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Biographical Information

Dr. Cole has served in the field of PreK-12 education as a teacher, special education coordinator, assistant principal, and principal to include schools in rural Michigan, inner-city Detroit, suburban Richmond, as well as internationally in Australia. Dr. Cole's most significant leadership role in public schools was serving as a principal of Ecoff Elementary School in Chesterfield County, Virginia. Joshua has also worked at the collegiate level as the Executive Director of Strategic Engagement in the School of Education at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) to help support schools that are historically marginalized throughout Virginia and the nation by leading professional learning opportunities focused on culturally responsive educational practices. He has also served as an adjunct professor and affiliate faculty at VCU teaching doctoral courses on Equity and Leadership. Currently, Dr. Cole is the Sr. Director of Equity and Inclusion at Waterford.org, a national educational not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing high-quality educational resources for children, families, communities, and partners to deliver excellence and equity for all learners. Additionally, he is the founder of A New Angle, an educational organization created to help equip and empower other educational leaders with tools and a new perspective on improving school culture. He is the author of The Character Club, a children's book focused on creating equity and inclusion in education through social emotional learning strategies for students and educators. He recently wrote, Clearing Your Road: A Parable of Educational Leadership for leaders to reach their full potential by becoming their authentic selves.He received his Bachelor’s in Elementary Education from Central Michigan University, his Masters in Administration from Wayne State University, and his Doctorate from Virginia Commonwealth University. His dissertation is a case study on Richmond Public Schools: Post-Court Mandated School Desegregation (1986-2006). Dr. Cole lives in Richmond, VA with his wife Heather, and our two sons, Silas and Levi. Silas has a rare genetic disorder (Wiedemann Steiner Syndrome), which adds an additional layer of experience and knowledge of what equity and inclusion means to him in education and indeed society.