Featured Keynotes, Facilitators, Practitioners and Artist

Vera Naputi is a descendant of indigenous Chamorros from Guam, raised in California, and now resides in Madison, WI.  She is currently in a dual role at Madison East High School teaching AVID classes and serving as an instructional coach.  She is active in co-creating curriculum and instruction w/youth for shared power in learning and assessment. As a dedicated Hip-Hop educator, Vera takes the mentoring from some of the dopest hip hop scholars and operationalizes their theories by integrating artistic expression, academics, and activism across content areas in the classroom and community. As a rock climber, Vera consults on equity initiatives to help management teams of indoor climbing gyms  interrogate themselves and their practices around inclusivity and belonging.  Current projects include curriculum development with a student team for the book Love from the Vortex and The Peace Chronicles, by Dr. Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz, and co-facilitating a group called Students Unlearning Racism in an effort to develop racial literacy among young people. Publications range from a co-authored book of poems titled Delivered, an interlude in The Bloomsbury Handbook of Hip Hop Pedagogy, and NCTE articles. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Speech & Language Pathology and a Masters of Science in Education from the University of Utah, and 30 years of teaching in Salt Lake City, UT and Madison, WI.