H. Bernard Hall, PhD – Project Director

H. Bernard Hall, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Urban Teacher Education at Drexel University in the School of Education and Department of Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum. Social justice and equity are at the heart of the undergraduate and graduate courses he teaches in secondary English methods, foundations of education, educational leadership, and social action research methodologies. Dr. Hall runs the Hip-Hop (W)righting Workshop, a Hip Hop literacy program for middle school students in West Philadelphia. His scholarship on the intersections of Hip Hop Based Education (HHBE) and English education has been featured in Schooling Hip-Hop: Expanding Hip-Hop Based Education Across the Curriculum (2013) (Marc Lamont Hill and Emery Petchauer, Eds.), the first edited volume dedicated to HHBE. His forum essay in Research in the Teaching of English (2017) pushed English educators to reconceptualize Hip Hop culture and pedagogy as “deeper than rap.” His recent article (co-authored with institute K-12 educational specialist, Michele DeVirgilio, EdD), “’Yo, You Got Mad Skills!’ Using Hip-Hop to Cultivate Genius and Critical Literacy Skills in Middle Schoolers” (2022) was chosen to receive the 2023 Linda Rief Voices from the Middle award for outstanding publication written by classroom teachers and/or literacy coaches at the 2024 NCTE Annual Convention.

Kareem Edouard, PhD – Co-Director

Kareem Edouard, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Learning Technologies at Drexel University in the School of Education and Department of Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum. His teaching and research interests lie in understanding the intersectionality of race and culture and STEM for students of color. Through his work as Co-Director of the Hip Hop-makerspace, the ILLEST Lab (Informal Learning Linking Engineering, Science, and Technology), he captures the possibilities of so-called “informal” Hip Hop pedagogies and literacies to help educators cultivate culturally sustaining learning strategies that can be applied in formal educational contexts. Dr. Edouard’s expertise on culture, inclusion, and learning strategies has manifested in his role as creative producer for the PBS Kids’ television show, Work It Out Wombats. As Co-Director, he will curate the institute’s digital media content (website and social media), facilitate a number of sessions/professional development workshops, and support the Director’s management of programmatic aspects and day-to-day logistics.

Mariaeloisa Carambo, MAT

Mariaeloisa Carambo is the graduate research assistant dedicated to helping with the administration and planning of the institute. A former high school English and History teacher in Philadelphia for nine years, she will also contribute to the Institute as a K-12 educational specialist. Her teaching centered Hip Hop pedagogies to create learning spaces rooted in an ethic of love and joy. In her current role as a PhD student in Drexel’s School of Education, she is building a research agenda that explores how Hip Hop and abolitionist pedagogies function as acts of resistance.