Vita

PUBLICATIONS

PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS

Donato, E., Donato-Sapp, H., and Sapp, J.  (2023).  Love, joy, and intimacy:  One family’s response to 550 days of lockdown – A poem in 3 voices.  In Dialogue/En Diálogo:  The Journal of the College of Education at California State University Dominguez Hills, CSU Open Journals, Vol. 1, No. 1, pgs. 58-70.

Helena and her two fathers co-created a poem in 3 voices that honors and remember their trauma-filled days of the COVID-19 pandemic.  The focus is on the “Praxis of Grief, Joy, and Healing” in this special themed issue of this peer-reviewed journal.  Where do we find ourselves in our changed reality?  How are joy, grief, and healing intertwined with the transformation that has taken place over the past COVID years?

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2023).  Invited artist for the cover of this academic journal.  In Dialogue/En Diálogo:  The Journal of the College of Education at California State University Dominguez Hills, CSU Open Journals, Vol. 1, No. 1, pgs. 1-97.

Helena was commissioned to do original art for the first cover on In Dialogue/En Diálogo:  The Journal of the College of Education at California State University Dominguez Hills.  Helena’s original art is used for the cover of this new academic journal and her art is throughout the publication.

Li, L., Donato-Sapp, H., Erevelles, N., Torres, L. E., and Waitoller, F.  (2021).  A kitchen-table talk against ableism:  Disability justice for collective liberation.  Equity and Excellence in Education Journal, Vol. 54, No. 4, pgs. 361-374.

Helena was an invited speaker alongside Equity & Excellence in Education editor Lingyu Li – a multilingual doctoral candidate in the Department of Rehabilitation Psychology and Special Education at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, Dr. Nirmala Erevelles – a Professor at The University of Alabama, Dr. Lisette E. Torres – a senior research associate and project coordinator at TERC, and Dr. Federico Waitoller – a Professor at the University of Chicago.  The five of them held a dialogue on disability justice that became a featured article in the prestigious peer-reviewed journal Equity and Excellence in Education. 

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2022).  “Brave and didn’t know it:  A 12-year-old decolonizes her elementary education.”  The Iowa Journal for the Social Studies, Vol. 30, No. 2, pgs. 6-90.

Using her positionality as a middle school student, 12-year-old Helena looks back on her elementary school assignments with a critical lens to decolonize her education.  Meticulously reflecting on what she was taught – and not taught – from kindergarten through fifth-grade, she looks at key assignments to show how a colonized education happened to her and how she grew into political consciousness and began to confront the lies she was being taught.  She offers advice to teachers for presenting students with a more equitable and decolonized curriculum in the lower grades.

• Donato-Sapp, H.  (2022).  The King of the missions:  4th-grade California history project on the missions in “Brave and didn’t know it:  A 12-year-old decolonizes her elementary education.”  The Iowa Journal for the Social Studies, Vol. 30, No. 2, pgs. 40-41.
• Donato-Sapp, H.  (2022).  Sir Francis Drake:  Explorer and hero or pirate and slave trader (4th-Grade) in “Brave and didn’t know it:  A 12-year-old decolonizes her elementary education.”  The Iowa Journal for the Social Studies, Vol. 30, No. 2, pgs. 42-43.
• Donato-Sapp, H.  (2022).  The raven, the salmon, and the fox:  A Native American fable in “Brave and didn’t know it:  A 12-year-old decolonizes her elementary education.”  The Iowa Journal for the Social Studies, Vol. 30, No. 2, pgs. 44-46.
• Donato-Sapp, H.  (2022).  The interesting narrative of the life of Lydia Equiano (5th-Grade) in “Brave and didn’t know it:  A 12-year-old decolonizes her elementary education.”  The Iowa Journal for the Social Studies, Vol. 30, No. 2, pgs. 47-53.
• Donato-Sapp, H.  (2022).  The story of Savannah by Savannah herself in “Brave and didn’t know it:  A 12-year-old decolonizes her elementary education.”  The Iowa Journal for the Social Studies, Vol. 30, No. 2, pgs. 54-57.
• Donato-Sapp, H.  (2022).  Encounter with Ponce de León (5th-Grade) in “Brave and didn’t know it:  A 12-year-old decolonizes her elementary education.”  The Iowa Journal for the Social Studies, Vol. 30, No. 2, pgs. 59-63.
• Donato-Sapp, H.  (2022).  The journal of Juan Ponce de León (5th-Grade) in “Brave and didn’t know it:  A 12-year-old decolonizes her elementary education.”  The Iowa Journal for the Social Studies, Vol. 30, No. 2, pgs. 64-90.

BOOK CHAPTERS

Donato-Sapp, H.  (in press).  How the outsider archetype in TV helped me negotiate years of bullying:  A teen tribute to friends from Stranger Things.  In Timothy Shary’s Teens on Screens in the 21st Century.  

As a child and teen who experienced years of social exclusion bullying during her elementary and middle school years, Helena writes about how her favorite show – Stranger Things – taught her about the power of the archetype of the outsider.  This awareness that she was an outsider gave her a place to put the pain of years of exclusion and, she believes, saved her from more years of pain.  In this chapter, Helena celebrates the power of the outsider - on screen and in life – as the ones who save the world.

Donato, E., Donato-Sapp, H. and Sapp, J.  (in press).  Supporting our children to navigate crisis repair:  A conversation of everyday bullying and how schools can fail us.  In Kenneth R. Roth, Felix Kumah-Abiwu, and Zachary S. Ritter’s Restorative Justice and Practice in US Education.  New York, NY:  Palgrave Macmillan.

This chapter is about a restorative justice attempt and failure.  It is about a family negotiating the disappointment of a school that failed their child.  Helena, 13, experiences horrendous bullying on her school campus at the hands of older boys.  Helena’s parents – professionals with rich, deep backgrounds in restorative justice – attempt to partner with the school and other families only to be met with disregard and silence.  The school’s administration believes it is fully implementing restorative justice, but it is performative in nature and only ends up raining down more violence on Helena.  How do parents negotiate the reality that their child is in an unsupportive environment?  How do families and schools get to a place of renewal, reimagining what safety is while maintaining a strong partnership?  Compelling elements of this chapter are the captured dialogue between parties, Helena’s extraordinary generosity in drafting letters to her peers who bullied her, and the family’s summarized tips to guide others in navigating the everyday crisis of bullying – especially when a school fails to maintain safety for all students.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (in press).  Dy5c41cu1i4:  What It Is Like To Have Dyscalculia.  In Cathery Yeh, Paulo Tan, and Katie Lewis’ Foundations, Resistance, and Futures – Reconceptualizing/Reimagining Disability in Mathematics Education.

Although power and privilege are embedded in all mathematics learning environments, the mathematics teaching of disabled students is dominated by decontextualized and individual cognitive theories of learning that do not expose the workings of racism, ableism, and intersecting forms of oppressions and injustices.  Too often conversations about disability in mathematics are regulated to special education and framed in ways which position students as deficient.  We understand disability as a cultural, historical, social, and political phenomenon that is interwoven and intersecting with other systems of power and oppression.  This edited volume explores how disability and ableism have been situated within the field of mathematics education, the ways in which students, families, educators, and teacher educators have disrupted ableist practices within mathematics classrooms and illustrate radical imaginings for alternatives.  Helena was invited to write and contribute an original poem for Section 3 of the book which invites contributors to radically dream, imagine and speculate mathematics education futures that highlight love, collective care, interdependence, mutual enrichment, and reciprocity within and beyond mathematics systems.  

Donato-Sapp, H.  (in review).  How Special Education Hurts Me.  In Amy L. Ferrell and Eric B. Claravall’s (Eds.) The Handbook of Critical Special Education.

Helena was invited to join a panel of scholars from around the nation to explore the possibilities of critical special education as a new field of study.  The editors seek to develop a collective understanding of what critical special education is from different perspectives and theoretical worldviews.  Helena was invited to write one of two prefaces to the handbook – one to be written by an expert scholar and hers to be written from the perspective of a student who would benefit from this new epistemological framework.  Helena will also write an epilogue to the book.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (in review).  “Interview with my first Black educator, Mr. Wooly Pierre.  In Amina Humphrey’s (Ed.) What’s goin’ on?:  Voices from the African Diaspora.  New York, NY:  Peter Lang Press.

This book addresses Black people and their experiences in the African Diaspora with the intersection of Critical Race Theory and Critical Media Literacy.  Helena’s chapter is an interview with her first Black male teacher – an interview she asked for to honor the experience – and delves into their shared Haitian ancestry and important issues in the experiences of Black educators and Black children surviving schooling.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (in press).  Brick-by-brick:  The building of a 14-year-old Black girl scholar.  In Esther O. Ohito, Sherry L. Deckman, August G. Smith, & Lućia Mock Munoz de Luna’s Thinking spatially geographically about Black girlhoods:  Researching the significance of space and (home) place and space in Black girls’ education. Published by AERA Books.

Helena first presented this book chapter as a conference paper in 2021 at The Black Girlhoods in Education Research Collective Conference.  Claiming multiple geographies - like Blackness, girlhood, disability, adoption, a two-dad family, and others - the author addresses how schooling sees her as multiple deficits instead of the multiple assets she claims to be herself.  Her claim, then, is that it is schooling that is deficit, not students.  The author fiercely confronts critics that continue to say she is not enough and shows how, brick-by-brick, she has built herself into a young Black scholar despite school’s deficit view of her.  In doing so, she reveals a model of how other children can use their voices to transform the multiple deficit ways that education looks at them.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2023).  Black feminism:  Helena Donato-Sapp, USA, 8th-grade feminist, and disability activist.  In Gayle Kimball’s Young global changemakers for a feminist future.  Chico, CA:  Equality=Press.

