About Real Talk Leadership and Its Founder

Real Talk Leadership was birthed out of a need to help adults examine and ameliorate their biases through education and honest conversation. As its CEO and Founder, Dr. Renée Heywood has been committed to giving educators and leaders a safe but brave space to make sustainable change that impacts the climate and culture of an organization. She has been an educator for almost three decades and has traveled the world for  education and youth development to places like Managua,  Nicaragua; Chiquimulilla, Guatemala and Adelaide, Australia. With Spanish as her second language, she has taken students and has traveled with a non-profit organization to help the development of newer schools in these areas. She was invited to Adelaide, Australia to speak at a conference that convened spiritual leaders from places like Sudan, Tanzania, Burundi and Kenya and also gave an empowerment workshop to the youth in attendance entitled, “The Power of Your Presence and Sound.” As an African American, her focus has always been to support the next generation of young people and the leaders who will support their growth.   

Dr. Renée has a Bachelor's degree in Spanish Language and Literature from Brandeis University, a predominantly Jewish university that has given her a unique perspective as a Christian into the possibilities of unity in the midst of differences. She has a Master’s of Education degree in Educational Leadership from Bridgewater State University where she also earned her Principal license and later obtained her Superintendent’s license. More recently, Dr. Renée earned her Doctorate of Philosophy in Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies with a concentration in Language, Literacy and Culture as they relate to racial issues. 

Her curriculum vitae speaks to her experience working in non-profit, public, private and juvenile justice settings. She was the appointed by the Commonwealth of MA as the Director of Educational Services for all incarcerated youth and worked as the Assistant Superintendent of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in one of the largest and most racially and linguistically diverse districts in the state. She is known as a leader in racial equity work, having been appointed to various boards and invited to speak and present her work at many venues. She has also presented her research at the Social Justice Conference in Finland and because her topic was so popular, she was asked to write an article that was internationally published. This article is accessible using the link found under "publications" on this page.

Most recently, Dr. Renée published a reflection journal for racial reconciliation entitled Finding Me Finding Us for Educators to help them be more proactive in examining their biases so that their students are not harmed by their actions and they are able to prepare ALL students, regardless of race, for a global society. Soon to be released is a chapter of poetry she co-authored with her daughter entitled “Keisha vs. Karen – We Ain’t Doing This No More” about their mother/daughter experiences navigating racism and adultification in education. This will be part of the book entitled, "The Majestic Place: The Freedom Possible in Black Women’s Leadership (available later this Summer through Rowman and Littlefield Publishing).

Association of Massachusetts School Equity Leaders (AMSEL) Professional Development Chair

Preparing Leaders in Education, Disability, and Juvenile Justice (PLEDJJ) Advisory Board

Influence 100

Racial Imbalance Advisory Council