From Vision to Action: The Collaboration Behind Inclusion Today

Jessi Brunken: 
We’re tired of waiting for “later.” We believe today is the day—really, the only day. With the support of EALA, our collective organizations are launching a national campaign. Our goal? One year from now, whether we’re sitting here again, sipping margaritas, or chatting in a hotel lobby, we want at least one million students to be learning in schools where system leaders have made a public commitment to adopting truly inclusive practices. 

Jessi Brunken: 
We’ll get into the campaign details in a moment, but the key takeaway is this… 

Tim Villegas: 
This is Think Inclusive. I’m Tim Villegas. In today’s bonus episode, we’re sharing the story of Inclusion Today—a cross-organizational collaboration made possible by the Educating All Learners Alliance. 

Brooke Allen: 
Our campaign will roll out in phases over the next year. Internally, our teams will each contribute to the work plan—researching, synthesizing, and connecting with inclusion experts to develop a set of core competencies for inclusive system leadership. Then, we’ll launch a campaign using multiple communication strategies to secure public commitments from system leaders. These leaders will also gain access to tools, resources, and networks to help implement inclusive practices. 

Tim Villegas: 
After a short break, you’ll hear from each member of the Inclusion Today team about their experience at the Educating All Learners Alliance Community of Action in December 2023. 

Cindy Camp: 
I’m Cindy Camp, marketing and communications specialist with the Described and Captioned Media Program. 

Justine Katzenbach: 
Hi there! I’m Justine Katzenbach, Director of Organizational Strategy at the Diverse Learners Cooperative. 

Sergio Jara Arroyos: 
Hey, I’m Sergio Jara Arroyos, Senior Director of Marketing Communications at Blue Engine. 

Brooke Allen: 
Hi, I’m Brooke Allen, Executive Director of the Diverse Learners Cooperative. 

Brittni Sammons: 
Hi, I’m Brittni Sammons. I work for MCIE as a Professional Learning Lead Coordinator. 

Tim Villegas: 
Let’s go back—what were your expectations going into the Community of Action? 

Sergio Jara Arroyos: 
I remember filling out the form to attend. One question asked why I wanted to go. My answer wasn’t really about the program—it was about connecting with people. At Blue Engine, I was doing important work, but it often felt like I was doing it alone. I wanted to meet like-minded people and build my network. That was my main goal. 

Tim Villegas: 
Yeah, we were all pretty much strangers at that point. 

Cindy Camp: 
I wasn’t sure what to expect. In my role, I network a lot with teachers and people I support, but not so much with peers. I was hoping to meet others doing similar work—see what challenges they face, how they engage with communities and schools. We didn’t get much info beforehand, so we all kind of showed up not knowing what to expect. 

Justine Katzenbach: 
Same here. I wanted to build my professional community and learn from people in similar and different roles. But I didn’t fully understand what a “participatory grant funding experience” meant. I thought, “Interesting,” but had no idea what it would actually look like. 

Tim Villegas: 
I read the description and thought, “How is this going to work?” I even called Aurora and asked her to explain it. She assured me there was a process and that it had worked before. Brittany and I got there and I was like, “We need a plan.” So we wrote out notes—but honestly, that didn’t help. It’s better to go in with nothing. I know that now. 

Brooke Allen: 
I had attended one of these before, so I had a framework. The hardest part is finding the intersection of your organization’s mission and your personal interests—bringing both together to create something meaningful in education. It’s broad, and every group is different, so the connections shift each time. 

Brittni Sammons: 
I hadn’t attended one before, but I loved the experience. I remember thinking, “Where are our people?” But the way we all connected—and how our organizations aligned—was amazing. It felt like fate. And then our project was selected, which was a wonderful surprise. 

Justine Katzenbach: 
Brooke and I did the same thing—tried to prepare the night before. We thought we had a focus, but in hindsight, we ended up in a completely different place. I learned that it’s better to go in with an open mind. 