Young global changemakers for a feminist future is a book that delves deeply into feminist history, current feminist issues, and changemaker tactics and strategies.  Then the book invites fifteen young women from around the world to speak in their own voices about Black feminism, body image, safety, reproduction rights, ethnic feminism, education feminists, post-colonial feminists, and media and corporate changemakers.  Helena is featured as one of these amazing global changemakers and is the youngest author in this book.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2021).  Black girl magic is a glorious gift.  In Danielle Apugo, Lynnette Mawhinney, and Afiya M. Mbilishaka’s Strong black girls:  Patchwork stories of remembrance, resistance, and resilience in K-12 schooling (Eds.).  New York, NY:  Teachers College Press.

For this book, Helena surveyed the Black women in her life and asked them what it was that helped them through their K-12 schooling experiences.  She collected their wisdoms and pulled out the key phrases that spoke to her the most.  She also wanted to honor the powerful Black women that she has heard speak in the last few years and reflected back on the advice they’d given her in their speeches as well.  She has heard Lecia Brooks from The Southern Poverty Law Center speak several times.  She heard Dr. Angela Davis speak and wanted her words in this paper too.  She also reached back to history and included phrases from Ruby Bridges and Linda Brown because they are such important historical figures to her.  “I have been inspired to greatness by the children who came before me,” Helena says.  Some of the phrases, then, are from current women in her life, some from important activists today, and some from girls her age in history.  If a phrase is from a friend, she let it stand alone, but if it was from one of the well-known people then she put their phrase in italics and their name in parentheses because she had just learned about citations and plagiarism in 4th-grade.  “I turned all of these wisdoms into a Phrase Poem that offers advice to Black girls like me as they negotiate the often-hostile hallways of school.”

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2017).  What is it like to be in a gay family?  In Curry and Sage Kalmus’ (Eds.)  Queer families:  An LGBTQ+ true stories anthology.  Lanesborough, MA:  Qommunicate Publishers.

When Helena was 7-years-old her parents asked her some questions about what it was like to live in a two-dad family.   They wrote down her answers verbatim and sent an essay into some editors who were writing a book on queer families.  It got accepted and it was her first-ever official publication in a book.  She even got paid $15.00 for it.  When you get paid for your work it is called “public scholarship” and when you don’t get paid for your work it is called “academic scholarship.”  She was 8-years-old when it was published.

CURRICULUM

Donato-Sapp, H.  (in press).  The Anne Frank Journal.  Los Angeles, CA:  The Museum of Tolerance.

The Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles is an important Holocaust museum and each year 130,000 middle and high school students visit it.  The Museum currently has a major Anne Frank exhibit and has developed a curriculum for it.  Liebe Geft, the Director of the Museum, and Linda Blanshay, the Director of Education, know of Helena’s work and invited her to do the model for the Anne Frank Journal to show teachers and students a “best practice” piece.  Helena did a model for the whole journal and it is a 73-page interactive curriculum.  Helena’s “best practices” model will be the guide for tens-of-thousands of middle and high school students for years to come.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (in press).  Giving Essay in The Anne Frank Curriculum Guide.  Los Angeles, CA:  The Museum of Tolerance.

Anne Frank, in her famous essay titled “Give!” speaks to the great acts of kindness that each person can do daily.  In this lesson at The Museum of Tolerance, students are asked to read Anne’s essay and use it as a springboard to write their own essay on the power of giving.  Helena was invited to write an essay on giving that is imbedded into the guide as an example educators can show their own students on how to accomplish this task.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2023).  Phrase Poem:  A Youth Poet Laureate Curriculum by Poet-Activist Helena Donato-Sapp.  Long Beach, CA:  Billie Jean King Main Library.

Helena was asked to lead a teen session on poetry in her role as a participant in the inaugural Youth Poet Laureate Program at the Billie Jean King Main Library.  She developed and wrote a 24-page curriculum guide – the first of its kind for the library – on a favorite poetry form of hers called a phrase poem.  Helena shows the poetry form with several of her forms of activism – The Humans Who Feed Us PSA, Disability Justice, Feminism, and Black Girlhood.  Helena went on to be awarded the inaugural Youth Poet Laureate Poet Ambassador for the city of Long Beach for the 2023-2024 academic year.

MAGAZINES, POETRY, BLOGS, AND OTHER PUBLICATIONS

Metcalf, L. H., Dawson, K. V., and Bradley, J.  (in press).  No brain the same:  Fourteen neurodivergent activists shaping our future.  Watertown, MA:  Charlesbridge.

Helena has been invited to be one of fourteen youth featured in this new book.  Told in verse, this collection will celebrate the stories of inspiring neurodivergent young activists.  No brain the same is a companion to the award-winning 2020 title No voice too small:  Fourteen young Americans making history and its 2012 companion, No world too big:  Young people fighting for global climate change.  All three picture-books are poetry anthologies about young changemakers.

Hornak, Rebecca (Host).  (in press).  The Problem with Principals:  Implementation Science.  {Audio podcast}.  IHE/HBCU Community of Practice:  State Implementation and Scaling-Up Of Evidence-Based Practices.  The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Implementation science is the multi-disciplinary study of methods and strategies to promote the use of research findings in everyday practice to maximize outcomes.  There is a gap between what we know words and utilization of those practices in real world settings that denies certain groups intended benefits.  Research and practice have shown persistent inequities for students from historically and currently marginalized groups.  Helena was invited to speak to her experience with leadership in schools, specifically her experience with principals in regard to being a student with disabilities.  Are principals supportive or not supportive?

Saiz, L.  (2024).  Celebrating sisters in locs:  2024 calendar.  Self-published by LaShawn Saiz.  Lakewood, CA.

Helena was invited to be a part of this local Southern California calendar that celebrates Black women and their natural hair.  This is cited here because it is congruent with Helena’s scholarly work in Black girlhood.  It is of particular note that she has written about the politics of Black hair before, in New Moon Girls Magazine in 2021 when she interviewed Tamekia Swint, the founder of Styles4Kids, a non-profit that provides textured hair education, services, and resources that serve kids and families in the biracial, transracial adoptive, and foster care communities.

Waitoller, F. R. & Diem, S.  (Hosts).  (2023-2024).  Learning to Live Together.  {Podcast}.  Great Lakes Equity Center, Indianapolis, IN.  https://greatlakesequity.org/resource/learning-live-together-episode-one 

Learning to Live Together is a four-part podcast series about inclusion and school integration in the twenty-first century.  Across the four episodes, these scholars delve into the meanings, tensions, and practices of integration and inclusion in today’s context.  In this podcast series, Equity Fellows Dr. Sarah Diem, and Dr. Federico Waitoller, bring together their expertise in racial and socioeconomic integration, inclusion of students with disabilities, and their intersections with race to grapple with the following questions:  Are we still longing for racial integration and inclusion?  What does integration and conclusion mean to different stakeholders?  Are we still dreaming about the project of learning and learning to live together?  Is it still feasible? 

>Waitoller, F. R., Diem, S., Skelton, S. M., Chambers, T. V., Piazza, P., Donato-Sapp, H., Sapp, J., and Donato, S.  (September 2023).  Learning to Live Together:  Episode One.  {Podcast}.  Retrieved from https://greatlakesequity.org/resource/learning-live-together-episode-one

>Waitoller, F. R., Diem, S., Skelton, S. M., Chambers, T. V., Piazza, P., Donato-Sapp, H., Sapp, J., and Donato, S.  (September 2023).  Learning to Live Together:  Episode Two.  {Podcast}.  Retrieved from https://greatlakesequity.org/resource/learning-live-together-episode-two 

>Waitoller, F. R., Diem, S., Skelton, S. M., Chambers, T. V., Piazza, P., Donato-Sapp, H., Sapp, J., and Donato, S.  (September 2023).  Learning to Live Together:  Episode Three.  {Podcast}.  Retrieved from https://greatlakesequity.org/resource/learning-live-together-episode-three 

>Waitoller, F. R., Diem, S., Skelton, S. M., Chambers, T. V., Piazza, P., Donato-Sapp, H., Sapp, J., and Donato, S.  (August 2024).  Learning to Live Together:  Episode Four.  {Podcast}.  Retrieved from https://greatlakesequity.org/resource/learning-live-together-episode-four

    

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2023).  My two dads got married (acrylic paint on canvas; 10 ½ x 14).  2023 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Heritage Month Calendar and Cultural Guide.  The Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.  June 2, 2023.

Helena’s original painting was selected as the cover of the magazine for the 2023 LGBT Heritage Month Calendar and Cultural Guide.  The original piece of art was painted as an anniversary gift for her two fathers.  It was unveiled at Los Angeles City Hall and then the poster was gifted to Helena afterwards by the City of Los Angeles.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2023).  Youth Series:  Helena Lourdes Donato-Sapp.  Mission Magazine, Issue 9 on Identity, pgs. 144-145.

Mission Magazine is a global fashion magazine with a purpose-driven mission to raise awareness around global social causes such as human rights, peace and security, climate justice, STEM, gender, and youth issues.  Mission Magazine is not only about giving back, but it also aims to engage socially conscious people and companies through the lens of fashion to help those in need.  Helena was featured in this global fashion magazine by invitation and is a part of their series on young global changemakers.  She is the youngest changemaker featured in the issue.  Click here to see Helena’s feature.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2023).  An Ode to Ms. Takii.  National Education Association’s Leadership Summit.  San Francisco, CA, March 12, 2023.

Helena writes, “Hopefully everyone has a teacher who loved them deeply and was the turning-point educator in their lives.  I did.  I struggled through nearly all of elementary school as my family and I tried to navigate the world of learning disabilities.  But one teacher made a transformational difference in my life and this is an ode to her, my beloved 4th-grade teacher Ms. Takii.”  The National Education Association published this poem for the 2,000 conference participants at the Leadership Summit in San Francisco in March of 2023 where Helena was the invited plenary keynote speaker and participated in three different conference sessions on ableism and disability justice.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2023).  Public Service Announcement for The Humans Who Feed Us Campaign, a project of Justice For Migrant Women.  February 22, 2023.  

