Dr. Sylvia Rousseau

A nationally recognized voice in education reform, racial justice advocate and educator, Dr. Sylvia Rousseau is a retired professor from USC’s Rossier School of Education. She, like many of the women gen/activist admires, is a woman of many firsts. After bearing all five of her children, she became the 2nd Black woman to graduate from Wake Forest University; and in 1993, became the first woman and Black person to serve as principal for the historic Santa Monica High School in Los Angeles, California, which under her leadership reduced the school’s dropout rate and increased graduation and college entrance among African American and Latinx students equal to their White and Asian peers. After that she served as superintendent for one of the lowest performing districts in the city, where again, she set a new standard for academic rigor, performance and centered the culture and lived experience of Black and Latinx communities. G-mom has built a 60+ year reputation as an expert on diversity, racial justice-centered education and a champion for women of color.