“Harbour skillfully illustrates how we find ourselves at this current impasse in public life, specifically as it relates to education. She manages to weave stories of personal experience with the systems impacted by those very stories. Her… thought-provoking questions, had me wondering if I’ve personally done enough in my role as a community educator. The sense of urgency that brought me to this work originally has been re-ingnited. As she writes, I too believe that “in a democracy, the public is responsible for educating it’s young people.”
—Kathy Szenda Wilson,
former director of Neighborhood Programs,
Battle Creek Community Foundation, and member of
Grassroots Grantmakers board.
About Patricia Harbour
Dr. Pat Moore Harbour
Dr. Harbour, author and public school educator, is a dynamic speaker, professional coach-facilitator and social change leader. As someone who is committed to the transformation of public education and the development of our youth, she facilitates leaders and citizens to create strategies and take action locally to make a difference in education and the lives of their youth. Dr. Harbour’s book, Community Educators ~ A Resource for Educating and Developing Our Youth published by the Kettering Foundation Press receives high praise, nationally and internationally. Likewise audiences who hear her speak report; her message is relevant, timely, practical and accessible”. In addition, reviewers note the findings, and stories are a powerful incentive that inspires them to action.
Dr. Harbour firmly believes that by acting together, professional educators, citizens and youth can shape a positive future that ensures that our youth become confident, competent, courageous and contributing citizens and the community is viable.
Spanning, three decades Dr. Harbour has provided leadership and innovation in public education and education policy. Currently, Dr. Harbour is CEO and President of the Center for Quality Education. She conducts research in public education with The Charles F. Kettering Foundation. Her career began as a classroom teacher and later she became a principal and assistant superintendent. In the U.S. Federal government, her education policy work included the United Nations International Year, of the Child where she directed the government wide observances celebrating the year and coordinated a review and publication of all federal programs and how each department addressed the needs of children and youth. As a Special Assistant to Cabinet Officer, Secretary for the Federal Department of Health Education and Welfare, she contributed the development of The Graduate Professionals Opportunity Program, later authorized by Congress, which provided fellowships to increase access and the supply of people of color and women with earned PhDs and degrees from professional schools.
In 1995, Dr. Harbour founded Healing the Heart of Diversity (HHD), a transformative process and social change coaching series for professionals who lead diversity education seminars and training. By request, she expanded use of the HHD process for application by non-profit organizations, boards of directors, executive leadership, professional trade associations and foundations.
Dr. Harbour’s publications include; Co-Senior editor, Voices of Women: Moving Forward with Dignity and Wholeness, an anthology of Women’s Essays on the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China, , published by the Fetzer institute, Kalamazoo, MI, 1996. Dr. Harbour’s work been has been included and cited in numerous other publications, including; “An Educator’s Commentary,” Emotional Development and Emotional Intelligence, edited by Salovey and Sluyter, 1997; and Co-author “Workshop Experience: Deepening the Dialogue; Truth and Reconciliation’, developed to accompany “Facing the Truth with Bill Moyers” PBS television series, Published by Thirteen WNET, March 1999.
Brook field and Preskill site Harbour’s wok in their publication, Discussion as a way of Teaching ~Tools and Techniques for Democratic Classrooms as does E. Dorian Gadsden in his book, Resolving The Dilemma~ Closing the Divide.
Dr. Harbour earned a Doctorate of Education Administration and Policy Studies from the George Peabody College of Education at Vanderbilt University.
She is the mother of two incredible daughters, Lisa and Wenda, and grandmother to four amazing grandsons, Payton, Christopher, Cameron, and Camden. She resides in the Hampton Roads Area of South East Virginia and is a published photographer.
