This is the second of a five-part series. Part One is here, Part Two is here, Part Three is here, and Part Four is here.
Anthony Dodd Sr.
Anthony Dodd Sr. is Assistant Superintendent of the Milwaukee County Community Reintegration Center, where he has championed continuous cognitive-thinking courses, relationship-building curricula, and evidence-based programming designed to change thinking, strengthen families, and reduce recidivism long-term. He has cultivated partnerships with community organizations such as My Way Out, Project Return, MATC, the Milwaukee Bucks, BankOn Greater Milwaukee, UniteWI and others to bring real-world opportunity inside the walls and ensure support continues when residents return home. He began his career there in 1999 as a correctional officer, earning a degree from UW-Parkside along the way.
Wilkistar Otieno
Wilkistar Otieno is an associate professor and department chair of industrial and manufacturing engineering at UW-Milwaukee. Her research interests include data analytics applied to manufacturing, sustainable manufacturing particularly remanufacturing, reliability engineering and overall systems optimization. She has a passion for engineering education and is a principal investigator of an NSF STEM grant and serves as a long-term faculty mentor for the UWM Wisconsin Alliance for Minority Participation, also an NSF grant. She serves on the INFORMS (Institute for Operations Research and Management Sciences ) DEI Subcommittee. She received the 2022 Tony Quinn Award from the Louis Stokes Midwest Regional Center of Excellence (LSMRCE), and the 2022 UW System Outstanding Women of Color in Education Award. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Moi University in Kenya, and two master’s degrees and a doctoral degree from the University of South Florida.
Clarence Crane
Clarence Crane is director of Student Success for the Appleton Area School District, where he leads districtwide efforts to strengthen student engagement, support systems, and academic success for students, staff, and families. With nearly 20 years of experience in public education, he has served in multiple district leadership roles, including Director of Pupil Services and Special Education for the Clintonville Public School District, overseeing comprehensive student services and instructional supports. Crane has a proven record of improving outcomes for students, particularly those who face systemic barriers, by building aligned student success structures and fostering environments where all learners can thrive. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Arkansas and a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Lakeland University near Sheboygan.
Shuntia Lucas
Shuntia Lucas is the first Black woman to attain the rank of Sergeant with the Dane County Sheriff’s Office, to which she was promoted in June 2025. She has been with the DCSO since 2018 and now supervises a team of 15 deputies at the Dane County Jail. She ran track for the University of Wisconsin, where she at several school records and remains one of the top all-time performers in several events; she still holds the third-fastest times in the indoor 60 and 200 meter dashes, and second-fastest in the 100 and 200 outdoors. She finished her undergraduate education in criminal justice at UW-Platteville and later earned a master’s degree from American InterContinental University.
Ezi Adesi
Ezi Adesi is the director of Omega School, which helps adults finish their high school education and earn a GED or HSED. He began his career at Omega School as a GED Instructor. After five years, Adesi became the director of adult basic education at Literacy Network, where he remained for six years. He moved on to more roles in education as an instructor with the Employment and Training Association and the Department of Corrections, dean of students at The Lincoln Academy, and a director and advisor at Lakeland University. He graduated from UW-Whitewater and earned a master’s degree at American Public University.
Ayodeji Ogunniyi
Ayodeji Ogunniyi is the director and principal of One City School, a public charter school in Madison. He came to One City after a career in education in the Chicago are, including teaching in Thornton Township and serving in administrative roles at the University of Chicago Charter School, North Lawndale College Prep High School, Intrinsic Schools and CICS Wrightwood Academy. He holds a bachelor’s degree in secondary education, a master’s in ethical leadership, and a master’s in instructional leadership from Concordia College in Chicago.
Who’d we miss? Who in your circle is doing the work? Email [email protected] so we can get started on next year’s list!