After being invited to attend the premier of The Humans Who Feed Us Campaign by founder Mónica Ramírez, Helena created this PSA to promote the work of this important campaign and support the work of Justice for Migrant Women.  Founder Mónica Ramírez said, “Helena is absolutely amazing…Great job on this wonderful video.”  See the PSA here.  

Donato, S., Donato-Sapp, H., and Sapp, J.  (January 4, 2023).  A conversation about everyday bullying and the schools that fail us:  How parents and caregivers can support their children to navigate crisis repair.  {Blog}

Helena and her two dads reflect about a horrific bullying experience that Helena had at the end of seventh grade.  The two dads help Helena negotiate hard conversations about repair and apology.  The blog was written by invitation of the School Crisis Recovery and Renewal Project.  It can be read here.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2023-2024).  Feminist Focus Blog Team, the Blog of Girls Learn International, a Program of the Feminist Majority Foundation, Los Angeles, CA.

Helena continues her work with the Feminist Majority Foundation’s Girls Learn International.  After a year of serving as one of the Blog Team Members, Helena has been elevated to a leadership position as Senior Blog Team Writer/Leader.  She is responsible for leading the Blog Team this year, training them on writing, editing their blog posts, and overall management of this global team.  So far in 2023, Helena has published the following blogs for The Feminist Focus:

• Donato-Sapp, H.  (2023, May 23).  Tita likes to say.  {Blog post}.  Retrieved from https://feministfocus.tumblr.com 
• Donato-Sapp, H.  (2023, February 24).  The voices of my school peers.  {Blog post}.  Retrieved from https://feministfocus.tumblr.com/post/710163729559502848/the-voices-of-my-school-peers 
• Donato-Sapp, H.  (2023, January 16).  The humans who feed us.  {Blog post}.  Retrieved from https://feministfocus.tumblr.com/post/709895968336855040/the-humans-who-feed-us 

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2022).  Commissioned art portfolio for the academic journal In Dialogue/En Diálogo:  The Journal of the College of Education at California State University Dominguez Hills.  Carson, CA.

Dr. Jen Stacy and Dr. Yesenia Fernández, founders and editors of In Dialogue/En Diálogo contacted Helena and commissioned her to create original art for this new academic journal.  They had seen Helena’s art in some family social media posts and loved it and wanted their new journal to have youth presence.  Artist-Activist Helena pulled all of the stops out for the commission, creating a robust 53-page portfolio, multiple cover ideas, individual art transparencies, and three custom Helenatica fonts.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2022-2023).  Feminist Focus Blog Team, the Blog of Girls Learn International, a Program of the Feminist Majority Foundation, Los Angeles, CA.

After a competitive global application process, Helena was chosen as one of six girls from around the world to be on The Feminist Focus Blog Team.  Girls Learn International empowers and educates middle and high school students to advocate for human rights, equality, and universal education in the United States and around the world.  Student-to-student, GLI is building a movement of informed advocates for universal girls’ education and a new generation of leaders and activists for social change.  Helena has published the following blogs in 2022 for The Feminist Focus: 

• Donato-Sapp, H.  (2022, December 1).  Have a very feminist holiday.  {Blog post}.  Retrieved from https://feministfocus.tumblr.com/post/704354375889567744/have-a-very-feminist-holiday 
• Donato-Sapp, H.  (2022, November 1).  Girls receive national STEM awards.  {Blog post}.  Retrieved from https://feministfocus.tumblr.com/post/701298580284227584/girls-receive-national-stem-awards 
• Donato-Sapp, H.  (2022, October 1).  Remembering – and honoring – the history of hatpin feminism.  {Blog post}.  Retrieved from https://feministfocus.tumblr.com/post/698127449076154368/remembering-and-honoring-the-history-of-hatpin 
• Donato-Sapp, H.  (2022, September 1).  Feminist Flakes.  {Blog post}.  Retrieved from https://feministfocus.tumblr.com/post/694665422792998912/feminist-flakes 

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2022).  Public service announcement for disability justice, a project of conversations for justice.  March 10, 2022.

Conversations for Justice is the name of the Girls Learn International chapter that Helena founded at her middle school.  Conversations for Justice was about young people tackling tough topics head-on.  Helena was proud that she founded this feminist club in her own school.  The culminating project for the first year was to create a PSA on an important topic to share with the school community.  Helena chose Disability Justice and you can view her PSA here.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (Fall 2021).  Vaccines then and now – right now!  New Moon Girl Magazine, Vol. 29, No. 1, p. 32.

Helena’s second article in New Moon Girl Magazine is about the history of vaccinations and it is a very timely piece.  She had to research and write about the history of epidemics and pandemics, when vaccinations first appeared, and their impact on the world and global health.  She interviewed nine girls from Australia, the Philippines, and the United States about their Coronavirus pandemic experiences.  It was important to Helena that she present a global view of the pandemic.  Read this piece here on page 32.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (Summer 2021).  Styles4Kidz with Tamekia Swint.  New Moon Girl Magazine, Vol. 28, No. 4, pgs. 34-35.

New Moon Girl Magazine is the original girl-created media.  Girl writers and artists from around the world contribute their creativity and content.  Helena applied to be a New Moon Girl Magazine reporter and was accepted!  Her first assignment was to interview Tamekia Swint, the founder of Styles4Kidz – a non-profit that provides textured hair education, services, and resources that serve kids and families in the biracial, transracial adoptive, and foster care communities.  This piece taught her about positionality because she wrote that she, too, is an adopted Black child with non-Black parents and hair is a really big deal in her family.  Positionality is when a researcher names their intersectional identities as it relates to what they are researching. (Link)

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2021).  Self-portrait in 5th-grade.  New Moon Girl Magazine, Vol. 28, No. 4, pg. 35.

The Editors at New Moon Girl Magazine asked Helena if she had a piece of original art that she might want to submit with her article on Styles4Kidz.  Helena is especially fond of self-portraiture and wanted to include her 5th-grade self-portrait.  She was excited to have a piece of art published in the magazine.  Read – and see – more about Helena’s love of self-portraiture here. 

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2021).  Public service announcement for anti-bullying.  Humanities class final, 6th-Grade.  June 9, 2021.

Helena is an anti-bullying activist because of her own bullying experiences during her K-8 experience.  She comes of age in this school project and lovingly names bullying as a critical issue to her own classmates in this 6th-grade video project.  View it here.  The Trevor Project wrote Helena and said, “On behalf of Team Trevor, we want to thank you for your hard work and activism – we appreciate you and we love this PSA!  Tremendous work!”  And Sameer Hinduja, the Co-Director of the Cyberbullying Research Center, wrote to Helena saying, “I honestly thought your PSA was great.  I’m really proud of you, and I’d say your video seemed like it was made by someone much older (that’s a compliment!).  Extremely well done and you talked about a lot of important issues, and I liked the ‘call to action’ to viewers so they could learn more and do more.  Way to go!”

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2019, December 26).  Women in science:  Learn about being a veterinarian, an interview with Dr. Margaret Wixson. {Blog post}.  Retrieved from https://kidsanimalstation.com/2019/12/26/women-in-science-learn-about-being-a-veterinarian-an-interview-with-dr-margaret-wixson/ 

Science has always been Helena’s favorite subject and she has always wanted to write a series of pieces about women in science.  She interviewed veterinarian Margo Wixson and it was fun because Dr. Wixson really told Helena as much gross stuff as possible about the ins-and-outs of being a veterinarian.  One thing that is very important about this piece is that it covers at length the process Helena went through before she interviewed someone.  She wanted to write out that process so that other girls can become scholars too. 

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2019).  Future me thanks you.  Original Poem Created for being named Poet of The National Institutes for Historically Underserved Students.  West Virginia University Parkersburg.  Invited Presenter, Parkersburg, WV, November 7-9, 2019.

Helena was invited to be the Conference Poet for The National Institutes for Historically-Underserved Students Think Tank in November 2019 and was asked to write an original poem reflecting the theme of “Rise Up.”  She wrote and delivered an original poem titled “Future Me Thanks You” and opened the conference with it on November 7th.  The purpose of the Institutes is to research and identify common barriers to educational equity and success for all historically-underserved students.  The Institutes published the poem and everyone went home with a beautiful copy of her work.  She has the honor of being the Conference Poet alongside Aaron Abeyta, who won the American Book Award for his collection of poetry, Colcha.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2018).  The hate of segregation and the love of integration [linocut, ink on paper]. Brown v. Board of Education Historical Site Museum, Topeka, KS.

When Helena was in 3rd-grade she found out there was an art competition at the Brown v. Board of Education Historical Site Museum in Topeka, Kansas.  It was for Kansas kids only, but she wrote them and asked if they’d take her art from California and they said yes.  Being bold is one of the Donato-Sapp family values and it worked!  Helena’s parents decided it was a good time for her to learn more about segregation and integration.  They bought a bunch of books that covered Brown v. Board of Education, Ruby Bridges, Sylvia Mendez, and the Mendez v. Westminster case in 1947.  The family read a book each night and talked about the stories and the histories.  After Helena learned all about it, an artist friend named Eric Leffler helped Helena imagine and produce two linocut pieces of art – one that represented segregation and one that represented integration.  Helena sent them in to the Living the Dream 2018 Student Art Contest.  She didn’t win, but one of her pieces was chosen by Kansas Muralist Michael Toombs to be a part of the Brown v. Board Mural Project and now her art is a part of the permanent exhibit at this important museum.  This was her second piece of art in a national museum collection.  She was 8-years-old.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2015).  Mango [watercolor on paper].  Seen + Heard:  Arts, sciences, philosophy, and other works by children, Chicago, IL.

