Conversation with Aysha Upchurch

Portrait of a woman with shoulder blade length dreads/hair, falling over her shoulder. She is wearing a light blue shirt, worn off her shoulders, and she is looking directly at the camera and smiling.

In this episode, I have the pleasure of having a conversation with Aysha Upchurch - an artist, educator, and activist. Hear how Hip Hop has informed and influenced how she approaches the world, as well as her insights about higher education, improvisation, activism, and how they all bump up against one another. It was such an illuminating conversation, I'm sure you'll love it!

A bit about Aysha: Aysha Upchurch, the Dancing Diplomat, is an artist and educator who creates, facilitates, and designs for radical change. She has shared her experience about artfully designing equitable and culturally relevant classrooms, the importance of dance and movement in education, and embracing Hip Hop as a powerful literacy as a consultant and speaker and most recently at TedxUConn.  She is a Lecturer and Artist-in-Residence at the Harvard Graduate School of Education where she is pioneering courses and initiatives on Hip Hop pedagogy and embodied learning.  Whether on stage or in a classroom, as a US State Department cultural envoy or professor, Aysha is making moves and demonstrating how to be D.O.P.E. - dismantling oppression and pushing education.

To find out more about Aysha: https://www.ayshaupchurch.com/

To get some D.O.P.E.: https://dopeisaverb.com/

To find out a bit more about Daniel: https://www.danielburkholder.com/