Jason Seals

Jason Seals is an African-centered educator, carrying the tradition of activist-intellectual to address critical systemic issues and empower individuals for personal and social transformation. An Oakland native, Jason has over two decades of experience serving his community locally, nationally, and globally as an educator, thought leader, speaker, and change agent. While completing his B.A. in Sociology at San Jose State University, Jason began his career in youth development serving in multiple roles across the nonprofit, mental health, and juvenile justice sectors. After obtaining his master’s in Africana Studies from the University of Albany, he leveraged his love for transformational educational practices and Africana studies in the classroom, teaching ethnic studies and manhood development courses at multiple high schools, colleges, and universities across the Bay Area. Jason earned his M.Ed. in Counseling Psychology from the University of San Francisco. He currently serves as the Chair of Ethnic Studies and Professor of African American Studies at Merritt College in Oakland, California.

Jason participated in the second Square One Roundtable convening “Examining Criminalization, Punitive Excess, and the Courts in the United States: Implications for Justice Policy and Practice.”