When Helena was in kindergarten, she painted a picture of a mango.  It was the art class assignment so everyone did the same art piece.  Helena’s parents post her art on their social media accounts and a colleague of her dad’s suggested that some of Helena’s art be entered into a children’s exhibit.  Helena’s Mango (Mango 2015, watercolor on paper) was selected to be in the 2016 Seen + Heard Treats Exhibition in Chicago.  The family flew to Chicago and Helena was at the opening and was interviewed.  After the exhibit the artists were contacted to see if they would consider donating their art piece to the Seen + Heard permanent collection.  Helena donated hers and it is currently on exhibit at DePaul University.  She was 7-years-old and her first piece of art had been curated into a national collection.  This was her very first piece of scholarship.

CONFERENCES AND PRESENTATIONS

INTERNATIONAL

Donato-Sapp, H.  (June 17-20, 2024).  How I Built Myself Into A 14-Year-Old Black Girl Scholar Brick-By-Brick.  20th International Gender and Education Association Conference.  Charles Sturt University, Port Macquarie, Australia, June 17-20, 2024.

Helena began publishing professionally when she was in third-grade and as a globally award-winning activist, educational leader, and scholar, adults sometimes doubt her capability to accomplish so much.  This chapter is her response back to naysayers who don’t believe young people are capable of intelligent and rigorous scholarship.  Helena first presented these ideas on  October 8-9, 2021, at the Geographies of Black Girlhoods in Education Research Conference, which was a part of the Black Girlhoods in Education Research Collective out of CUNY.  It is now a chapter in a book by Esther O. Ohita, Sherry L. Deckman, August G. Smith, and Lucía Mock Munoz de Luna and will be published by AERA Books.

Donato-Sapp, H., Landin, Zane, and Mavrides-Calderon, Isabel.  (January 25, 2023).  Diversability unplugged:  Disability and Gen Z advocacy.  Eventbrite, January 25, 2023.

Born between the mid 1990s to late 2000s, Gen Z is the most ethnically diverse generation and the first to have grown up fully in a digital era – but what really sets it apart from other generations beyond the technological advances of the times is its dedication to inclusion and societal change.  70% of Gen Zers are involved in a social or political cause, utilizing digital spaces and technologies intuitively to advocate like never before.  This Eventbrite dialogue, moderated by Diversability’s Marie Dagenais-Lewis, features young disabled activist who are blazing trails!  Watch the event here.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2022).  Black girl magic is a glorious gift.  Symposium titled Strong Black Girls:  Reclaiming Schools in Their Own Image at The American Educational Research Association (AERA) Conference.  San Diego, CA, April 21-26, 2022.

The editors and authors were excited that their proposal to AERA was accepted for their Strong Black Girls book.  Helena presented alongside her co-authors in the book – Autumn Adia Griffin, Taylor Monique Tucker, Valerie N. Adams-Bass, Keisha L. Bentley-Edwards, and Asia S. Thomas.  The session was Chaired by Lynnette K. Mawhinney, one of the editors of the book and the Discussants were Danielle Lorraine Apugo and Afiya Mbilishaka, the other two editors of the book.  Helena received a standing ovation for her presentation. AERA is the largest and most esteemed conference in the field of Education.

NATIONAL

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2024).  The inaccessibility of emergency preparedness plans in schools and how they often leave young disabled students behind.  For the Disabled Disrupters Town Hall, Washington, DC, July 17, 2024.

Disabled Disrupters is a national youth disability justice coalition based in the United States that aim to lift up disabled people’s social, political, and economic rights through advocating for legislation that centers on equal access for the disabled and neurodivergent community.  Founder Kira Tiller invited Helena to speak on an experience she had during an active shooter drill at her high school and how the school segregated her into a small room by herself for math and then didn’t inform her of the active shooter drill.  Since Helena was keynoting to the New Jersey Education Association on the same day, she made a video that they shared at the Disabled Disrupters Town Hall as a way to introduce the important topic of how schools fail to prepare for disabled kids during emergency drills.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2024).  Invited Keynote Address on Disability Justice.  New Jersey Education Association’s Impact Conference, Princeton, New Jersey, July 17, 2024.

Helena was invited to speak to the educators of New Jersey at a professional development conference.  Her keynote was on disability rights and inclusion – a topic she is known for world-wide.  Helena shared her birth story, how her early medical trauma led to multiple non-apparent disabilities, the problems she faces as a disabled student in school, and told stories of those educators that championed her disabilities to provide her a fair and equal education.

Nusbaum, E. (Moderator), Ocasio-Stoutenburg, L., Armstrong, E., Donato-Sapp, H., Donato, E. S., and Sapp, J.  Bridging worlds:  Intersectionality, disability, and culturally responsive collaboration.  The National Education Association’s Conference on Racial and Social Justice, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, June 30-July 2 2024.

Helena and her two fathers were invited by the NEA to be on this esteemed panel of disability scholars and activists to speak to intersectional activism in the work of disability rights and inclusion.  This moderated critical panel discussion navigates the complexities of intersectionality within the sphere of disability and explores the best practices for culturally responsive and sustaining collaboration among educators, students, and families.  This session aims to foster an in-depth understanding of how various social identities overlap with disability and how these intersections impact students’ experiences in schools.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2024).  How the outsider archetype in TV helped me negotiate years of bullying:  A teen tribute to friends from Stranger Things.  The Society for Cinema and Media Studies Conference, Boston, Massachusetts, March 14-17, 2024.

Helena wrote this chapter for the book Teens on Screens in the Twenty-First Century.  The chapter is about how the archetype of the outsider in film and TV saved her and helped her negotiate her pre-teen years in middle school.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2024).  Invited Keynote Speaker for the Morris County Council of Education Associations 2024 Overnight IPD Conference, Morristown, NJ.  The Madison Hotel Morristown, NJ, March 15-16, 2024.

In Helena’s ongoing relationship with The National Education Associate, she was Invited by the New Jersey Education Association to present and host a conversation on disability rights, the children who show up in our classrooms, and the larger issue of identity and how it impacts each of our lives, both personal and professional. 

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2024).  Invited Keynote Speaker for the Rainier Educators of Color Network’s Equity Conference 5.0.  Washington Education Association, February 2-3, 2024.

    

Helena was invited to Keynote for this conference and address the conference themes of working with students with disabilities, reforming school discipline, healing harm in school, history of the N-word, and LGBTIA+ issues.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (October 23, 2023).  Conceptualizing the promise and the power of critical special education:  A virtual conversation.  October 27, 2023.

Helena was featured as the key voice in this conversation about this new field of study.  The purpose of the conversation was to advance the theoretical and pragmatic understanding of Critical Special Education research.  A focus of this conversation was to advance the vision and advocacy of scholars of color and members of culturally diverse communities and the object of the conversation is to collectively define what critical special education is and how it can leverage scholarship from the field of special education and existing critical disability fields, like DisCrit and Disability Studies in Education.  

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2023).  The power of intersectionality to save us.  Invited Keynote Speaker for the Community Colleges of Appalachia’s Exploring Inclusion and Belonging in Community Colleges Fall Conference, West Virginia University Potomac State College Davis Conference Center, Keyser, WV.  October 19, 2023.

Sponsored by the Allegany College of Maryland, WVU Potomac State College, and Eastern West Virginia Community & Technical College, Helena was invited to give a keynote address to the Presidents of the Community Colleges of Appalachia.  She addressed the power of youth voice, the power of storytelling, the power of women, the power of the outsider, and the power of intersectionality.  “Our collective liberation is bound up with each other.”

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2023).  Be inclusive, be anti-racist, be affirming, and be anti-bullying:  A 14-year-old speaks to MTEA.  Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association Representative Assembly and Convocation, Washington Park Center, Milwaukee, WI.  September 13, 2023.

Helena was invited to keynote at the MTEA by their President and asked to cover four important topics:  (1) Make schools inclusive for children with disabilities, (2) Be an anti-racist educator, (3) Be affirming of all families, and (4) Be affirming and stop bullying.  President Amy Mizialko said, “This message from Helena is impactful and brought us to tears.  Helena is powerful.  Helena hit on relevant points of teaching intersectionality with race, anti-racist teaching, homophobia, and bullying.  She appealed to us as teachers to get in the way of negative behavior displayed, as she put it, ‘right under our noses.’”

Candelaria, N. and Donato-Sapp, H.  (2023).  Becoming a disability champion and a discussion on disability language etiquette.  The National Education Association’s Representative Assembly.  Orlando, Florida, July 2-6, 2023.

NEA Secretary-Treasurer Noel Candelaria and Helena have an open dialogue in front of a crowd of 600 Delegates about disability language etiquette.  This conversation launches the partnership between the NEA and Helena for their “Become a Champion for Disability Rights and Inclusion campaign.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2023).  Disability rights.  Invited keynote speaker for The National Education Association’s Representative Assembly.  Orlando, Florida, July 2-6, 2023.

Continuing to build upon her work with the NEA, Helena was invited to address the 8,000 delegates of the NEA Representative Assembly and speak to them about disability rights and inclusion.  Listen to her keynote here.

Alvested, T., Schultz, R., Woodard, P., and Donato-Sapp, H.  (2023).  Looking to future leaders to dismantle disabling environments.  The National Education Association’s Aspiring Educator Conference, Orlando, Florida.  June 28-July 1, 2023.

This session for aspiring educators is to help them gain background knowledge on the origins and forms of ableism, understand intersectionality and its impact, recognize the impact of bias, analyze the role of critical dialogue in ending ableism, and helping participants to develop their “why” in becoming a leader in disability justice.  Helena was recently awarded Poet Ambassador of the City of Long Beach, California and, as a recognized poet, was asked to read original activist-poetry to the participants.  Helena is also an established artist and presented an original art piece on reimagining the disability symbol as an avenue into discussing ableist language.

    

>Donato-Sapp, H.  Tita likes to say – Understanding intersectionality.  Original Poem delivered at The National Education Association’s Aspiring Educators Conference, Orlando, Florida.  June 28-July 1, 2023.

