Story as Pedagogy: Leading for Justice, Wellness, and Reconciliation

In a time when educational systems are being called to confront their complicity in systemic inequities, storytelling emerges as a transformative leadership strategy—one that reclaims voice, restores humanity, and reimagines what it means to lead. This session invites school leaders into a powerful provocation: to recognize story not just as pedagogy, but as a call to action. Drawing from the lived experiences and doctoral research of three education leaders, this session weaves together narratives of anti-racist leadership, trauma-informed practice, and Indigenous ways of knowing. These stories challenge dominant paradigms and offer frameworks for culturally responsive, distributed, and transformative leadership. Participants will encounter real-world examples of how school leaders can name and confront systemic racism, embed wellness and healing into school culture, and center Indigenous leadership approaches in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action. This is not a presentation of theory alone—it is a collective offering grounded in relational accountability and ethical storytelling. Through personal and professional reflection, participants will be provoked to consider how their own stories—and those of their communities—can become tools for justice, resilience, and renewal. School leaders will leave with a deeper understanding of how storytelling can build capacity, shift culture, and sustain meaningful change in pursuit of equity and belonging.