ABOUT DR. TONY LAMAIR BURKS II
Dr. Burks’ career is defined by his culturally courageous leadership in support of today’s learners as leaders and innovators.
THOUGHT LEADER
As the Chief Learning Officer of LEADright and a K-12 Education Expert, Dr. Burks’ ideas and insights center around thinking differently; taking different actions, and having different breakthrough results.
AUTHOR
Dr. Burks is the author of three books and a contributor to two. His newest book, Bought Wisdom: Tales of Living and Learning, is an interactive leadership memoir that invites you to tell your own stories. Bought Wisdom shows learners and leaders how to use their stories to reframe and transform their lives for the benefit of themselves and others.
SPEAKER
Dr. Burks, as Doctor B the storyWeaver, first learned the art and craft of storytelling from his four grandparents in LA…Lower Alabama. He has been a featured storyteller, panelist, and speaker in the United States and abroad. As a storyWeaver, he masterfully recounts stories of meeting famed dancer and anthropologist Katherine Dunham and Her Royal Highness Maha Chakri Sirindhorn The Princess of Thailand with the same passion as he retells stories of his childhood growing up in Dothan, Alabama. His stories offer life lessons; what he calls Bought Wisdom.
EDUCATOR
Dr. Burks is an award-winning educator who developed an early drive for leading that resulted in him becoming an elementary school principal at the age of 27. Since then, he has served schools and districts in roles from Magnet Director to School Transformation Coach, from Principal Mentor to Executive Director of Small School Innovation, and from School Improvement Officer to Area Superintendent. Dr. Burks was the founding principal of The Early College at Guilford, North Carolina’s first early college high school and one of the first such schools of its type in the world.
To learn more about Dr. Burks, you can read about his professional background, personal insights, and educational philosophy. And don't forget to connect with him on LinkedIn!
THOUGHT LEADER
As the Chief Learning Officer of LEADright and a K-12 Education Expert, Dr. Burks’ ideas and insights center around thinking differently; taking different actions, and having different breakthrough results.
- Superintendent-in-Residence. Dr. Burks served the National Center for Urban School Transformation (NCUST) as its Superintendent-in-Residence. He has helped school districts and their partners transform schools into places where students achieve academic proficiency, love learning, and graduate well prepared to succeed.
- Scholar. A fellow of the British-American Project and a two-time recipient of the Joseph B. Whitehead Educator of Distinction Award (2003, 2006), Dr. Burks has earned three awards from the Fulbright Organization for his work in education: the Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher Program (1998), the Fulbright Educator Exchange with the Kingdom of Jordan (2004), and the Fulbright Administrator Exchange with the Kingdom of Thailand (2006). Dr. Burks earned a BA in Philosophy with Honors from Morehouse College, an MEd in Educational Leadership from Trevecca Nazarene University, and a doctorate in Educational Leadership from The University of North Carolina Greensboro.
- Accomplishments. Dr. Burks has been honored for many achievements. Most recently, the Boys and Girls Club of Hawk-Houston recognized him as their 2016 recipient of the Alveta Hawk Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2015 he was highlighted as One of Six HBCU Grads You Should Know (“The Educator”) in NU∙tribe Magazine and he was recognized by State of Georgia Office of the Governor for Service to Education. Dr. Burks is among five educators featured in Walking the Equity Talk: A Guide for Culturally Courageous Leadership in School Communities by John Robert Browne II.
AUTHOR
Dr. Burks is the author of three books and a contributor to two. His newest book, Bought Wisdom: Tales of Living and Learning, is an interactive leadership memoir that invites you to tell your own stories. Bought Wisdom shows learners and leaders how to use their stories to reframe and transform their lives for the benefit of themselves and others.
SPEAKER
Dr. Burks, as Doctor B the storyWeaver, first learned the art and craft of storytelling from his four grandparents in LA…Lower Alabama. He has been a featured storyteller, panelist, and speaker in the United States and abroad. As a storyWeaver, he masterfully recounts stories of meeting famed dancer and anthropologist Katherine Dunham and Her Royal Highness Maha Chakri Sirindhorn The Princess of Thailand with the same passion as he retells stories of his childhood growing up in Dothan, Alabama. His stories offer life lessons; what he calls Bought Wisdom.
EDUCATOR
Dr. Burks is an award-winning educator who developed an early drive for leading that resulted in him becoming an elementary school principal at the age of 27. Since then, he has served schools and districts in roles from Magnet Director to School Transformation Coach, from Principal Mentor to Executive Director of Small School Innovation, and from School Improvement Officer to Area Superintendent. Dr. Burks was the founding principal of The Early College at Guilford, North Carolina’s first early college high school and one of the first such schools of its type in the world.
To learn more about Dr. Burks, you can read about his professional background, personal insights, and educational philosophy. And don't forget to connect with him on LinkedIn!