>Donato-Sapp, H.  Disability justice poem.  Original poem delivered at The National Education Association’s Aspiring Educators Conference, Orlando, Florida.  June 28-July 1, 2023.

>Donato-Sapp, H.  Reimagining the disability symbol.  Original art presented at The National Education Association’s Aspiring Educators Conference, Orlando, Florida.  June 28-July 1, 2023.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2023).  Many voices united as one.  Utah Education Association Summer Leadership Academy, Cultural Celebration Center, West Valley, Utah.  June 13-14, 2023.

Because of Helena’s relationship and partnership with the National Education Association, she often gets invited by NEA state affiliates to bring her expertise as an intersectional activist to their states.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2023).  Disability justice.  Invited plenary keynote speaker for The National Education Association’s Leadership Summit.  San Francisco, CA, March 10-12, 2023.

Helena was invited to be the plenary keynote speaker to over 2,000 educators at this important conference for the largest labor union in America.  NEA invited her because they believe in the power of youth voices to make change and wanted the 3 million educators who are a part of the NEA to hear Helena’s voice.  Listen to the inspirational speech here.  And read what the NEA wrote about Helena’s impact here.

Felder, A., Donato-Sapp, H., Alvested, T. Mayville, M., & Binegar, M.  (2023).  Leading with Heart:  Recognizing and responding to ableism.  National Education Association’s Leadership Summit.  San Francisco, CA, March 11, 2023.

Persons with disabilities encounter various forms of ableism daily.  To end ableism, we must understand what it is, who it impacts, the negative effects, and how to work together to end it.  In this session, participants will have the opportunity to learn about the lived experiences of Disability Justice Activist Helena Lourdes Donato-Sapp.  Participants will deepen their understanding of ableism by learning about disability models, the origins and forms of ableism, the impact of bias, and the role of critical dialogue in ending ableism.

Arway, T., Mosley, M., Smith, C., & Donato-Sapp, H.  (2023).  Accessibility is more than curb cutouts:  Our role in creating accessible environments.  National Education Association’s Leadership Summit.  San Francisco, CA, March 11, 2023.

One of five students has a learning or attention issue, one in 15 students has an IEP, and a little over two in 10 students has a disability that requires a 504 plan.  Accessibility is a key component of the guarantee of a free, appropriate public education to students identified with disabilities.  Despite our best efforts, we cannot be sure that we have identified all students with disabilities, especially those with non-apparent, or hidden, disabilities.  As we strive to ensure accessibility for our students with disabilities, we must lead our profession in inclusivity and extend these practices to ensure equal access for all students by making all resources and materials accessible, easy to understand, and easy to use.  Accessibility is at the heart of Universal Design for Learning – or UDL.  The UDL framework offers flexibility in the ways students access material, engage with it and show what they know by tapping into their strengths, needs, backgrounds, and interests.  This session helps participants understand why it is imperative for educators to adopt an inclusivity stance in all aspects of the education space.

Woodward, An. N., Lauber, A., Bishop, K., Benner, R. & Donato-Sapp, H.  (2023).  Disability justice needs educators to lead the way.  National Education Association’s Leadership Summit.  San Francisco, CA, March 12, 2023.

Persons with disabilities are the largest minority in the world; disability intersects all other marginalized groups.  Disability Justice provides a framework that centers on intersectionality and offers principles to guide disability advocacy efforts forward.  During this presentation, presenters will guide participants to make connections between Disability Justice Principles and NEAs Goals and Strategic Objectives to help participants develop a “why” for leading in this space.

Donato-Sapp, H., Ferrell, A., Kulkarni, S., Lisette, E., Migliarini, V., Rood, C., and Torres-Gerald, L.  (October 17, 2022).  Kitchen table talk for disability justice.  Equity & Excellence in Education.  

Helena was once again asked to join some of the co-authors of the groundbreaking Equity  & Excellence in Education issue on Disability Justice for a national conversation around the articles in their issue of the journal.  View their session here.

Annamma, S., Erevelles, N., Donato-Sapp, H., Torres, L. E., and Waitoller, F.  (2022).  A kitchen-table talk on disability justice.  Equity and Excellence in Education Journal.  

Helena was an invited speaker alongside scholars Dr. Nirmala Erevelles – a Professor at The University of Alabama, Dr. Lisette E. Torres – a senior research associate and project coordinator at TERC, and Dr. Federico Waitoller – a Professor at the University of Chicago.  The group held a dialogue on disability justice that became a featured article in Equity and Excellence in Education.  View the dialogue here.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2021).  Brick-by-brick:  The building of a 12-year-old Black girl scholar.  Locating the Geographies of Black Girlhoods in Education Conference, sponsored by The Black Girlhood in Education Research Collective (BGERC) and The American Educational Research Association (AERA).  October 8-9, 2021.

Helena was excited to speak at this international conference.  Here is the feedback she got from the conference committee on her proposal:  “Our conference team was excited about your abstract and found your autobiographical and narrative approach to the topic of the geographies of Black girlhoods to be compelling.  We were struck by your comment, ‘I hope you let a young Black scholar speak,’ which said much to us about how you see yourself and your relation to scholarship and voice and where and when your knowledge is given space.”

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2021).  Black girl magic is a glorious gift.  Strong black girls:  Reclaiming schools in their own image [Invited Book Talk].  Sankofa Video and Books:  https://www.events.sankofa.com 

Helena joined seven other scholars from their book Strong Black Girls in a book tour.  They spoke at SANKOFA Video, Books & Café in Washington, DC.  SANKOFA is a sanctuary for Pan-African culture.  

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2019).  Future me thanks you.  Designated Conference Poet of the National Institutes for Historically Underserved Students.  West Virginia University Parkersburg.  Invited Presenter, Parkersburg, WV, November 7-9, 2019.

Helena was invited to be the Conference Poet for The National Institutes for Historically-Underserved Students Think Tank in November 2019 and was asked to write an original poem reflecting the theme of “Rise Up.”  She wrote and delivered her original poem titled “Future Me Thanks You” and opened the conference with it on November 7th.  The purpose of the Institutes is to research and identify common barriers to educational equity and success for all historically-underserved students.  She spoke alongside Aaron Abeyta, an American Book Award Winner.

STATE AND LOCAL

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2024).  An introduction to disability justice and poetry reading at The Unitarian Universalist Church of Long Beach, Long Beach, CA, July 21, 2024.

Helena was invited to do the Sunday morning sermon for Disability Awareness Month and share with this local congregation on the topic of disability justice.  She also – in her new role as Youth Poet Laureate of the city of Long Beach shared two new poems.  One poem was titled “Neurodiverse Activist Poet” and spoke on the topic what it is like to be neurodiverse in the poetry community.  The second poem, titled “I Don’t Know This God of Yours” was her critical look at evangelicalism as an activist and atheist.  

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2024).  Finalist for the 2^nd year of the Long Beach Youth Poet Laureate.  Poetry readings at the 2024 Youth Poet Laureate Finals Ceremony, Edison Theater, Long Beach, CA, May 9, 2024.

Helena was one of the inaugural Youth Poet Laureate Poet Ambassadors for the city of Long Beach, CA and is back for her second opportunity to be named the city’s Youth Poet Laureate.  Nine finalist are up for the position and Helena read two original poems – one titled Dy5c41cu1i4 (Dyscalculia) and the other titled We Believe In The Power Of Youth Voice.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2024).  Invited Poetry Recitation – We Believe In The Power Of Youth Voice.  Poetry reading to open the Youth Day in the LBC Conference,  Cabrillo High School, Long Beach, CA, May 4, 2024.

Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson invited Helena to open up the 2^nd Youth Day in the LBC Conference that is sponsored by the Office of Youth Development and the Mayor’s Office.  Helena read her original poem titled We Believe In The Power Of Youth Voice.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2024).  Invited Poetry Recitation for Call of the Wild:  Youth Poet Laureate Reading.  Casita Bookstore, Long Beach, CA, April 27, 2024.

Helena is one of the inaugural Youth Poet Laureate Poet Ambassadors for the city of Long Beach, CA.  This was the last reading of this cohort of youth poets.  Helena read two original – one titled I’m A City Girl Through And Through, and the other titled Bookstore Love.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2024).  Girls Are Limitless.  Invited keynote for 4GIRLS of Long Beach.  Long Beach City College, Long Beach, CA, March 24, 2024.

4GIRLS inspires and empowers middle school girls to identify themselves as authentic, confident, and resilient, preparing them for real-life success.  Helena was asked to keynote to 100 middle school girls on the theme of girls being limitless.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2024).  I am Bold, Black, and Brilliant.  Poetry reading for the Long Beach Public Library systems Our History, Our Future:  Black History Month reading, Burnett Library, Long Beach, CA, February 24, 2024.

As a part of Helena’s commitment to the public libraries of her hometown, she read two original poems at this open mic reading where Black artists spoke about their Black experience.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2024).  A Tribute to African Americans and the Arts.  Invited poetry reading for the Black History Month Celebration for the City of Long Beach.  City Hall, Long Beach, CA, February 20, 2024.

Helena was invited by the Black Employees Association of the city of Long Beach to deliver an original poem at the city’s Black History Month Celebration.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2024).  This is the city where I was born and raised.  Invited poetry reading at The Long Beach Commission for Women & Girls welcome reception.  Historic Bembridge House, Long Beach, CA, January 7, 2024.

Helena was invited by Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson to be an inaugural member of the city’s new Commission for Women & Girls.  They asked Helena to write and deliver an original poem about the new Commission and she welcome everyone to this event with her spoken word.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2023).  Minkle:  An ode to rage.  Invited poetry reading for Feminist Uprising’s Art4Equality event.  Viento Y Agua Coffee House, Long Beach, CA, December 14, 2023.