Sergio Jara Arroyos: 
That was not me. After a long day of travel, I just wanted dinner. I saw the email and thought, “I’ll deal with that tomorrow.” I was just hoping to find a group to walk over with. 

Cindy Camp: 
We had a virtual meeting before the event, which helped. I recognized a few faces when I arrived. But I wish we’d had two or three virtual meetings—it would’ve made things easier. That first day felt chaotic, especially for those of us who like structure. But the process worked, even if it felt uncomfortable at first. 

Tim Villegas: 
Looking back, I missed a big part of the process. On the first day, there were butcher papers around the room with different topics—teacher education, professional learning, family engagement, etc. Brittany and I tried to find our group, but it was hard. We even considered stepping back and just observing. Then one of the coaches, Toni Barton, came over and asked what we were thinking about. We mentioned leadership and mindset, and she said, “Wait here.” She brought over Justine, Brooke, Sergio, and Jessi. I’m not sure how Cindy joined, but I’m so glad she did. It was one of the most organic experiences I’ve had. 

Sergio Jara Arroyos: 
That was the most uncomfortable part for me. Suddenly, we were surrounded by people using a lot of jargon and frameworks. I felt out of place—like maybe I didn’t belong. But once we started talking, we realized we were all focused on the same core issue: mindset. We spent a lot of time aligning on definitions—what do we mean by “systems leader”? What system? Our entry points were different, but we worked through it. That’s when I knew I was with the right people. 

Justine Katzenbach: 
Once we started talking, it got really fun. At first, I wasn’t sure where I fit in or what value I brought. But then I saw how this topic connected to my work. I loved how we all brought different strengths and missions to the table. It became a celebration of each person’s skills and talents—something I didn’t expect going in. 

Cindy Camp: 
One thing we all learned early on was that we started with these huge, big-picture problems. We were thinking on a massive scale. But once we sat down and started working, it hit us—we only had 10 or 11 months to take something from idea to completion, and this was on top of our regular day-to-day work. So we had to scale back. We realized we could still do something meaningful, but it had to fit into our existing work. It didn’t need to be a massive initiative to be impactful. That shift in mindset was important. 

Tim Villegas: 
I’ve been reflecting on the teamwork and collaboration aspect—and why it felt so good. I have a few thoughts, and I’d love to hear your reactions. One thing that stood out was how quickly everyone developed trust. I’m not sure why that happened. Did you feel that too? 

Brooke Allen: 
I think there was something magical about the organizations that were there. Maybe 15 or more, all focused on students with learning differences. It’s like when you’re a special educator and you find your people—you just get each other. We speak the same language. You rarely get that many people in one room who are all focused on students with disabilities, outside of a big conference or a small school team. So there was this baseline trust—we’re all here for students and communities. We do different parts of the work—families, schools, policy—but we share a common goal. That was clear from the start. And even though I didn’t meet any of you until the morning of the work, that shared purpose helped build trust quickly. 

Brittni Sammons: 
I also think the coaches played a big role. They were listening to conversations and helped connect people. Our coach said, “You all need each other,” and brought us together. We were all really listening to each other—trying to understand where everyone stood, what their organizations were about. That helped us connect. I also felt supported by our coach in figuring out what we wanted to solve and how we could serve students who learn differently. That support helped us focus and move forward. 

Brooke Allen: 
By the end of that first day, we had all naturally found roles within the team. It wasn’t planned—it just happened. Tim, you brought your communications expertise. Sergio brought marketing. Justine and I leaned into project management—organizing info, building the slide deck. Brittni, your deep understanding of what schools need and how they operate was crucial. All of that shaped the project. It wasn’t like we assigned roles—it just evolved based on our strengths. 

Tim Villegas: 
Yeah. Before I ask whether we accomplished what we set out to do, I want to talk more about collaboration. I thought I knew what collaboration was, but the intensity of what we experienced during the Community of Action was unlike anything I’ve ever felt. Justine, you mentioned trusting the process—and we really did. We trusted each other’s strengths and ideas. There was no ego. Everyone brought their best self, and we trusted the product that came out of it. That experience showed me that deep collaboration is possible—you just have to be open and trust the people you’re working with. 

