Emmy Howe and Ruth Condori-AragónAfter 12 years of driving social change, one conversation at a time, SEED Co-Director Emmy Howe, M.Ed., retired on September 1, 2023. Under her leadership, SEED brought its transformational professional development to hundreds of communities, organizations, and institutions—bringing people together to learn through self-reflection, building relationships through structured dialogue, and creating change through systemic analysis.
“It has been amazing to collaborate and co-create in so many SEED circles for the last 30-plus years,” said Howe. “The opportunity to listen and share in the ways we do at SEED is rare and impactful. I know that SEED is in good hands and will continue to move lives and systems toward justice for a long time.”
Howe has a long and accomplished history of advancing educational initiatives at the intersections of social justice and diverse learners, teachers, and families, including but not limited to her work on SEED. She also served as the Cambridge, Massachusetts, public schools’ first family liaison to the LGBTQ+ community and was part of a group that co-created the Welcoming Schools Program in support of LGBTQ+ and gender-inclusive educators, students, and families.
In addition, Howe has played an important role in establishing SEED as a professional development opportunity for the Wellesley Centers for Women and the Wellesley College community.
Howe will be succeeded by Ruth Condori-Aragón, M.Ed., who will join Gail Cruise-Roberson and Jondou Chase Chen as co-director. Condori-Aragón attended SEED New Leaders Training in 2010 and joined the SEED staff in 2012. Several years later, she joined the leadership team as an associate co-director. She is also a full-time teacher at The Meadowbrook School of Weston in Massachusetts.
“At Meadowbrook, SEED has opened doors for meaningful and respectful conversations around tough issues such as race, ethnicity, and gender, and has given our community, parents, and teachers a new perspective,” said Condori-Aragón. “I have experienced firsthand the tremendous impact SEED has on the lives of those who attend the training as well as those who are later touched through its work.”
