The Impact of the Scholarly Practitioner Doctorate Developing Socially-Just Leaders to Make Equitable Change

Stephanie Smith Budhai, Ph.D. is an associate clinical professor at Drexel University School of Education's CPED award-winning Education Doctorate in Leadership and Management Program. Stephanie has spent over a decade supporting scholarly practitioners as they journey through their doctoral studies and has supervised dozens of EdD dissertations. Stephanie is the founding co-host of the Drexel EdD IMPACT podcast, which highlights alums who have leveraged their EdDs to lead socially justice practices in their professional fields. Stephanie is also on the CPED Online/Hybrid CIG leadership team and co-chairs the Culture and Climate Committee for the Society of Information Technology and Teacher Education. Stephanie has published myriad books and articles, most recently Culturally Responsive Teaching Online and In-Person: An Action Planner for Dynamic Equitable Learning Environments and Casting a Wider Net: Incorporating Black Feminist Theory to Support EdD Students' Epistemological Stance Development in Research Methods Courses.

Dr. Deanna Hill is Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Policy, Organization, and Leadership in the School of Education at Drexel University. She is the Director of the EdD in Educational Leadership and Management Program, and has also served as Director of the Master of Science in Higher Education Program and Coordinator of the Capstone in Higher Education and Global and International Education. Dr. Hill's research focuses on the role of law and policy in addressing issues of access, opportunity, and equity in PK-20 and professional education. Dr. Hill spent much of her career conducting and disseminating educational research in the field. She was Principal Technical Assistance Consultant at the American Institutes for Research in Washington, DC, where she served as Equity and Talent Development Coherence Lead for the federally-funded Center on Great Teachers and Leaders, co-lead on several educator effectiveness projects for the federally-funded Southeast Comprehensive Center, and director of the school choice sub-practice area. Also, Dr. Hill served as Senior Policy Analyst for West Wind Education Policy, Inc.; Research and Evaluation Specialist for the Georgia Department of Education; and adjunct researcher for both the RAND Corporation and the Center on Education Policy. Dr. Hill has published peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, technical reports, and white papers. Additionally, she has presented her work at national and international conferences. Dr. Hill earned a B.A. in Political Science, Certificate in African Studies, and J.D. (Law) at the University of Iowa. She earned her PhD in Education Policy Studies at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Hill is a licensed attorney and practiced law with a large firm in Austin, Texas, in the late 1990s.