Our mission.
Baltimore Transformative Learning Collective, also known as Bmore Transform, is a cooperative of abolitionist educators that is deeply committed to decolonizing Baltimore’s educational ecosystem. Our innovative, comprehensive school-based services are strategically designed to engage, support, and empower every stakeholder in the community. We facilitate programming that fosters meaningful connections and champions growth, equity, and learning throughout Baltimore City. Together, we envision and are striving towards an educational landscape that is inclusive, transformative, and reflective of the rich diversity of our city.
Our Worker-Partners
Brandon Rashad Butts
Brandon (he/him) is an artistic collaborator, book influencer, and producer based in Baltimore. He is manager of independent bookstore, Charm City Books. He’s directed, performed, written, and produced theatre in Baltimore, New York, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Most of his work stems from a dynamic, non-monolithic perspective of Blackness. Brandon has served as a Producing Fellow at Baltimore Center Stage, SDC Observer, and Directing Fellow at Manhattan Theatre Club. He’s contributed to Huffington Post Black Voices and been published in the 3Element Literary Review. Brandon also works as an interviewer speaking with authors and writers. He is a producer of “...But Make it Books”, a podcast where we are bookishly healing through life. When he’s not working, he’s catching up on reading, talking about food, or thinking about how amazing dogs are. He’s also always taking recs on pastry spots and record shops. Follow him on Instagram @b_rad.books. "The function of freedom is to free someone else."- Toni Morrison.
Gab Sussman
Gab (they/she) is an abolitionist educator and restorative justice practitioner. They were a classroom teacher for ten years, having taught early childhood, elementary, and middle school students.
Gab considers one of the most pivotal experiences in their professional career was in 2015 when they were trained by The National SEED Project to be a SEED (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity) leader. It was there that they gained a deeper understanding of how their identity and lived experiences as a multi-faceted person shape and impact how they move through the world. And, with the positionality and responsibility of being an educator, how critical it is to leverage their power in pursuit of equity in schools. With this training, she has facilitated over seventy meetings, workshops, and seminars with attendees of all ages and walks of life that center and explore the intersections of education, identity, and equity. This work has also allowed them to partner with many other constituents and groups of folx who are working to expand their leadership capacity and bring greater accountability to their school communities.
The Baltimore community is very important to Gab. They currently serve as a Commissioner on Baltimore City’s Commission for Women and as a Member of The GreenLight Fund’s Selection Advisory Council. It gives them joy to work alongside these passionate and diverse groups of people who care so deeply about their community, and to actively take part in making this city a more equitable and just place to live and thrive.
Gab holds a BA in Elementary Education from Loyola University Maryland, and an MSEd in Administration and Supervision from Fordham University. She lives joyfully near Patterson Park in Baltimore with their spouse, rabbit, and dog. While not collaborating with Victoria and working at Bmore Transform, Gab is also the Membership and Space Manager at Impact Hub Baltimore and the Community Engagement Coordinator for Beer & Ballet. During their downtime, they are most likely binge-watching a show, running errands at Costco, or volunteering at BARCS.
Leari-Jenee Jones
Leari-Jenee (she/they) is a program and curriculum curator. She is a former Teach For America Teacher and Venture for America Alumni with a background working with all ages of youth, building programs to increase impact and engagement.
Leari studied Criminal Justice as an undergrad with hopes of becoming an Attorney until her senior year where she learned about the school-to-prison pipeline and took Inside Out. Inside Out is a class that brings together 30 incarcerated and non-incarcerated students to discuss the impact and potential reform of the Criminal Justice system. During that class, the connections she made prompted her to explore further the impact that youth-facing programs have on marginalized students. It caused her to reflect on the programs that kept her on the right path, some of those being Girl Scouts, YMCA Sports, and after-school clubs. Since that class, she has vowed to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline by curating programs that diversify life outcomes for marginalized youth.
Youth innovation is one of Leari's passions with Baltimore Youth being at the forefront of that innovation. Since moving to Baltimore she has built programs and curricula for local nonprofits and organizations to support their youth engagement goals. She plans to further support Baltimore Youth through her work ith Baltimore Transformative Collective.
Leari holds a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice and is currently attending the University of Maryland - Baltimore for a Master of Science in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion leadership. She is a houseplant lover and can often be found roaming Baltimore's House Plant shops.
Victoria Lebrón
Victoria (she/her) is an abolitionist educator, academic tutor and grant writer. She has ten years of experience in the elementary classroom, has been tutoring elementary and middle school students for almost twenty years and started writing grants for educational and health programs in 2006.
In 2018 Victoria attended the National Diversity Practitioners Institute. This was the catalyst that prompted her devotion to fight for antiracism and abolition in education. The experience gave her an opportunity to understand her privilege as a white Latiné and set her on the path to using her voice to create change. It also helped her to understand herself through her various identities and communities. As a proud neurodivergent person, Victoria enjoys celebrating her community of creative, sensitive, and resourceful people.
Victoria is an ardent supporter of labor and people power. In 2020, she worked with a trusted group to organize independent school teachers and staff in a push to unionize their school. It was a compelling reminder of how a community can help us to realize our interests and use our voices to create change.
Victoria holds a Master of Arts in Elementary Inclusive Education from Teachers College. Along with her spouse, two kids, and one mini dachshund named Blueberry, she lives in Mount Washington. She loves challenges, like learning new skills, working through a 1,000 piece puzzle. Victoria takes pride in her Puerto Rican culture and heritage and is learning to speak Spanish with her children. While not collaborating with the Bmore Transform team, she can be found cooking up something in the kitchen, listening to podcasts, or spending time with her family.