SPEAKERS BUREAU

AVID speakers deliver important, motivating messages for educators and students. Whether for a districtwide administrator launch to the new school year or a student assembly, our speakers will inspire your audience to recommit themselves to education. They provide how-tos that create a successful college- and career-ready campus. Moreover, they share personal stories of adversity and triumph that all AVID educators and students can relate to. Check out our roster of AVID speakers below. Click here to submit your speaker requests and to inquire about pricing.

PATRICK H BRIGGS
AVID Northeast Area Director

Title: “All Means All: Bridging the Achievement Gap”

Audience: All educators

Length: 30-90 minutes

Bio: Patrick Briggs is AVID’s Northeast Area Director. He came to this position after 12 years as a director for AVID’s Southern Area. Before that, he spent 15 years as a teacher and administrator in Texas. Patrick believes that any perceived “achievement gaps” are the result of opportunity and expectations gaps that adults must work together to close. His passion lies in helping all learners achieve at high levels so all students are college- and career-ready upon completion of high school. Patrick believes all students deserve a high-quality education, enabling them to make choices in life that will lead to success in any field of their choosing.

Education:

• Bachelor of Science in biology, Prairie View A&M University
• Master of Education in educational administration, Prairie View A&M University

JONATHAN GRANT BROWN
Community Engagement Manager

Title: “Being the Interruption ALL Students Need”

Description: Jonathan has dedicated himself to encouraging students to pursue a future by obtaining a college degree. As a product of a foster care system, Jonathan has made his mission in life to help open doors of opportunity for students and support them when society dictates such doors are closed to them. As an instructor for higher education, Jonathan believes building and maintaining proper relationships with students will accelerate their learning while helping them take more responsibility for their education.

Audience: Educators, students, parents, and administrators

Length: 45-60 minutes

Bio: Jonathan is a community engagement manager for AVID. As a former high school AVID student from Killeen ISD, Jonathan has experienced the roles of an AVID student, tutor, and one of the first AVID instructors in higher education. While attending college, Jonathan traveled the U.S. as a motivational speaker, sharing his experience as an AVID student and how it opened doors of opportunity to his future. In 2009, Jonathan began working with the University of Texas of the Permian Basin to develop an AVID First-Year Seminar, in which students learned how to navigate college and grow their critical thinking skills. As a teaching assistant at the freshman seminars, Jonathan used his AVID experience to show students and instructors how to use the AVID strategies he implemented when he was in college. After getting his degree from UTPB, Jonathan became the university’s AVID Liaison, later joining AVID Center itself.

Education:

• Bachelor of Arts in communications, University of Texas of the Permian Basin
• Master of Education, University of Texas of the Permian Basin