Feminist Uprising is a vibrant and inclusive feminist community that stands firmly on the pillars of intersectionality, inclusivity, diversity, and equity.  Committed to the pursuit of social justice, this community provides a nurturing space where individuals from all walks of life can come together to support and empower one another through education, collaboration, and unwavering solidarity.  Helena was invited to deliver a poem and also showcased two pieces of original art.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2023).  The power of youth voice and intersectionality.  Invited speech at the Long Beach Women’s Fair & ERA Centennial.  City Hall, Long Beach, CA, July 18, 2023.

Helena was thrilled when local feminist icon Zoe Nicholson invited her to give an  address at the 2023 Women’s Fair & ERA Centennial.  Helena has long been a feminist activist and it was an honor to be included among so many esteemed and veteran feminists in her own beloved city.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2023).  Future me thanks you.  Youth Poet Ambassador reading at the Long Beach City Council Meeting.  City Hall, Long Beach, CA, July 11, 2023.

As a newly awarded Poet Ambassador of Long Beach, Helena was invited to address the leaders of Long Beach at a Council Meeting on July 11, 2023.  Helena addressed the Mayor and other city leaders and then read her poem titled Future Me Thanks You.  This was the city’s official recognition of the Youth Poet Laureate Program.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2023).  Tita likes to say.  Youth Poet Laureate Finalists read at the Festival of AAPI Books.  Billie Jean King Main Library, Long Beach, CA, May 13, 2023.

Helena is one of ten finalists for the inaugural Youth Poet Laureate position for the city of Long Beach, CA.  Finalists were asked to do their first reading together as a cohort and Helena wrote an original poem about being Filipina-through-adoption.  The poem has a tough message about body shaming in families.  

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2023).  Black History month speech:  Black joy is resistance.  Westerly School of Long Beach, Long Beach, CA.  February 17, 2023.

Helena was invited to share her current work and speak on the theme of Black Resistance at the Black History Month assembly at her school.  In a kind of love letter to educators and the school that she has called home for almost a decade, Helena spoke vulnerable yet fiercely about “living Resistance” everyday as a girl, a Black girl, and a person with  learning disabilities, and how she empowers herself through poetry, activism, and scholarship.  Listen to the speech here.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2023).  Words that feed Us:  Poetry in phrases.  Black History Month Teen Poetry Session at Billie Jean King Main Library, February 11, 2023.

Helena was invited to teach her first poetry session for other teenagers in the city of Long Beach.  She wrote the curriculum for this presentation and presented and taught her first teen class at the library.  Using her PSA on The Humans Who Feed Us, she developed a lesson that not only introduced the poetry form of a phrase poem, but highlighted the important work that women farmworkers do to put food on our tables.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2022).  Future me thanks you.  Invited Poetry Reading at Mercadito Literario, Billie Jean King Main Library, October 15, 2022.

Helena was honored to be invited to read an original poem alongside important Southern California poets Jessica Wilson-Cardenas, Gustavo Hernandez, Briana Muñoz, and David A. Romero.  These four critically acclaimed poets were speaking about writing and embodying resistance in their poetry and community.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2022).  Disability justice.  Intersectional Disability Studies Speaker Series, Intersectional Disability Studies Strand.  San Jose State University Institute for Emancipatory Education.  San Jose, CA, March 14, 2022.

Helena was the first invited youth speaker in this important series about intersectional Disability Justice.  She talked about four important points to make schools more equitable and claimed that “Love is my forcefield.”  She also defined what a “Champion” teacher is, stating that they are a teacher who makes her succeed and sees her assets.  See it here.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2022).  Future me thanks you.  Invited Opening Poet for the California State University Dominguez Hills College of Education Spring Retreat.  Carson, CA, Wednesday, January 19, 2022.

Helena was invited to open up the College’s Spring Faculty Retreat by presenting her original 2019 poem titled “Future Me Thanks You” that she penned for the National Institutes for Historically Underserved Students when she first became their designated Conference Poet.   

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2021).  How I decolonized my own elementary education.  California State University Dominguez Hills, Teacher Education Division Course 412 Teaching History, Social Studies, and Content Area Literacy in the Elementary Classroom.  Invited Presenter, Carson, CA, Tuesday, November 5, 2021.

Helena was invited to speak to a class of future elementary school teachers on how her own elementary curriculum had been colonized and how she confronted it in her assignments and decolonized what she had been taught.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2021).  Black girl magic is a glorious gift:  A firsthand account of the power of poetry to empower Black girls.  Green Dot Public Schools Legacy Conference.  Los Angeles, CA, March 17, 2021.

Helena submitted a conference proposal to talk about her Black girl cultural assets at this local Los Angeles conference.  She was very excited when it was accepted and she was able to do an hour presentation to veteran educators.  The teachers were really nice and receptive.  Here is what one of them had to say about Helena’s conference presentation:  “Amazingly refreshing to witness Miss Helena’s scholarship and confidence!  Her ideas and voice are so strong and I would love to hear more from her.”

Donato-Sapp, H., Donato, E., & Sapp, J.  (2020).  Writing and teaching tough topics.  California State University Dominguez Hills, Liberal Studies Course 310 Children’s Literature.  Invited Presenter, Carson, CA, Tuesday, November 10, 2020.

Helena was asked to speak to a class of future educators who are in a children’s literature class and talk about how she is a successful writer.  The professor wanted her to show graduate students that she writes from her own experiences as a model for them because they were going to do a major class project where they had to write an original children’s story based on something in their own lives.  Helena spoke to two different sections of this course.

Donato-Sapp, H., Donato, E., and Sapp, J.  (2020).  Crossing borders, loving home, and a sense of place.  Invited speech for the Parkersburg, West Virginia Rotary Club.  (Parkersburg, WV.  June 22, 2020).

Helena and her family are very involved in her Dad’s hometown of Parkersburg, West Virginia.  They know lots of people there because Helena is the Poet Laurette at the National Institutes for Historically Underserved Students Conference.  The President of West Virginia University Parkersburg, Dr. Chris Gilmer, invited her family to speak to the Rotary Club.  They spoke about crossing borders as a same-sex, being a multiracial family created through the wonderful process of adoption and how, when they come home to visit Helena’s grandparents in Parkersburg, it is like they are in another world but at the same time it is like they are coming home.  

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2020).  Invited Keynote Graduation Speaker for Alliance Judy Ivie Burton Technology Academy High School.  Los Angeles, CA, Friday June 19, 2020.

In June 2020, the principal of Alliance Judy Ivie Burton Technology Academy High School invited Helena to be the high school graduation speaker.  He said he had “been impressed and inspired by Helena’s dedication towards social justice and being a voice others can look up to.”  Helena was shocked and excited that the administration of a high school in Los Angeles followed her writing, art, and activism and wanted her to be their graduation speaker.  She spoke about how too often adults underestimate what young people can do, about the loss they all felt in the 2019-2020 school year because of COVID-19, about George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter Movement, and how it would be their turn to vote and make the world a better place than how it had been handed to them.  See Helena’s graduation speech here.

Donato-Sapp, H., Donato, E., & Sapp, J.  (2019).  Teaching tough topics to fifth-graders.  California State University Dominguez Hills, Liberal Studies Course 301 Schooling in a Multicultural Society.  Invited Presenter, Carson, CA, Monday/Tuesday, November 25th and 26th, 2019.

Helena was invited back for the third year in a row to speak with new teachers about how kids in fifth-grade can tackle tough topics.  She spoke to two different classes.  Here are what some of the students had to say about her lecture.  “I am inspired that she is young and highly educated about what adults decide to turn their eyes away from.  She’s so young and that will only make her an empowering activist.”  “Helena’s presentation impacted me in that it made me reflect about how important it is to be able to talk to children about tough topics because they are already living them.”

Donato-Sapp, H., Donato, E., & Sapp, J.  (2019).  Tackling tough topics.  California State University Dominguez Hills, Teacher Education Division Course 506 Schooling in a Multicultural Society.  Invited Presenter, Carson, CA, Tuesday, July 23, 2019.

Helena presented to 45 graduate education students on how she tackles tough topics like race, class, gender, sexual orientation, bullying, and a plethora of other topics that some think are too sensitive or controversial for young children.  She read her published works, spoke, and fielded questions from the graduate students.

Donato-Sapp, H., Donato, E., & Sapp, J.  (2019).  Teaching tough topics to fourth-graders.  California State University Dominguez Hills, Liberal Studies Course 301 Schooling in a Multicultural Society.  Invited Presenter, Carson, CA, Wednesday, April 18, 2019.

Helena was invited back to speak to more future educators about how young children tackle tough topics.  She is a semester regular guest speaker now for Liberal Studies 301 – Schooling in a Multicultural Society.  The professor for the class, Dr. Jen Stacy, posted this on her social media after Helena presented:  “Dr. Helena Donato-Sapp schooled us all on principles of justice, equity, humanism, and kindness again this semester.  Thank you, Helena, for teaching future teachers that kids can understand tough issues and are paving the way to a better future.”

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2019).  Innovative Woman 2.0 Fast Pitch Competition & Networking.  California State University Dominguez Hills, CSUDH Innovation Incubator.  Invited Presenter, Carson, CA, Wednesday, March 29, 2019.

Helena was invited to the Innovative Woman 2.0 Fast Pitch Competition & Networking to pitch her original business idea to a large university audience and a panel of seven distinguished judges.  She was invited to represent the future of entrepreneurship and was the youngest participant.  The organizers of the event were so impressed with her pitch that they invited her to be a part of CSUDH’s Incubator Hatchery Launchpad Program to help her launch her new business enterprise.

Donato-Sapp, H., Donato, E., & Sapp, J.  (2018).  Teaching tough topics to third-graders.  California State University Dominguez Hills, Liberal Studies Course 301 Schooling in a Multicultural Society.  Invited Presenter, Carson, CA, Wednesday, November 21, 2018.

