ABOUT
1 PURPOSE-EDUCATE THEM
ABOUT US
Creating a more prosperous society will require equity within our education system. Every third-grade student must read proficiently. Studies have shown education performance to be a strong predictor of graduation rate. We can work together to understand the true meaning of equity and dedicate energy to equal introduction to quality education and resources for success, navigating effective conversations that support a more equitable society. This service is provided through our non-prophet arm, 1 Purpose Educate Them. We are committed to giving Black youth the necessary tools and resources required to not only enter college but thrive during their entire educational journey. .
We serve by collaborating with community organizations, corporations, educational institutions, parents, city officials, and authorities, complementing our culturally-based approach to better understand the most formidable challenges faced in underserved communities, pre-K through 16, exacerbating low education performances. Our focus is to build new innovations that mitigate barriers to educational anti-racist systems transformation.
HOW WE HELP CLIENTS
Community Partnerships and Grantee Support
We work with organizations, applying innovative educational support services that strengthen their programs, increasing their overall effectiveness and outreach. We offer grant management and strategy implementation for community DEIB efforts.
Professional Development
We prepare future and current educators by designing, improving, and transforming the workplace environment, emphasizing equity, inclusion, and uplifting underserved communities.
Parent Support & Advocacy
We help parents reimagine and advocate a better education system that improves student outcomes, enhances operational and administrative performance, and ensures equitable learning outcomes.
During her tenure, dedicating more than 20 years to fostering an inclusive and belonging environment for faculty staff and students, as well as directing community outreach initiatives, Dr. Banks realized, she had a specific burden for a core group of individuals. She found herself consistently drawn to implementing strategies that supported education equity for underserved youth, encouraging them to consider doctoral degrees in healthcare. Programs were implemented as early as kindergarten, culminating with a white coat ceremony, and as late as graduate school, working as an advisor for the Black Student Association. She understood the work did not stop at the entry point. Support to thrive, matriculating through graduate school was equally vital.
As a first-generation college student, without an environment that included education excellence as a core value; her journey in education began in her later years. Working closely with the College of Medicine, she noticed an extreme decline in African American enrollees and wanted to properly equip herself with solution-driven tools. The drive led her to pursue a doctoral degree in Health Administration. During this time, she began to understand the power of research and true effective community strategy development. Her mission became to (A) ensure as many children as possible understood the power of education and the importance of the early pursuit; (B) aggressively fight for education equity for underserved youth, making sure they have adequate support. Early interventions would yield increased diversity enrollment.
Dr. Pamela Berry-Banks has dedicated her life to removing education inequities in underserved communities. Creating 1 Purpose Education, a culturally affirming and appropriate consulting company that provides instructional support, professional development, and advocacy and support to families in need, was birth out of the awareness of an education crisis, with a determination to be an active solution-focused partner, fighting for the underserved and well deserved.
OUR FOUNDER
DR. PAMELA BERRY - BANKS
Her passion for equity and inclusion and her determination to develop practical solutions that change the narrative for systemically marginalized and underestimated youth had led her to unique spaces, including:
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Developing and implementing DEI publications, webinars, and workshops for the American Dental Education Association.
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Serving as the Tennessee Community Engagement Alliance (TN CEAL) Project Director at Meharry Medical College. TN CEAL develops and leads mitigation efforts to reduce the spread and adverse outcomes of COVID-19 among socially vulnerable persons.
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Leading the University of Tennessee Health Science Center as the Director of Community Outreach and Special Events, wherein two years of starting, she increased overall staff and student participation by 50%, helping the university be named among the Top Workplaces in Memphis for five consecutive years.
Dr. Pamela Berry Banks is well accomplished. She received her Bachelor's Degree in Professional Studies from the University of Memphis. Her Master's Degree in Conflict Resolution from Bethel University and her Doctoral Degree in Health Administration from the Medical University of South Carolina in 2020.
