Beronda L. Montgomery
@berondam.bsky.social
Living my purpose
Writer:
Books #LessonsFromPlants (https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674241282) & #WhenTreesTestify (https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250335166/whentreestestify/)
Professor
#Leadership|#Mentoring|#EquityReadingList/#DEIReadingList
Writer:
Books #LessonsFromPlants (https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674241282) & #WhenTreesTestify (https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250335166/whentreestestify/)
Professor
#Leadership|#Mentoring|#EquityReadingList/#DEIReadingList
Pinned
Cover of "When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, History, and America's Black Botanical Legacy"!!! published by @henryholtbooks.bsky.social.
I can't tell you all adequately how proud of & eager I am to share this with the world!!!
Coming January 20, 2026
Pre-order NOW: bookshop.org/p/books/when...
I can't tell you all adequately how proud of & eager I am to share this with the world!!!
Coming January 20, 2026
Pre-order NOW: bookshop.org/p/books/when...
Grateful for @koshersoul.bsky.social's words about #WhenTreesTestify:
"We have been waiting for this. A botanical memoir, a history, a history with a Black lens-that takes us from roots to branches...an electric, bold weaving of ethnobotany, personal memoir, spirit and science and I am here for it"
"We have been waiting for this. A botanical memoir, a history, a history with a Black lens-that takes us from roots to branches...an electric, bold weaving of ethnobotany, personal memoir, spirit and science and I am here for it"
November 10, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Grateful for @koshersoul.bsky.social's words about #WhenTreesTestify:
"We have been waiting for this. A botanical memoir, a history, a history with a Black lens-that takes us from roots to branches...an electric, bold weaving of ethnobotany, personal memoir, spirit and science and I am here for it"
"We have been waiting for this. A botanical memoir, a history, a history with a Black lens-that takes us from roots to branches...an electric, bold weaving of ethnobotany, personal memoir, spirit and science and I am here for it"
~2 months until debut of my next book, "When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, History, & America’s Black Botanical Legacy" from @henryholtbooks.bsky.social & the blurbs have me overflowing with gratitude & joy. I'm sharing them this week starting this afternoon.
#WhenTreesTestify coming Jan 20, 2026!
#WhenTreesTestify coming Jan 20, 2026!
November 10, 2025 at 2:51 PM
~2 months until debut of my next book, "When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, History, & America’s Black Botanical Legacy" from @henryholtbooks.bsky.social & the blurbs have me overflowing with gratitude & joy. I'm sharing them this week starting this afternoon.
#WhenTreesTestify coming Jan 20, 2026!
#WhenTreesTestify coming Jan 20, 2026!
Reposted by Beronda L. Montgomery
Enter to win a copy of #WhenTreesTestify!!
"How the Word Is Passed meets Braiding Sweetgrass in a cultural and personal reclamation of Black history and Black botanical mastery, shared through the stories of long-lived trees."
Enter to win a copy of @berondam.bsky.social's "When Trees Testify" from @henryholtbooks.bsky.social #💙📚 #Booksky
Enter to win a copy of @berondam.bsky.social's "When Trees Testify" from @henryholtbooks.bsky.social #💙📚 #Booksky
November 10, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Enter to win a copy of #WhenTreesTestify!!
Reposted by Beronda L. Montgomery
I just want everyone to have the experience of living in dignity with access to sufficient food, safe housing, needed medical care, high quality education, and time to engage with what sparks their curiosity and spirit
this should not be controversial 🫠
this should not be controversial 🫠
November 10, 2025 at 3:16 AM
I just want everyone to have the experience of living in dignity with access to sufficient food, safe housing, needed medical care, high quality education, and time to engage with what sparks their curiosity and spirit
this should not be controversial 🫠
this should not be controversial 🫠
When Trees Testify coming from @henryholtbooks.bsky.social Jan. 20, 2026 sitting pretty with other forthcoming books & reviewed in @publisherswkly.bsky.social
November 6, 2025 at 2:39 PM
When Trees Testify coming from @henryholtbooks.bsky.social Jan. 20, 2026 sitting pretty with other forthcoming books & reviewed in @publisherswkly.bsky.social
In discussion of her new book "Peril & Promise: College Leadership in Turbulent Times" Dr Beverly Daniel Tatum/BDT with Dr Ruth J. Simmons/RJS, former Univ./College Presidents discuss current challenges, opportunities & morals/ethics in higher ed leadership. Host @umich.edu & @umichncid.bsky.social
November 4, 2025 at 12:39 AM
In discussion of her new book "Peril & Promise: College Leadership in Turbulent Times" Dr Beverly Daniel Tatum/BDT with Dr Ruth J. Simmons/RJS, former Univ./College Presidents discuss current challenges, opportunities & morals/ethics in higher ed leadership. Host @umich.edu & @umichncid.bsky.social
I met this beautiful cotton tree on Oct 21 in Falmouth, Jamaica days before we had any idea Hurricane Melissa would come. I stood with it with my Falmouth family remarking on what it had seen & memories it carries with no idea of what it and we would experience in the days to come.
#jamaicaonelove🇯🇲❤️
#jamaicaonelove🇯🇲❤️
November 3, 2025 at 12:38 PM
I met this beautiful cotton tree on Oct 21 in Falmouth, Jamaica days before we had any idea Hurricane Melissa would come. I stood with it with my Falmouth family remarking on what it had seen & memories it carries with no idea of what it and we would experience in the days to come.