Sergio Jara Arroyos: 
I’m glad you’re focusing on collaboration. I had to reflect on that too. What stood out to me was the combination of trust and vulnerability. We were willing to admit we didn’t have all the answers. Instead of seeing that as a weakness, we leaned into each other’s strengths. At first, the room felt a little competitive. But we moved from competition to collaboration. I don’t know if every group made that shift, but we did—because we were open to learning from each other and refining our ideas. It wasn’t just about scaling back—it was about refining. The time constraint helped us focus and be realistic. Sometimes we think collaboration has to be big and flashy, but often it’s the behind-the-scenes work that really matters. 

Justine Katzenbach: 
One thing that stood out to me was how asset-based our thinking was. Everyone brought real talent to the table. Even if we’d all worked at the same organization, we might not have had the chance to collaborate like this. But we found ways to interweave our strengths and create something meaningful. That changed how I think about collaboration. If we focus on what people bring—their knowledge, their skills—we can elevate the whole project. That mindset has carried over into other work I’ve done since. 

Cindy Camp: 
I think our project was successful because we were all genuinely enthusiastic about it. We were invested in the outcome, not in getting credit. No one wanted the spotlight. Like you said, Sergio, it wasn’t about ego—it was about the work. That’s what made it successful and helped us refine a strong final product. 

Brittni Sammons: 
I keep thinking about the trust piece. There wasn’t pressure based on titles. The process helped us identify our problem of practice and potential solutions. That naturally brought out people’s strengths. No one asked, “What’s your role?” or “What are you doing?” It just happened. That organic approach helped build trust. The structure of the Community of Action was helpful, but it was how we worked together toward a common goal—supporting students—that made it feel safe and productive. 

Brooke Allen: 
And we were really stuck for a while—like three-quarters of the way through. We had drafted multiple ideas and kept saying, “This won’t work.” We were practical to a fault. We kept shutting down ideas because they weren’t feasible. I remember Aaron came over and gave us another idea. We were like, “Maybe… nope, keep going.” 

Brittni Sammons: 
There was a lot of safety in our group. That’s what allowed us to brainstorm freely. You’re supposed to be able to throw out any idea in a brainstorm, but you need to trust the people you’re with to do that. We didn’t have much time to build that trust—it had to happen fast. But we all came in wanting to learn about each other, and that shared effort created a safe space. Even when we were down to the wire, making last-minute decisions, I never felt overwhelmed—except maybe when we got interrupted 900 times! But that wasn’t about our group. The safety we built allowed us to take risks and come together as a team. 

Tim Villegas: 
Okay, does anyone want to try explaining what we actually did—our final product? I didn’t prep anyone for this, but if someone asked, “So what did you do with the grant?”—what would you say? 

Justine Katzenbach: 
I can take a stab at it. 

Tim Villegas: 
Go for it. 

Justine Katzenbach: 
We created a public awareness campaign to encourage district and system-level leaders to adopt inclusive practices in their schools. As part of that, we developed a starter kit—a tool to help leaders identify areas where they could implement inclusive practices and guidance on how to do it. 

Tim Villegas: 
Awesome. How do you feel about that? 

Brooke Allen: 
I feel okay. 

Justine Katzenbach: 
I’m open to someone else jumping in too. 

Sergio Jara Arroyos: 
I think that’s a great explanation. I’d just add that we wanted to unpack what “inclusion” really means. We aimed to ensure students had access to grade-level content, regardless of learning differences. Too often, we teach to the “average,” but there really is no average. There’s a wide range in how students engage with learning, and we wanted to reflect that in our work. 

Sergio Jara Arroyos: 
When we talk about inclusive practices, we’re really asking: how do we make grade-level content accessible to all learners, no matter where they’re starting from? How do we ensure students engage with materials in ways that are meaningful to them and that positively impact their academic outcomes? 

