Mr. Westbrook is the DEI Director for the Guilderland Central School District. He is responsible for providing programs and services that integrate DEI into the school community.  He feels his job is not to change minds, but to open them.  Prior to this position, Mr. Westbrook had been the Director of the KIPP Forward Program for the Capital Region.  He supported KIPP Tech Valley alumni in high school and college, and helped ensure their successful transition into professional life.  He holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University at Albany in Africana Studies, and a Master’s degree in Black (Culture) Studies from The Ohio State University. Mr. Westbrook was a doctoral candidate in Education Administration and Policy Studies at the University at Albany, and plans to return to finish this degree in the future. He was an instructor in higher education for over 20 years. He has taught Introduction to Black Studies, Introduction to African American History, Psychology of the Black Experience, Economic Structure of the Black Community, and lectured on a number of interdisciplinary topics including graduate programs in Counseling Psychology, and has designed, coordinated, and taught a Professional Leadership Series to graduate students at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). He has also been a Program Director for Opportunity Programs, on college campuses in New York and New Jersey for 8 years. He continues to consult on a range of issues in K-12 and postsecondary education (including the achievement gap, culturally responsive teaching and counseling, and diversity, equity, and inclusion).  In his spare time, Derek enjoys martial arts, reading, spoken word poetry, movies and music!