SXSW EDU – Surprise! The first round of Featured Sessions is revealed

Initial Featured Sessions Revealed Today

SXSW has revealed a special programming announcement of three Featured Sessions selected for SXSW EDU 2023 that highlight some of the powerful content that rose to the top in PanelPicker®. Showcasing an impressive roster of thought leaders paving the way for education equity, inclusive storytelling, and R&D initiatives, these sessions represent the rich diversity of thought and breadth of viewpoints that you can look forward to on March 6-9, 2023 in Austin, Texas.

In the Featured SessionAthletes Advancing Education, U.S. Olympic Champion in Figure Skating (1992) and founder of Always Dream Kristi Yamaguchi, will join NFL Defensive End for the San Francisco 49ers and founder of the Armstead Academic Project Arik Armstead, along with nonprofit executive and founder of Venture Leadership Consulting Aila Malik, for a compelling discussion on how they use their platforms to advance education equity.

The Drag Queen Story Hour performance and crowd favourite from 2022 will return to SXSW EDU, but this time on the Featured stage to dive deeper into drag as a traditional art form to teach about LGBTQ lives and demonstrate the importance of acceptance and inclusion. Hear from Drag Queen Story Hour’s executive board director Jonathan Hamilt as Ona Louise, board president Beatrice Thomas as Black Benatar, and board treasurer Lil Miss Hot Mess in the Featured Session Drag Queen Story Hour: Fight for Queer Herstories.

Roberto J. Rodríguez, assistant secretary for the office of planning, evaluation and policy development at the U.S. Department of Education, is joined by vice president of partnerships at Schmidt Futures, Kumar Garg; founder and senior science advisor at Turnaround for Children, Pamela Cantor; and senior program director at the Walton Family Foundation, Joanna Cannon; to discuss How New Attention to R&D Will Transform Learning as they dive into the importance of expanding education research and development through federal programs.