About the Podcast
The spark for Struggle for Change was born organically after Traci Bonde (@tr_bo), Emily Hendricks (@eh48), and Valerie Sun (@MlleValSunshine) presented in Fall CUE's BOOM! session in October of 2019. After hearing each others' stories, they realized that educators' voices needed to be amplified and empowered, and so went to work designing this platform for teachers, educators, and students to share their struggles with change initiatives in the classroom, district and broader community.
The first podcast episode was published in February of 2020, before anyone imagined we would be in shelter-in-place around the nation due to COVID-19. This certainly has shifted education in and of itself, putting us in the midst of an enormous change initiative that cannot be ignored. Please join us on this journey.
If you are interested in sharing your own story, submit this form or send us an email.
Struggle for Change is produced by Completely Fresh Productions.
The Creators
Traci Bonde
In her 23+ years as an Instructional Technology Leader, Traci has specialized in moving organizations to the forefront of technology integration. Change Vision/Systems to access for students in poverty. Her expertise also includes building effective systems for districts and classrooms utilizing technology. Traci wants education leaders to be powerful by taking care of themselves & being disruptive in any way they can. Motorcycles, family, politics, yoga, hiking are some of her passions.
Emily Hendricks
Emily is an Apple Distinguished Educator, ed tech specialist, freelance post-production audio/video editor, web developer in-training and musician who cares deeply about empowering others through technology, by way of creativity. Our desire to learn stems from one curious thought.
Emily is currently an Academic Tech Specialist at Stanford Online High School and has held previous positions at several independent schools in the Bay Area, including: Associate Director of Technology, Technology Support Specialist and Digital Music/Video Production Teacher. She has also presented at Fall CUE, Spring CUE, ISTE, CTE Fall Institute, CA STEAM Symposium, AstroKnot Festival 2023, and, most recently, at Fall CUE 2023.
Follow Emily on Instagram (@soundteaching) and Twitter (@eh48) or visit her website to learn more.
Valerie Sun, Ed.D.
Valerie has been an educator since 2006 and is the coordinator of instructional technology in a southern California school district. She is the founder of EmpowerED Consulting and author of Navigating Dual Immersion: A Teacher's Companion for the School Year and Beyond. Growing up bilingual, she believes that all students should have the opportunity to learn a second language and is a strong advocate for dual-immersion programs. She supports teachers through mentorship and professional development. She presents her research regarding necessary supports for dual-immersion teachers and classroom best practices with educational technology integration at various national conferences, including CUE, ATDLE, NABE, and ACTFL.
Follow Valerie on Twitter (@MlleValSunShine) or visit her website to know more about her.