The Exit Interview: A Podcast for Black Educators

Sep 18, 2026 · 52m

Shani Dowell left a business career for a seventh-grade math classroom, then left the classroom to build Possip a listening platform now used by over 1,000 schools in 35+ states. In this episode, she talks candidly about her non-traditional path into teaching, the reality of a two-teacher household on a $30K salary, recruiting at HBCUs, and why "contentedness" might be the most underrated wellness strategy for educators. If you've ever had an idea and wondered how to start small, take a look at this episode.

Aug 18, 2026 · 16m

In this special episode of The Exit Interview, Dr. Asia Lyons shares a milestone eight years in the making: the podcast's permanent archival at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, the first podcast ever accepted into its collection.  She traces the story back to her own 2018 exit interview, the moment of relief that sparked the idea to give other Black educators a chance to tell their truth.  Ninety-three episodes later, what began as a search for a simple narrative of racism and burnout revealed something far more layered: misogynoir, anti-Blackness, colorism, and the slow, hard-won return to joy and wellness after harm. Now, with the Schomburg preserving these testimonies as living historical record, Dr. Lyons introduces what's next: The Exit Interview Archive Project, an invitation to institutions and individuals to help carry Black educator stories further into the world.  As she puts it, the stories we save, save us. 

Aug 4, 2026 · 1h 3m

Stacie McClam went from being bused to "better" schools as a Black child in LA, to teaching across DC, Japan, Denver, and Kuwait, and what she found everywhere was the same broken system dressed up differently.She became the "fix-up lady," repeatedly hired mid-year to salvage classrooms other teachers fled. She watched Black and Latino kids get pushed through grades without learning to read, saw phonics stripped from US curricula that worked brilliantly in Kuwait, and fought systems that celebrated bare minimum as excellence. The toll was real: shingles, hair loss, depression, and a PTSD diagnosis when it was all over.So she quit. Both teaching and law were another system she found too biased to use. Instead, Stacie picked up a camera. Her film production company, School Dismissed, is making a trilogy of narrative fiction films tackling AI surveillance, education inequity, and what Black students deserve. Her first film, Mr. Advocate, premieres this month.Her message is clear: the system isn't failing by accident. And she's done explaining that in words nobody reads now she's showing it on screen.

Jul 21, 2026 · 1h 35m

S. Jae Ali, EdM, has taught in Charlotte, Chicago, China, and Brazil, and every classroom taught her something the next one couldn't fix. In this episode, the South Side Chicago native and former educator gets honest about the racism she faced in her teacher prep program, the mental health toll of toxic leadership, the thrill of watching struggling students soar, and why she ultimately walked away from the classroom. From COVID lockdowns in Zhengzhou to a private school in So Paulo where she was the only Black teacher, Jae's story is proof that the problem isn't always the kids and that choosing yourself isn't quitting. Now running wellness workshops and speaking engagements through her platform S. Jae Ali Speaks, she's still teaching. Just on her own terms.

Jul 10, 2026 · 1h 58m

Danica Moore, Ed.D. knew she was meant to teach before she even had a lesson plan, from sharpening skills with second graders at 10 years old to taking over her Sunday school class on a dare. With nearly 20 years in education, she's worn every hat: special ed teacher, ESL specialist, reading and math coach, equity facilitator, district office leader, and now founder of Fortified Educational Practices and Program Director for the National Freedom Schools Partnership.But this episode isn't just a career highlight reel. It's an honest look at what happens when the work you love starts to cost you when equity work becomes a cage. Dr. Danica opens up about the emotional toll of being one of the only people of color in predominantly white spaces, navigating colleagues who never hid their resistance to the work, waking up in tears every day during her first year at the district office, and learning how to reconnect with herself after years of pouring out.She and I explore what radical resilience actually looks like: not grinding through the pain, but learning to be still, redefining rest, and returning to yourself after the work has tried to reshape you.

Jun 30, 2026 · 1h 18m

What happens when the system tells you that you "care too much"?For Jamita Horton, Ed.D, that moment in a Milwaukee principal's office was the beginning of a decade-long journey of pressing reset on her classroom, her career, and ultimately herself.In this episode of The Exit Interview, Dr. Horton takes us from Sunday school teacher's aide to kindergarten teacher to assistant principal, unpacking how rigid behavior management, a lack of mentorship, and the slow erasure of her identity pushed her out of traditional K-12 spaces not once, but twice.She gets real about what COVID revealed (protected planning time IS possible), what it feels like to leave a school after six years with barely a goodbye, and why she finally had to ask: "Who am I outside of the classroom?"Now running a teacher policy fellowship at Teach Plus Dr. Horton has found her sweet spot developing educators and advocating for change at the systems level, without losing herself in the process.Whether you're a kindergarten teacher holding the line on productive noise or a burned-out administrator questioning your next move, this one's for you.

Jun 9, 2026 · 1h 7m

Dr. Nadia A. Bennett doesn't just talk about leading; she's lived it, from an air mattress on the floor of a Philly apartment to founding her own national education consulting firm, When Brown Girls Lead.In this episode of The Exit Interview: A Podcast for Black Educators, I sit down with Dr. Nadia for a raw, spirit-filled conversation about what it actually takes to climb the educational ranks as a Black woman. Dr. Nadia shares the unlikely moments that shaped her path: a stranger's advice in a retail store, the loss of a beloved cousin, and a woman in a Howard cohort who looked her dead in the eyes and said, "You're called to this." She talks openly about the grief of leaving a school where she poured everything, the tokenism she faced as a charter superintendent, and why she walked away from a six-figure leadership role without a plan.This episode is just as much about what comes after the exit. Dr. Nadia breaks down how she built a thriving consulting firm powered largely by Black women, why psychological safety matters more than job security, and what she wishes someone had told her before she stepped into the principalship.If you've ever felt the tension between ambition and belonging, between sacrifice and self-preservation, this episode is for you.

May 26, 2026 · 1h 22m

Melissa Leonard-Goodlett, EdD. knew she was a diversity hire. She took the job anyway because she was also the most qualified person in the room.In this episode of The Exit Interview, Dr. Melissa breaks down a career that went from dyslexic kid playing teacher with her siblings, to AP English instructor watching Black students pay for a high school education they never actually received, to burning out at a wealthy PWI where parent surveys went straight to HR and her principal never once stepped foot in her classroom.She saw the literacy crisis from both sides: underfunded schools pushing kids through, and affluent schools inflating grades to protect their reputation. Same problem. Different zip code.After years of microaggressions, invisibility, and hives she couldn't explain, she resigned. Now she's an educational consultant, reclaiming her why one new teacher at a time.

May 13, 2026 · 1h 20m

Kamye Hugley is back, and this time, she's talking about what happens when you trade the classroom for the nonprofit world. Fan favorite Kamye returns to The Exit Interview to share her truth about making the leap from Black educator to nonprofit professional. Spoiler: it wasn't the escape she imagined. From navigating workplace dysfunction to rediscovering her worth, Kamye breaks down how she transferred her teaching skills into a brand-new arena and what she wishes someone had told her before she made the jump. If you're a Black educator eyeing the nonprofit sector as your next move, this episode is your required listening.