Elsa E. Jones, M.A. is an Early Childhood Education Consultant and a Freedom School Consultant. Brian Nance is a Freedom School Lead Teacher.
Elsa jones, a daughter of the Civil Rights Movement, is an Early Childhood and Adult Educator with 32 years of broad-ranging experience. Her career started as a Head Start teacher and center director. A staunch advocate for authentic family engagement and culturally responsive education, she has been blessed to direct a Hartford-based Children’s Defense Fund Schools for the past two summers.
Brian Nance, grandson of Baptist Preacher and Civil Rights Leader William Augustus Jones, is currently working on his Masters in Public Policy at Trinity College where he received his Bachelor's degree in 2016. Mr. Nance attended The Loomis Chaffee High School where he helped pioneer a peer mentoring program for Hartford children. He has continued mentoring annually throughout his Trinity years. Active with the CDF Freedom Movement for nearly three years, he has served as a Freedom School Servant Leader Intern in Harlem, NY, and site Coordinator in Hartford, CT, and is a member of the CDF Defender Fellowship.
The CDF Freedom Schools provide summer and after-school enrichment through a model curriculum that supports children and families around five essential components: high quality academic enrichment, parent and family involvement, civic engagement and social action, intergenerational leadership development, and nutrition, health, and mental health. They work in partnership with community based organizations, faith institutions, schools, colleges, and universities.
