Speaking & Presentations
Dr. Rhema Stradford Dai, Ed.D.
Scholar-Practitioner | Educational Leader | Researcher | Author | Speaker
Developing People. Strengthening Schools. Inspiring Futures.
Schools flourish when leaders intentionally develop people. Dr. Rhema Dai brings scholarship and leadership experience into conversations about how schools become places where adults and children can learn, grow, and thrive.
About Dr. Dai
A scholar-practitioner in conversation with the field
Dr. Rhema Stradford Dai is a scholar-practitioner, educational leader, researcher, author, and speaker whose work connects instructional excellence, adult development, and organizational learning. Her experience includes school founding, principalship, assistant principalship, instructional and culture leadership, graduate teaching, and the preparation of educational leaders.
She earned her doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of Southern California and graduate degrees in Transformational School Leadership and Early Childhood Education from Bank Street College of Education. Her doctoral research examined the experiences of Black women lower-school principals in independent schools through Black Feminist Theory and Adult Constructive Developmental Theory.
Across her scholarship and practice, Dr. Dai explores how leaders grow, how they make meaning of their experiences, and how schools create the conditions for learning, belonging, and meaningful change.
Areas of Speaking
Speaking & Presentation Topics
Dr. Dai speaks from the lived reality of school leadership, bringing scholarly depth to the questions practitioners actually face.
Developing People as the Heart of Leadership
Explore why adult development is central to school leadership and how leaders create the conditions for sustained professional growth.
Instructional Leadership for Rigorous, Joyful Learning
Connect curriculum, assessment, and supervision with learning environments that cultivate intellectual challenge, curiosity, and joy.
Adult Development & Professional Learning
Design professional learning that recognizes how adults make meaning, respond to challenge, and develop their capacity over time.
Early Childhood Leadership
Examine leadership in the foundational years, with attention to developmentally responsive practice, belonging, language, identity, and family relationships.
School Culture & Belonging
Explore how trust, consistency, and mutual regard shape the daily experiences of children and adults within school communities.
Women in Educational Leadership
Examine authority, voice, identity, and professional growth, with particular attention to the experiences and leadership of Black women.
Constructivist Leadership
Consider how leaders support adults in constructing meaning, examining assumptions, and learning through reflection and dialogue.
Family-School Partnerships
Build reciprocal relationships that recognize families' knowledge and strengthen their participation in children's learning and school life.
Formats & Settings
From the Record
Selected Engagements
A representative record of recent presentations, invited talks, and scholarly engagement.
Third Annual CUNY Teaching and Learning Conference, The Graduate Center, City University of New York
Voice4Equity, When Women Lead Conference, Vancouver, Washington
Golden Key Academy / Golden Key International Honour Society
Bank Street Graduate School of Education Library Salon
From the Record
Selected Past Engagements
A record of recent presentations, invited talks, and scholarly engagement, drawn from verified engagements and presentations.
Reimagining Adult Learning: Holding Environments, Developmental Supervision and the Affective Foundations of Liberatory Teaching
Third Annual CUNY Teaching and Learning Conference, The Graduate Center, City University of New York
Examined developmental, relational, and justice-oriented supervision as a site of adult learning, agency, identity development, and institutional change.
Policy with Purpose: Creating Our Legacy of Justice Through Leadership
Voice4Equity, When Women Lead Conference, Vancouver, Washington
Presentation title to be announced
New York State Federation of Educational Associations Conference, Rutgers University, New Jersey
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Professional Fee
Speaking engagements and presentations are offered on a professional-fee basis. Fees reflect the scope, format, audience, preparation requirements, and length of the engagement. Travel and lodging for in-person engagements, when applicable, are arranged separately.