Cindy Camp: 
One of the issues we identified is that students with disabilities are still often segregated into specialized classrooms—not necessarily because they need individualized instruction, but because it’s easier for schools to separate them. We wanted to make sure those students have access to general education classrooms and the same opportunities as their peers whenever possible. 

Cindy Camp: 
So our campaign was designed to help leaders ensure that all students are included in general education settings and that learning opportunities are equitable for everyone. 

Brittni Sammons: 
Our product focused on providing perspective and building schema—using questioning to support thinking around how to better serve students. We didn’t want to just dump a bunch of resources. We wanted to help remove barriers and support meaningful inclusion for students with disabilities and diverse learners. 

Brittni Sammons: 
We kept asking ourselves: is this concrete enough? Can someone take this product, gather a team, identify a problem, and use our questioning structure and resources to take action—no matter their role or where they are in the system? Collaborating with others brought in so many valuable perspectives—regional, personal, and professional. That helped us make sure the product was accessible and useful to anyone in education. 

Brooke Allen: 
Ultimately, the product brought us all to the table—metaphorically—to consider different perspectives. At the Community of Action, we kept asking: who is this for? Who will this actually help? We didn’t want to create something that just sounded good. We wanted something that would make people think differently and take action. 

Brooke Allen: 
Even the name “Inclusion Today” was intentional—it signals urgency. We wanted to say, “This is needed now, and here’s what you need to do it.” Through collaboration, we landed on a product that’s useful to leaders in school districts—people who have real influence over student experiences. Watching the pledge sign-ups come in from across the country—and even internationally—was such a powerful moment. I loved seeing those maps light up. 

Brittni Sammons: 
Same here. It was amazing to see how far it reached. 

Brooke Allen: 
I don’t know if it came through in our Slack channel, but I was thrilled. We had sign-ups from 47 states—and don’t forget Ireland! 

Brittni Sammons: 
They were everywhere! I was like, “Oh my gosh!” 

Tim Villegas: 
Yeah, that really sums it up. The only thing I’d add is that we also created a landing page where people could download the toolkit. It’s been downloaded hundreds of times by leaders across the U.S. and around the world. We had big dreams of measuring impact, but with the time and budget we had, that was tough. 

Justine Katzenbach: 
I’m really excited about this tool. It keeps coming up in my work—it’s practical and helpful in so many partnerships and schools. Even at this year’s Community of Practice, people were saying, “I printed this out and shared it with my school leader,” or “I sent it to my superintendent.” Seeing that ripple effect has been incredible. 

Tim Villegas: 
I truly believe this is one of the most evergreen tools we’ve created. It’s going to last a long time. I’m so proud to have been part of this with all of you. It’s a great example of how four organizations can come together, collaborate, and create something meaningful—without anyone claiming ownership or credit. It was a true team effort. 

Tim Villegas: 
That’s all the time we have for this bonus episode of Think Inclusive. The next episode in your feed is another bonus from the Educating All Learners Alliance Community of Action. In December 2024, EALA invited the Inclusion Today team to share what we accomplished and to participate in another round of collaborative grant funding. 

Tim Villegas: 
So you’ll hear a bit from us again—and from the team that won the 2024 funding. No spoilers, though! 

Tim Villegas: 
Now, let’s roll the credits. Think Inclusive is brought to you by me, Tim Villegas. I handle the writing, editing, design, mixing, and mastering. This podcast is a proud production of the Maryland Coalition for Inclusive Education. All music in this episode was provided by Melod.ie. 

Tim Villegas: 
Thanks again to the Educating All Learners Alliance for supporting Inclusion Today and these bonus episodes. We truly appreciate every one of you who tunes in. We’d love to hear how you’re using these episodes—are they part of your teaching toolkit? Are you sharing them with school administrators? Drop me a line at tvillegas@mcie.org and let me know. 

Tim Villegas: 
Thanks for your time and attention. And remember: inclusion always works. From MCIE. 

Download the entire unedited version of the transcript here.