Helena was invited to speak about teaching controversial topics in the elementary classroom to two different sections of Liberal Studies students who are learning how to become elementary teachers.  The class – Schooling in a Multicultural Society – had students who thought teaching tough topics was either inappropriate or too difficult for young children.  Dr. Jen Stacy, Professor of Liberal Studies, invited Helena to come and share her writing, art, and activism so that her college students could see that young children are mature enough to tackle tough topics.

Donato-Sapp, H., Donato, E. S., & Sapp, J.  (2018).  LGBTQ representations in the mirror of curriculum:  The FAIR act.  The California History Project.  Invited Presenters, Carson, CA, Thursday, July 26, 2018.

Helena and her two fathers were invited to speak about The FAIR Act at The California History Project Summer Institute.  Fair, Accurate, Inclusive, and Respectful Education Act, also known as the FAIR Education Act (Senate Bill 48) and informally described as the LGBTQ History Bill, is a California law which compels the inclusion of the political, economic, and social contributions of persons with disabilities and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people into educational textbooks and the social studies curricula in California schools.  Helena spoke to over 40 veteran educators about what it is like to have same-sex parents.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2018).  Rotten raspberries.  STEM in Action Kids Conference.  Invited Presenter, Center for Innovation in STEM Education, Carson, CA, Thursday, May 31, 2018.

After Helena’s school-wide 3rd-grade science fair project on decomposition, titled Rotten Raspberries, Helena found out there was a regional science conference for local students to attend.  STEM in Action Kids Conference was put on by a local university, California State University Dominguez Hills where her Dad works.  Her Dad told the team putting on the conference about Helena’s love of science and about Rotten Raspberries and they invited Helena to present at their conference.  She was the only child presenter at this conference and presented for two hours to different kids about the process of decomposition.  She was 8-years-old.

AWARDS

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2024).  Diversity in Action’s 20 Under 20 List.  Summer 2024.  Diversity in Action Magazine, Volume 10, Number 4, page 46.

Helena was honored to be named to Diversity in Action’s 2024 list of young innovators who are changing the world.  Diversity in Action is a digital and print publication dedicated to supporting and promoting diversity in science, technology, engineering, the arts and math.  This is Helena’s second national STEM award.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2024-2025).  Los Angeles Youth Poet Laureate Ambassador.  Los Angeles Public Library, Mark Taper Auditorium, Los Angeles, CA, July 13, 2024.

Helena was a Finalist for the 11th Los Angeles Youth Poet Laureate (the first LA YPL was poet Amanda Gorman).  She was one of fifteen youth Finalists and she read an original poem titled “Neurodiverse Activist Poet” and was awarded the title of Los Angeles Youth Poet Ambassador.  The LA YPL program is sponsored by Urban Word of New York City.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2024-2025).  The Youth Poet Laureate of the City of Long Beach, CA.  Edison Theatre, Long Beach, CA, May 9, 2024.

Helena was one of five Long Beach Youth Poet Ambassadors in the city’s 2023-2024 Inaugural Youth Poet Laureate program sponsored by Urban Word and the libraries of Long Beach.  She became one of nine Finalist for the 2024-2025 Youth Poet Laureate and took the top prize as Long Beach’s 2nd Youth Poet Laureate.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2024).  The Yes, I Can Award for Academics.  CEC Conference.  Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, San Antonio, TX, March 15, 2024.

Awarded on behalf of the Council for Exceptional Children and the CEC’s Yes I Can Committee.  The Council for Exceptional Children is the largest international professional organization dedicated to improving the success of children and youth with disabilities and/or gifts and talents.  Presented each year, the CEC recognizes only 12 students around the nation.  The Yes I Can Academic Award recognizes a student with exceptionalities who has demonstrated achievement that far exceeds expectations in a particular subject area such as math, science, reading, social studies, language arts, foreign language, etc., or in overall academic achievement.  Helena was awarded at the CEC Conference in San Antonio, Texas.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2023-2024).  Abolitionist Teachers Network Grant for Educators Working for Disability Justice.

This is Helena’s second year in a row to be awarded a grant from ATN that is meant to “develop and support those in the struggle for educational liberation by utilizing the intellectual work and direct action of Abolitionists in many forms.”  Helena was invited to be one of two speakers to share her work to the Abolitionist Teachers Network.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2023-2024).  The Global Youth Award in Educational Leadership.  Global Youth Awards.  The Troxy, London, United Kingdom, November 18, 2023.

The Global Youth Awards is a celebration of youth around the world with nominations from nearly 70 countries.  Helena found out she was a finalist in the Educational Leadership category and traveled to London for the awards ceremony on November 18, 2023, and was one of only 12 winners world-wide, the youngest awardee, and the only awardee from the United States.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2023-2024).  The Heumann-Armstrong Award.

Named after Judy Heumann and Elijah Armstrong, the Heumann-Armstrong Education Award is awarded annually to six students with disabilities who demonstrate leadership in education.  This is the third year of the Heumann-Armstrong Awards and the first award since Judy’s passing.  It is awarded to students around the nation who show exceptional dedication to advancing the rights of disabled students in education and the award honors students who are carrying on the legacy of Judy Heumann.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2023).  Senate District 33 Pride Brunch Honoree.  Long Beach Pride Celebration.  Long Beach, CA, August 5, 2023.

In celebration of Pride month, Senator Lena A. Gonzales – representing Senate District 33 – asked for nominations to celebrate the wonderful accomplishments and contributions of the LGBTQ+ community in Senate District 33.  Helena was awarded as an Honoree for her pride in lifting up queer families and was honored at the August 5th Brunch Celebration, which was hosted by Senator Gonzales, Congressman Robert Garcia, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, and Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2023).  The Westerly Way Award.  Westerly School of Long Beach.  Long Beach, CA, June 15, 2023.

The Westerly Way Award is a culminating award given at graduation to the one Westerly School student who most exemplifies and demonstrates the mission and core values of Westerly School.  This student is exemplary across all potential dimensions of personal development, including academic, athletic, and artistic achievement, as well as advancing and living the core values of Westerly School.  Being seen and awarded in her own community is, indeed, the greatest award of all.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2023-2024).  Inaugural Youth Poet Ambassador of Long Beach, CA.  The Billie Jean King Main Library, Long Beach, CA, June 1, 2023.

Helena participated in a year-long Youth Poet Laureate Program sponsored by the Long Beach Public Library system, the Arts Council for Long Beach, and Urban Word.  She attended Saturday workshops led by local Southern California poets and artists, has read her original poetry at library events, and has led a poetry workshop for the city’s teenagers during Black History Month at the library.  Ten finalist were selected for the inaugural Youth Poet Laureate and Poet Ambassadors.  Spectrum News did a feature on the Youth Poet Laureate Program and featured Helena.  See it here.  Helena was honored to be selected as one of the inaugural Youth Poet Ambassadors of the City of Long Beach.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2023).  Concertmaster, Westerly School of Long Beach Strings Ensemble.  Buena Park, CA, May 15, 2023.

Helena’s music teacher, Mrs. Geiser, invited Helena to be the Concertmaster at the Knott’s Berry Farm Music Festival competition.  The concertmaster is the lead violinist.  As the violinist with the highest “rank”, she sits in the first chair, next to the conductor’s podium.  The concertmaster leads the orchestra in its tuning prior to the concert, and customarily lays all of the violin solos within pieces.  The ensemble won a trophy in the “Excellent” category, the festival’s highest honor.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2023).  69th Assembly District Award for Women of Distinction.  Signal Point Terrace, Signal Hill, CA, March 30, 2023.

In celebration of 2023 Women’s History Month, Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal of the 69th District recognized women who have gone above and beyond to serve the assembly district 69 community.  Helena won the award in the category of Education and was the youngest recipient of this prestigious honor.  March 30, 2023.  View a clip of the award ceremony here.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2023).  Abolitionist Teachers Network Grant for Educators Working for Disability Justice.

The Abolitionist Teachers Network’s mission is to develop and support those in the struggle for educational liberation by utilizing the intellectual work and direct action of Abolitionists in many forms.  Helena was honored to be the awardee of this important grant that validates her work for Disability Justice.  This grant supports those working for the abolition of carceral logics and spaces as they intersect with ableism.  The Abolitionist Teachers Network highlighted Helena’s award and you can view it here.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2022).  The D-30 Disability Impact List 2022 Honoree.

Awarded annually from Diversability – an international community of people of disabilities on a mission to elevate disability pride – the D-30 Disability Impact List recognizes the unique accomplishments of its most impactful community members globally through a nomination and selection process.  Out of almost 250 nominations from around the world, Helena was named as one of the 30 Honorees for 2022.  At 12-years-old, Helena also had the distinction of being the youngest in her cohort and the youngest recipient of the honor to date.

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2022).  16 Under 16 in STEM.

Awarded from The 74, a national education news site, this award was given after an extensive and comprehensive selection process and honors extraordinary achievement in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.  The honorees specialize in fields from medicine to agriculture to invention.  Helena is happy to be a member of the inaugural class of 16 Under 16 in STEM.  Read more about 16 Under 16 here.  A year later, The 74 profiled where these young changemakers are now.  Read about it here.  

Donato-Sapp, H.  (2021).  New Moon Girls Magazine 2021 Beautiful Girls Awards recipient.

Helena was recognized as one of the “21 Beautiful Girls” for the magazine.  This issue celebrates preteen girls who are making a difference in the world.

Donato-Sapp, H., Donato, E. S., and Sapp, J.  (2020).  The 2020 Generations Award recipient.

The Generations Award, presented annually by the National Institutes for Historically-Underserved Students, recognizes multiple generations of the same family for their brave and selfless commitment to social justice, equity, and inclusion for all people.  Watch Helena accept the award on her family’s behalf here.

RECOGNITIONS

Andrews, Allison (Producer, Director).  (2024).  The Discovery Education Channel.  Identity, Empathy, and Belonging.  

