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Dr. Kenann McKenzie is the Director of the Generous Listening and Dialogue Center at Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University. She has worked for over two decades in the higher education sector as an academic counselor, researcher, lecturer, policy analyst and also as a high school administrator in Washington DC. Prior to her role at Tufts, she served as Director of the BU Wheelock Aspire Institute, which supports the preK-12 educational sector with professional development based in a social justice framework and community engagement. In addition, she taught research methods at BU Wheelock. At the Federal education level, she served as Executive Director for the National Board of Education Sciences in the US Department of Education.Dr. McKenzie has a BA in Africana Studies from Cornell University, an M.Ed. from the University of Virginia in Social Foundations of Education, and a Ph.D. in Politics and Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. In her civic life, she serves on the Beverly, Massachusetts School Committee and as VP III and education chair of the North Shore Branch of the NAACP. She founded the Aspiring Spirit Podcast in 2020, which she often co-hosts with husband, Andrew DeFranza. She is most proud of being a mother to amazing children who inspire her work every day.
