2023 Summer Leadership Academy

Actress and Professor, Dr. Tonea Stewart, a native of Greenwood, Mississippi, has lived in Montgomery Alabama since 1990. She is a professional actress, play director, national museum exhibit director, tenured Professor and retired as Dean of the College of Visual & Performing Arts at Alabama State University.

She was the first African American female to receive a doctorate from the FSU school of Theatre and the first McKnight Doctoral Fellow in Theatre Arts. During her study at FSU, Tonea also received a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities. As an actress, Tonea is perhaps best known for her recurring role of “Miss Etta Kibbee” on in “The Heat of the Night”.

She earned an NAACP Image Award nomination for her role in the film adaptation of John Grisham’s A Time to Kill and a New York World Festival Gold Medal Award for the narration of Public Radio International’s series “Remembering Slavery.”

Tonea began her acting career in 1969 and became the first African American to direct and star in a leading role on stage at New Stage Theatre, the most prestigious equity theater in Mississippi. Since then, she has directed major museum exhibitions such as the Rosa Parks Museum, African American Museum of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and The International Civil Rights Museum in Greensboro, N.C.
Stewart has performed in Canada, Mexico, South Korea, Scotland, Turkey and throughout the United States, including Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. Her screen and television credits include: A Time To Kill, The Rosa Parks Story, Tyler Perry’s “Ruthless”, Mississippi Burning, Invasion of the Body Snatchers III, Issa Rae’s Rap Shit, Living Large, My Stepson/ My Lover, Walker, Texas Ranger, Memphis Beat Matlock, Leave of Absence, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, ER, Touched by an Angel, Mississippi Damned, The Wronged Man, and soon to be released Irv Gotti’s We Made It In America.
Tonea has served as spokesperson for “One Church, One Child” of Alabama and for NOSAP, a Texas based organization aimed at youth development. She was inducted into the National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame and she holds honorary doctorates from Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa, Talledega College in Talledega, Alabama, Jarvis Christian College in Hawkins, Texas and Tuskegee University in Tuskegee, Alabama.

Tonea is a member of the Order of The Golden Circle, a life member of the NAACP, SCLC, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. and a dedicated member of Hutchinson Missionary Baptist church. She is married to Dr. Allen Stewart. They have three children and five grandchildren.

Speakers

Scott DiMauro
President, Ohio Education Association

Scott DiMauro is a high school social studies teacher currently serving as President of the Ohio Education Association. Having taught since 1991, mostly in the Worthington Schools outside of Columbus, Scott served as OEA Vice President for six years prior to being elected president in 2019. A graduate of Miami University and the Ohio State University, Scott chose a career in social studies education to help students become effective citizens in our democracy by developing their skills as problem-solvers, decision makers, and critical thinkers. As an activist and leader at all levels of the Association, Scott has worked to build collective power among OEA’s 120,000 members to protect and strengthen public education, empower educators, and stand up for the rights of students. Among other union roles, Scott has served as local and district president and currently serves as president-elect of the National Council of State Education Associations (NCSEA).

Jim Mahoney, Ph.D.
Founder, RedBrick Hill, LLC and the Strengths Center
Executive in Residence and Assistant Professor, George Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service at Ohio University
Executive Director, Emeritus, Battelle for Kids

A long-time educator and entrepreneur, Jim Mahoney has dedicated his life to bettering educational opportunities for all students, serving as a superintendent, principal, and teacher, as well as an adjunct professor at several Ohio universities. In 2001, he joined Battelle for Kids as the organization’s first executive director.

Under Jim’s 15 years of leadership, Battelle for Kids grew into a national not-for-profit that expanded across the globe to advance educational equity and opportunity for all students, which impacted more than 6 million students and more than 400,000 educators nationwide.
Today, Jim serves as the founder of RedBrick Hill, a leadership consulting organization, as well as the Strengths Center, comprised of former educators and strengths-based leadership experts who are passionate about creating positives cultures, both in schools and organizations.

In addition to writing several articles and co-authoring books, Jim is the author of the book, To Lead is to Teach: Stories and Strategies from the Classroom to the Boardroom. Jim has made presentations throughout the United States, Canada, Ireland, and China and has been recognized on numerous occasions for his leadership in education.