Allison Andrews sought Helena out after reading about her 16 Under 16 in STEM award and asked to feature Helena in this topic series for the Discovery Education platform.  The series features the stories of three different students, and Allison believed Helena represents the character quality of empathy.  Discovery Education is the worldwide edtech leader whose state-of-the-art digital platform supports learning wherever it takes place.  Through its award-winning multimedia content, instructional supports, and innovative classroom tools, Discover Education helps educators deliver equitable learning experiences engaging all students and supporting higher academic achievement on a global scale.  Discovery Education serves approximately 4.5 million educators and 45 million students worldwide, and its resources are accessed in over 100 countries and territories.

Heffelmire, Katherine (Producer, Director).  (2023).  Disney’s In the Nook’s Black history month’s young African American changemakers:  Helena Donato-Sapp, 13-year-old activist and scholar.  Burbank, CA:  The Disney Channel.

Helena was invited to be highlighted as a young African American changemaker on The Disney show’s “In The Nook.”  Helena was interviewed by Disney starts Danielle Jalade and Jermaine Harris on set at The Disney Studies in Burbank, California.  They highlighted her work for Disability Justice.  They referred to Helena as “young, gifted, and Black.”  Helena was one of four young changemakers featured and the other three were Jaylen Smith – the 18-year-old mayor of Earle, Arkansas, and the youngest mayor ever elected in the United States, Momo Pixel – the creator of the viral web game Hair Nah…the object of which is to swat away the grabby hands of people seeking to touch a Black woman’s hair, and Alena Analeigh Wicker – who is the youngest Black person to be accepted into medical school in the United States.  February 25, 2023.  

Becker, Emily.  (2023).  8 Young People Who Are Changing The Future Of STEM:  Meet the young trailblazers of STEM that we’re currently obsessed with.  DoSomething.com.

Becker writes, “When it comes to representation, STEM fields are seriously lacking.  Hewlett Packard states that less than 1% of computing jobs in the US are held by Black women, and that’s just one of the many statistics demonstrating the STEM gap.”  This article goes on to name Helena as one of the 8 STEM trailblazers paving the way to equitable STEM access for all.  Becker goes on to say, “Helena shows us that we are all so much more than the challenges we face.”  She refers to Helena as a “multi-talented queen” whose story is inspiring for neurodivergent folks and anyone who is facing challenges or barriers to their STEM dreams.  Read the piece titled here.

Ayyoub, Loureen.  (February 18, 2023).  New Youth Poet Laureate Program Encouraging Young Activists.  Spectrum News, Long Beach, CA.

The city of Long Beach launched its first official Youth Poet Laureate program and this news story featured Helena and her hopes to expand her passion around disability justice if she is selected as the winner.  See it here.

Fensterwald, John.  (August 3, 2022).  Best and Brightest in STEM Under 16 Includes 3 California Students.  EdSource, August 3, 2022.

Fensterwald notes that the 16 Under 16 panel of judges who awarded Helena as one of the 16 Under 16 in STEM used the following three criteria for the awardees:  creativity – “the ability to design something new and disruptive”; change-making – “the capacity to inspire change in others within their community”; and resilience – “the ability to persevere by using challenges as opportunities for growth and move forward despite difficulties along the way.”  Read the piece here.

COLLABORATIONS

2024-Present    Research Advisor for the Cross-Pollinating Universal Design for Learning

and Asset-Based Pedagogies:  Examining Teacher and Student Perspectives.

Helena was invited by Dr. Federico R. Waitoller to collaborate with the CAST Center (the creators of Universal Design for Learning), Dr. Kathleen King Thorius, and Dr. Seena Skelton to be a Research Advisor.  Students from minoritized backgrounds experience intersecting forms of educational injustices, particularly racism and ableism, manifested in curriculum and instruction.  Historically, approaches such as asset-based pedagogies (ABPs) and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) have addressed these injustices in parallel.  While Practitioners have recently begun to cross-pollinate these approaches, more Research is needed to examine how teachers apply ABPs and UDL to design spaces that address and sustain learners’ whole selves.  This study draws from intersectional theory and recent pedagogical developments at the intersections of race and disability to answer these research questions:  How do teachers apply UDL in conjunction with other ABPs during ELA instruction?  What compatibilities and tensions do teachers experience when applying UDL in conjunction with other ABPs during ELA instruction? and How do students,  particularly disabled students of color, perceive and experience the cross-pollination of UDL and ABPs during ELA instruction?  The study will use ethnographic methods including observations, interviews, focus groups, and stimulated-recall interviews with a total of 6-8 educators – selected by administrator/teacher and student/family nomination – and their students.  Data analysis will be informed by Cultural Historical Activity Theory and grounded theory.  The study will identify key features and tensions of cross-pollinating UDL and other ABPs.

2024-Present    Commission for Women and Girls for the City of Long Beach, CA.  

Helena was invited to be an inaugural member of this new and prestigious Commission in her hometown.  She is the youngest Commissioner in the history of Long Beach.  Gender-based inequities continue to persist despite decades of efforts for gender equality.  In her hometown of Long Beach, CA, systemic inequalities have contributed to gender-based disparities, as 63% of Black women head of households are rent-burdened and White men ear nearly two times as much as Latinas.  In response to these growing concerns, the City of Long Beach established the city’s first Commission for Women and Girls.  The LBCWG will build partnerships with direct service providers and nonprofit organizations that will strengthen efforts to improve the quality of life among women and girls in Long Beach.  Helena was proud that her lifelong feminist work resulted in Mayor Rex Richardson reaching out to invite Helena to this coveted city position.

2023-Present    Global Change Ambassador.

As one of 12 recipients of a Global Youth Award, Helena was invited to the award’s Global Change Ambassador program.  The Global Change Ambassadors represent three generations and different regions around the world.  The Ambassadors are selected for their passion, talents, and ability to galvanize local communities to action.  The program empowers Ambassadors through coaching, mentoring, and access to the global network so that they can deliver their projects and initiatives in alignment with the organization’s goals.  Ambassadors are by invitation only and through winning a Global Youth Award.  Helena won the Global Youth Award for Educational Leadership on November 19, 2023.  https://www.roundtable.global/global-change-ambassadors 

2023-Present    Member of the National Advisory Panel for the Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., National Center for the African-American Appalachian Experience at WVU PSC.

Because of Helena’s deep and rich connections with Appalachia, the President of WVU PSC invited her to serve on this important advisory panel.

2023-Present    The National Education Association and Helena Donato-Sapp present “Become a Champion for Disability Rights and Inclusion” campaign.

Helena often speaks of the educators in her life who understand and accommodate her multiple – and invisible – learning disabilities as her “Champions.”  Becky Pringle, the President of the NEA, was so taken with Helena’s concept of champions that the NEA has partnered with Helena to do a national campaign with her to reach the NEA’s 3 million educators with important information about disability rights and inclusion.  Find out more about the campaign here.

2023-Present    Writer and Curriculum Developer for the Disability Justice Certificate at California State University Dominguez Hills.

Helena joins a team to develop and write a new Disability Justice Certificate program.  She is joined by her Dad - Jeff Sapp, her Papa – Sino Donato, Dr. Jenny Chiappe – Professor of Special Education, and Dr. Conrad Oh Young, Professor of Special Education.

2023-Present    Girls Learn International Senior Blog Team Writer.

After a year of being on the GLI Feminist Focus Blog Team and producing seven blog posts (only two were required of each team member), Helena pitched to GLI leadership that she be elevated to the role of Senior Blog Team Writer and she will guide other teenage young women to elevate their agency and voices for social change.  Learn more at The Feminist Focus Blog.

2023-Present    Girls Learn International Student Advisory Board Officer.

The GLI Student Advisory Board (SAB) is a nationwide board made up of student representatives from GLI Chapters in six regional areas across the nation.  The SAB works together to lead and set the agenda for Regional Meetings, serves as primary liaison between students and GLI Staff, and represents their region during Student Advisory Board meetings held throughout the school year.  Helena was invited to this position by GLI Staff Leadership!  Learn more about GLI.

2023-2024    Judge for D-30 Disability Impact List.

Helena is a 2022 Honoree for the D-30 List and was invited by the Diversability’s leadership to apply to be a judge this year.  In this role, Helena will review some 300 applications and help choose the 30 disability activists to be honored for this esteemed global recognition for 2023.  Learn more about the award and the judges here.

2023-Present    Project Team Member for The Disability-Centered Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies Project.

        

Helena has been invited to join the leadership of The Disability-Centered Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies Project.  This project noted how the global pandemic heightened inequities across disability, race, culture, and language and how disabled folx of color were already advocating for racial and disability justice and accessibility.  This project aims to address these critical inequities by co-constructing intentional, responsive, and accessible curriculum for teachers and future teachers.  The aim is to shift their beliefs about disability at the intersections and subsequently inform their future practices in P-12 classroom spaces.  This team will work together for a year during the 2023-2024 academic school year.  Helena has been invited to join a team that includes Lydia X. Z. Brown, Brianna Dickens, Tiny (Lisa) Gray-Garcia, Keith Jones, Dr. Saili S. Kulkarni, Lateef Mcleod, Dr. Amanda L. Miller, Leroy F. Moore, Jr. Dr. Emily Nusbaum, and Dr. Holly Pearson.

2022-Present    Speaker/Consultant - Elevating the Intersectional Disability Studies Strand of the Institute for Emancipatory Education at San Jose State University. 

        

Helena is the invited youth activist to this team of scholars and activist who include Saili Kulkarni (Project Director), Sudh Krishnan (Project Lead), Leroy Moore, Lydia X. Z. Brown, and Emily Nusbaum.  Project outcomes include:  Building a Disability Studies Minor, (2) Serving as a Disability-Centered Research Hub, and (3) Developing a Repository of Speakers and Leaders.

2021-2023    Founder and President - Girls Learn International Chapter at Westerly School.  Middle School Lead:  Conversations for Justice Club.