Monday Keynote speaker: Dr. Victor Rios

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Dr. Victor Rios is Associate Dean of Social Sciences and Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He received his Ph.D. at the University of California Berkeley in 2005.  

Professor Rios has worked with local school districts to develop programs and curricula aimed at improving the quality of interactions between authority figures and youths. Using his personal experience of living on the streets, dropping out of school, and being incarcerated as a juvenile--along with his research findings--he has developed interventions for marginalized students aimed at promoting personal transformation and civic engagement. These programs have been implemented in Los Angeles, California (Watts), juvenile detention facilities, and alternative high schools. 

He is the author of six books including My Teacher Believes in Me: The Educator's Guide to At-Promise Students (2019), Street Life: Poverty, Gangs, and a Ph.D. (2011), Buscando Vida, Encontrando Exito: La Fuerza de La Cultura Latina en la Educacion (2016), and Human Targets: Schools, Police, and the Criminalization of Latino Youth (2017). 

Dr. Rios has been featured in the Chronicle of Higher Education, Ted Talks, the Oprah Winfrey Network, Primer Impacto, and National Public Radio. He has had the honor of meeting President Obama and advising his administration on gun violence and policing. His Ted Talk "Help for kids the education system ignores" has garnered over 1.4 Million views. He is the subject of the documentary film The Pushouts. 

Dr. Ruby Payne is the authority on working across economic classes to create sustainable communities where everyone can live well. An engaging and down-to-earth speaker, Payne translates abstract concepts into concrete strategies with a sense of humor that leaves audiences wanting more.  

After changing the conversation in education to focus on poverty, Payne's work has expanded into social services, criminal justice, healthcare, the workplace, and more.  Payne has written or coauthored more than a dozen books, including Bridges Out of Poverty with Philip DeVol and Terie Dreussi-Smith. Her seminal, award-winning work, A Framework for Understanding Poverty, has sold 1.8 million copies and continues to help individuals of all economic backgrounds achieve academic, professional, and personal success. 

Payne's efforts to fight poverty have achieved a global reach, and she has presented her work in Australia, China, Europe, India, North America, and Southeast Asia. Payne holds a Ph.D. from Loyola University Chicago, and she is the founder of aha! Process, a training and consulting firm that has been in business for more than 20 years.  

aha! Process has garnered several awards for its publications, and it continues to grow. Payne has also published books with Solution Tree Press and the Association for Middle-Level Education.