Join us for one of the largest, most comprehensive educational summits in the country. Each year, we aim to delve deep into the theme of equity while propelling teaching practices to the next level and emphasizing collective impact.
The 2025 IBE Education
Conference
Presented By Indiana University
July 17, 2025 at the Indiana Convention Center
2024 CONFERENCE THEME
Equity in Education: Elevating Teaching to the Next Level Through Collective Impact
In today’s educational landscape, fostering equity is not just a moral imperative but a fundamental necessity for societal progress. The 2024 Indiana Black Expo Education Conference aims to delve deep into the theme of equity while propelling teaching practices to the next level and emphasizing collective impact. This conference provides a platform for educators to explore innovative strategies and learn best practices that create a more equitable and impactful educational system.
Key Focus Areas:
Equity in Education: Understanding and addressing the systemic barriers to equity in education, including disparities in resources, access, and opportunities. Sessions will explore strategies for creating inclusive learning environments where all students have the support and resources they need to thrive.
Next-Level Teaching Practices: Exploring K-post secondary teaching methodologies, technologies, and pedagogical approaches that empower educators to meet the diverse needs of their students effectively. From personalized learning to project-based instruction, sessions will showcase practices that push teaching to new heights.
Collective Impact: Recognizing that achieving equity in education requires a collaborative effort, sessions will highlight the importance of collective impact. Educators will learn how to build partnerships with stakeholders across sectors, including parents, youth, community organizations, and policymakers, to drive meaningful change at scale.
Cultivating Empathy and Cultural Competence: Emphasizing the importance of empathy and cultural competence in promoting equity, sessions will provide educators with tools and strategies for building strong relationships with students from diverse backgrounds and creating culturally responsive learning environments.
Policy and Advocacy: Engaging educators in conversations about the role of policy and advocacy in advancing equity in education. The conference will explore how educators can advocate for policy changes at the local, state, and national levels to dismantle inequitable systems and ensure that all students have access to a high-quality education.
Through dynamic keynote presentations, interactive workshops, panel discussions, and networking opportunities, the conference aims to inspire and empower educators to champion equity in their schools and communities and take their teaching practices to the next level for sustainable collective impact.
2024 Keynote Speaker
Soledad O’Brien
Award-Winning Journalist, Entrepreneur and Host of the Weekly Syndicated Political Show Matter of Fact
Soledad O’Brien is an award-winning documentarian, journalist, speaker, author, and philanthropist, and founder of Soledad O’Brien Productions, a media production company dedicated to telling empowering and authentic stories on a range of social issues. She anchors and produces Matter of Fact with Soledad O’Brien, a Hearst political magazine program seen in 95% of the country. She is a correspondent for HBO Real Sports. was inducted into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of fame in May 2023.
Soledad has a national impact through her op-eds, social media, speeches and books, including her critically acclaimed memoir The Next Big Story and her 1.3 million Twitter followers. In 2011 she founded the PowHerful foundation, which has helped dozens of young women get to and through college and connects with thousands of others through regional mentoring conferences.
2024 Keynote Speaker
Dr. Kymyona Burk, Ed.D.
Dr. Kymyona Burk is the Senior Policy Fellow for Early Literacy at the Foundation for Excellence in Education (ExcelinEd). In this role, Dr. Burk supports states pursuing a comprehensive approach to K-3 reading policy by assisting state leaders in building new or improving existing K-3 reading policies, with a heavy focus on supporting successful policy implementation.
Dr. Burk currently serves as a member of the National Advisory Group for the Path Forward for Teacher Preparation and Licensure, the National Council on Teacher Quality’s Expert Advisory Panel, the Alabama Literacy Taskforce, and the Mississippi Reading Panel. She is featured in The Right to Read film and continues to lend her voice to broader national conversations, appearing in ABC’s coverage of America’s Reading Crisis and Amanpour and Company’s segment entitled Lessons Learned: Mississippi’s Success in Public Education.
2024 Title Sponsor
2024 Sponsors & Contributors
