James Miles worked as an educator in the New York City public schools for almost 20 years prior to moving to Seattle in 2016. Before joining the faculty of Seattle University as Assistant Professor, James served as the Chief Executive Officer of MENTOR Washington and the Executive Director of Arts Corps, prior to that.  Originally from Chicago, Miles has worked internationally as an artist and educator, and his work has been featured in magazines, books, on podcasts, in newspapers. Miles is a Mayoral Appointee to the Seattle Arts Commission, and on the advisory board of SXSW EDU. His acclaimed TedXTalk focuses on his mission is to narrow achievement gaps using the “arts as a tool to navigate the systems of educational inequity. Learn more about James at www.freshprofessor.com

Jason Rawls, EdD is known for his work with Black Star, a hip hop group composed of Mos Def and Talib Kweli, Dr. Rawls contributed production on “Brown Skin Lady” and “Yo, Yeah,” which placed him on the map among independent hip hop producers. As an Associate Professor of Instruction at The Patton College of Education at Ohio University, Dr. Rawls is now co-writing the first Hip-Hop Based Education program in a College of Education in the United States (H.O.P.E. Program). The program is a series of four courses rooted in Hip-Hop Based Education using both Culturally Relevant and Relational Pedagogy. 

John Robinson is a Creative Entrepreneur at the intersection of Music, Culture, Education, and technology. The South Bronx-born, Far Rock Queens & Central NJ raised MC John Robinson has built a career in music as both an artist and entrepreneur. J.R. Debuted with his crew Scienz Of Life in 1997 and since has released more than 25 albums (group, solo, and countless collaborations worldwide). Robinson’s extensive catalog still resonates worldwide, creating growing opportunities in the sync licensing industry placing his music on Television, Video Games, and other visual media platforms. As an Educator Robinson is rooted in Hip-Hop Based Education and Youth Culture Pedagogy which led to him co-authoring his “Youth Culture Power” and “How Can I Move the Crowd?” Books with Dr. Jason Rawls. The book is a #HipHopEd Guide to building teacher-student relationships and increasing student engagement. John Robinson has also presented at several prestigious HIP-HOP Education conferences and institutions including SXSW EDU, #HIPHOPED Conference @ Columbia University, Hip Hop Hacks at Carnegie Mellon, Can't Stop Hip Hop Conference at Harvard Graduate School of Education, and more. In addition, J.R. is a founding member of CodeScty a company that uses Music, Videos, Activities, Pop Culture, and more to teach underserved communities computer science concepts and how technology works. Let’s Build!