THE EDUCATOR &
STUDENT ADVOCATE
Carolynn Williams is a dynamic keynote speaker for educators and students for today’s evolving educational experience. She is a stellar blend of storyteller, experiential learning, audience engagement, and creating moments the audience will remember for years to come. Carolynn travels nationwide speaking to organizations, associations, leaders, and students on how to make the shift from isolation to connection, bullying to kindness, and failure to progression.
Carolynn quit her six-figure corporate career to become a substitute teacher to understand what is happening in our schools, with our youth, the teacher experience, and how to bridge gaps that are suffocating our students and educators alike.
THE UNDERCOVER SUBSTITUTE
Carolynn is the Undercover Substitute Teacher
“Capturing real stories from students and teachers like never before.”
After more than a decade in the corporate world, Carolynn began to experience something she had never seen before: young professionals getting physically ill on a phone interview. Three different candidates in three different states for three different roles were all becoming physically unwell in a matter of moments. This was completely baffling and unfamiliar to her during the initial phone screening process. She thought, “What in the world is happening?! This has never been a thing before. There has to be something at the root of this and I need to know what it is.”
Curiosity killed her corporate career and she gave her notice at work. She began the process of becoming a substitute teacher in several school districts in her own backyard. Learning that public education processes are very different from the corporate setting, she was immediately beginning her learning journey in the world of education. After completing the trainings, background check, and onboarding process, she was off to the races to get in to the high schools to learn and absorb as much information as possible. While Carolynn went in with the intent to honor the teacher’s sub plans, if it was a “homework” day, she had other plans in mind.
The world of teens can be daunting, but through her research she has discovered ways of bridging the gap between isolation to connection, self-loathing to self-confidence, failure to success. Since beginning her under cover substitute teaching journey, Carolynn has interviewed thousands of young people in their own environment, observed daily interactions between students, peers, teachers, and administration, listened to countless stories from our young people, and learned invaluable lessons from teachers she rubbed shoulders with during her substitute teaching time.
Now, more than ever, our young people need us to show up for them and with them in ways that have never been required before.
