
Authentic Leadership in Education: Dr. Paul Miller on Transforming Trauma into Triumph
From Voices for Excellence by Dr. Michael T Conner
February 19, 2026 · 1h 3m · Season 4 · Episode 117
About this episode
Dr. Paul Miller discusses how embracing past traumas can lead to authentic leadership and educational excellence.
What if unlocking educational excellence meant embracing both our past traumas and the resilience we’ve built through them? In this compelling episode of Voices for Excellence, Dr. Michael Conner welcomes Dr. Paul Miller, an influential educator and author, as part of our Black Excellence series during Black History Month. With a visionary approach that bridges the past and future of learning, Dr. Miller's leadership and literary works challenge conventional narratives and inspire transformative change. Dr. Miller is currently the Chief Academic Officer at Exceptional, overseeing 27 (soon to be 29) charter schools in Rochester, New York. His dedication to educational equity, especially for Black and brown students, is reflected in his best-selling books and his mission-driven approach to school leadership. But it’s the personal stories, as much as the professional insights, that make his voice such a crucial addition to modern educational discourse. This episode dives into the heart of systems transformation, using Dr. Miller’s books, such as From Gutter to Greatness and The Good Me and the Hood Me, as lenses for understanding how authentic leadership and self-awareness can…
People in this episode
Host: Dr. Michael T Conner
Guest: Dr. Paul Miller
Topics covered
- authentic leadership
- educational equity
- transformative change
- Black Excellence
- trauma and resilience
Keywords
- educational excellence
- leadership
- trauma
- resilience
- Black History Month
- charter schools
- educational equity
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Exceptional
Books & works: From Gutter to Greatness, The Good Me and the Hood Me
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