After a 12-year tenure at the Education Law Center, Lowman takes the helm of the the small but vital organization which started placing volunteers in school libraries in 2003.

Plus, new appointments at New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia and the Associated Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired.

Plus, Mastery Schools, Delaware River Waterfront Corporation and seven other organizations welcomed new staff and board members in April.

Columnist Ami Patel Hopkins offers resources for educators and parents to continue to empower students and children to use their voices — as 17-year-old Darnella did — and to hold people accountable.

"To say we wear a lot of hats is almost putting it too lightly. We’re the middlemen, the sometimes unseen connective tissue that keep the wheels moving to connect supporters to our mission and keep the doors open," says columnist Valerie Johnson.

Local universities and schools offer open access teaching resources and frameworks for environmental sustainability and resilience, says columnist Eric Hartman.

It's time to bring back a Public Editor to hold media accountable for racism, bias and inequity, says Tauhid Chappell.

"Thinking globally requires wrestling with the way injustice and inequity stemming from historic exclusion and patterns of colonization is embedded in the very structures of every local place," says columnist Eric Hartman.

This part 1 of our column on leadership and professional growth makes note only of staff-level changes; part 2 is forthcoming and will mark appointments to boards.

"It’s tough to ask for help in the best of circumstances, and a global pandemic is certainly not the best of times," says Generocity columnist Valerie Johnson.