr.Nance lives in San Francisco.