Briana Morales teaches 11th and 12th grade English at Gordon Bush Alternative Center in East St. Louis, Illinois. She empowers her students with competency-based education that allows students to work at their own pace to master content., Morales was honored as a 2021 National Council of Teachers of English Early Career Educator of Color and has shared both locally and nationally the journey her students have embarked on to turn pain into power through poetry. As a school board member for the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice, School District #428, she elevates voices of justice-impacted youth.  

Morales has been active in state-level diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and was most recently a champion of $300,000 in state funding to provide professional development to in-service educators around cultural responsiveness. She is deeply passionate about creating healing-centered spaces where students can feel seen, heard and be their authentic selves. Her nonprofit (Sister)Hood of Hope Inc. is dedicated to honoring brighter futures for girls of color everywhere by empowering them through the community of sisterhood. Morales believes in education as a tool that equips young people to become change agents in their community and have a fighting chance at the lives they deserve.  

Morales received her Bachelor of Arts in secondary English education at St. Ambrose University and a Master of Education in curriculum and instruction from American College of Education. She is currently a doctoral candidate in diversity and equity in education at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.