Episode 136 – Unstoppable Learning Experience Designer with Ashley Dunn

What is a “Learning Experience Designer”? Listen to our episode with Ashley Dunn and see. Ashley is a first-generation West-Indian American with parents from Grenada and the United Kingdom. She grew up in a world where many people were different than her. While her elementary school days did include more black people than white people, she had the opportunity to and chose to attend a high school primarily composed of white people. As she will tell you, she learned during that time how to be an advocate for herself as well as how to get along with people with different priorities and upbringings than she experienced.   After college Ashley began teaching where she further developed an amazing viewpoint that helped her work and live with a number of different kinds of people with a wide variety of identities many of which she had not observed before. Wait until you hear Ashley discuss the first day of hunting season while she was teaching at one particular school.   Today Ashley works as a Learning Experience Designer which is a job that permits her to help create a curriculum that is more understandable than many might think possible, especially in the tech industry where Ashley works. Also, Ashley owns her own side business, Nuggets Of Knowledge LLC. her business is an education consultation organization providing tutoring and college preparation for students of color in the DMV area.   About the Guest:     Ashley Dunn is a seasoned educator currently working in the tech space as a Learning Experience Designer. She is a first-generation West-Indian American with parents from Grenada and the United Kingdom. She lives in Maryland with her husband Sedar, who is Liberian American, and her son, Lucas. As parents they find it key to provide their son with a strong sense of his diasporic identity, pulling from his family's rich histories. The commitment to see people as they are, and provide a safe space for others to share their identities is the core of what Ashley is most passionate about.   Her academic experiences at Dickinson College (B.A.), Notre Dame of Maryland University (M.A.), and McDaniel College (PBACC) have been centered around Equity studies in the secondary school environment. In  February of 2020, she was a key-note speaker for the Dickinson College Education Department, and a professor intern in the McDaniel College Excellence in Equity graduate program.   Before moving into her current role in tech, she taught high school English for 9 years in private and public schools in the Washington DC area. Her classroom was complete with diverse authors and time invested in class discussions connecting students with a range of experiences. She then transitioned to a Curriculum Specialist role managing curriculum for grades 6-12 in the most diverse school district in the Washington, DC area. She enjoyed influencing the texts selected in classrooms, developing anti-racist teacher training, and ensuring equitable implementation of curricular resources. She managed the district reading intervention programs for students who were not yet reading on grade level. She loves learning and ensuring that learning is accessible and inclusive for learners.   Following the birth of her son, Lucas, she decided to curate her passions into a business empowering families similar to her own. She is the owner of Nuggets of Knowledge LLC, her education consultation business providing tutoring and college preparation for students of color in the DMV area. Nuggets of Knowledge content is a combination of her experience as a teacher and a parent educating her son at home. The knowledge of nuggets promote inclusive learning that can be directed at home by parents who do not have a background in education.   Ways to connect with Ashley:   LinkedIn:  www.linkedin.com/in/ashleywilliamsdunn   Website: https://www.nuggetsofknowledgellc.com/   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nuggetsofknowledgetutoring   Instagram: @TeachwithAshD   Google Business:  https://goo.gl/maps/qGUjgJ5FPasjJ7io7     About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.   Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children’s Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association’s 2012 Hero Dog Awards.   https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/   accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/       Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!   Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app.   Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.     Transcription Notes