Dr. Rhonda Sutton

I am Rhonda Sutton and I was born and raised in Harlem in New York City. Ever since I was a little girl I wanted to be a teacher. As a child I enjoyed learning, especially reading and writing. Every week my mom would take my siblings and I to the library so that we could borrow books. We also had tons of books at home. From a young age I understood that it was through words that I made sense of the world. Learning was important to me because I believed that my education was the one thing that could not be taken away from me.

I am an educator, consultant, and a certified professional coach. In these roles, I strive to awaken the freedom of education and life as an irresistible revolution. It is in this awakening that I am able to support others in their journey to who they are becoming. What keeps me grounded are my values of honesty, trust, respect, curiosity, and freedom.

My entire professional career has been in education. I taught elementary school in East Harlem, New York City and in Northeast Pennsylvania. I was an elementary school assistant principal and a principal. I was the K-12 supervisor of English Language Arts. I also was a professor and department chair of Reading Education and the director of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Writing Project at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania. Currently, I am CEO and lead consultant/certified professional coach for Trust You Consulting. I am passionate about transformational change in the education system. With over 35 years in education, I understand the struggles of leading and teaching in a demanding system. I work with educators who are seeking personal transformation and/or organizational transformation to create systems and environments that center teacher well-being in service of enhancing student academic success. I help educators’ step into their greatness and create environments where vision is clear, curiosity is awakened, and teachers are empowered to take action.

By nature, I am curious. I wonder about things I see, hear, and experience. I bring that curiosity to teaching and learning. For the past two decades, I have had the opportunity to explore my curiosities as I supported and facilitated teacher professional learning. Being curious has helped me to be open to new ways of thinking about teaching and learning. My curious nature has also propelled me to try on new ways of teaching and learning. I have adopted an openness and acceptance of uncertainty in my teaching, which allows me to step out of my comfort zone. These are the skills I bring to coaching, teaching, and facilitating others’ learning.

My husband, David and I have three beautiful children, Adrienne, Courtney and Jonathan and three wonderfully adorable grandchildren Adriah, Adrian, and Quincy.