#jamaicaonelove🇯🇲❤️
#jamaicaonelove🇯🇲❤️
Educators and Librarians:
Thursday Oct. 23rd join @libraryjournal.bsky.social's Day of Dialog for a great program! I'll participate in the panel (1:00-1:50 PM ET) Hidden Legacies: Unearthing Black Histories" with Clyde W. Ford, Wil Haygood, @brianjoneseducator.bsky.social
Moderator: Grace D. Gipson
Thursday Oct. 23rd join @libraryjournal.bsky.social's Day of Dialog for a great program! I'll participate in the panel (1:00-1:50 PM ET) Hidden Legacies: Unearthing Black Histories" with Clyde W. Ford, Wil Haygood, @brianjoneseducator.bsky.social
Moderator: Grace D. Gipson
October 19, 2025 at 12:24 AM
Educators and Librarians:
Thursday Oct. 23rd join @libraryjournal.bsky.social's Day of Dialog for a great program! I'll participate in the panel (1:00-1:50 PM ET) Hidden Legacies: Unearthing Black Histories" with Clyde W. Ford, Wil Haygood, @brianjoneseducator.bsky.social
Moderator: Grace D. Gipson
Thursday Oct. 23rd join @libraryjournal.bsky.social's Day of Dialog for a great program! I'll participate in the panel (1:00-1:50 PM ET) Hidden Legacies: Unearthing Black Histories" with Clyde W. Ford, Wil Haygood, @brianjoneseducator.bsky.social
Moderator: Grace D. Gipson
Recent conversation with Luis De Luna Valdez post-doctoral researcher @ucriverside.bsky.social & Features Editor for @theplantjournal.bsky.social
10 questions about my academic work at interface of plant boo, leadership, mentoring & institutional change: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/AKQTDG....
10 questions about my academic work at interface of plant boo, leadership, mentoring & institutional change: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/AKQTDG....
In conversation with Dr. Beronda Montgomery
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onlinelibrary.wiley.com
October 9, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Recent conversation with Luis De Luna Valdez post-doctoral researcher @ucriverside.bsky.social & Features Editor for @theplantjournal.bsky.social
10 questions about my academic work at interface of plant boo, leadership, mentoring & institutional change: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/AKQTDG....
10 questions about my academic work at interface of plant boo, leadership, mentoring & institutional change: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/AKQTDG....
Reposted by Beronda L. Montgomery
New Research Topic alert!
'Exploring Academic Ecosystems in STEM' is now open for submissions in Frontiers in Education. @berondam.bsky.social @beckypackard.bsky.social
Submit your manuscript summary by 11 January 2026 ➡️ www.frontiersin.org/research-top...
#Ecosystems #STEM
'Exploring Academic Ecosystems in STEM' is now open for submissions in Frontiers in Education. @berondam.bsky.social @beckypackard.bsky.social
Submit your manuscript summary by 11 January 2026 ➡️ www.frontiersin.org/research-top...
#Ecosystems #STEM
Frontiers | Exploring Academic Ecosystems in STEM: A Way Forward
Historically, ecosystems frameworks have been leveraged to understand and examine the functions of living organisms within various environments, particularly...
www.frontiersin.org
October 9, 2025 at 4:03 PM
New Research Topic alert!
'Exploring Academic Ecosystems in STEM' is now open for submissions in Frontiers in Education. @berondam.bsky.social @beckypackard.bsky.social
Submit your manuscript summary by 11 January 2026 ➡️ www.frontiersin.org/research-top...
#Ecosystems #STEM
'Exploring Academic Ecosystems in STEM' is now open for submissions in Frontiers in Education. @berondam.bsky.social @beckypackard.bsky.social
Submit your manuscript summary by 11 January 2026 ➡️ www.frontiersin.org/research-top...
#Ecosystems #STEM
Congratulations...and thank you!
Remember when I said something nice was coming today? Well: I was asked to write the introduction to the new edition of Toni Morrison’s BELOVED! I’m so honored and happy! Here’s the new cover—that’s my name down at the bottom!!!!
October 9, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Congratulations...and thank you!
Thank you @smellosopher.bsky.social !
"We need groundkeepers, not gatekeepers."
My favorite sentence in @berondam.bsky.social's book "Lessons from Plants."
(Go read it! Follow her here, get her 2nd & very soon upcoming book, aaaand keep eyes out for her current @rad-institute.bsky.social's work too):
www.hup.harvard.edu/books/978067...
My favorite sentence in @berondam.bsky.social's book "Lessons from Plants."
(Go read it! Follow her here, get her 2nd & very soon upcoming book, aaaand keep eyes out for her current @rad-institute.bsky.social's work too):
www.hup.harvard.edu/books/978067...
Lessons from Plants — Harvard University Press
An exploration of how plant behavior and adaptation offer valuable insights for human thriving.We know that plants are important. They maintain the atmosphere by absorbing carbon dioxide and producing...
www.hup.harvard.edu
October 9, 2025 at 12:39 PM
Thank you @smellosopher.bsky.social !
Although I heard them speak separately at a book festival, what a joy to experience @aleliabundles.bsky.social (author of Joy Goddess: A'Lelia Walker and the Harlem Renaissance) & @dolenperkinsvaldez.bsky.social (author of Happy Land) in convo on their biography and historical fiction, respectively.
October 7, 2025 at 11:11 PM
Although I heard them speak separately at a book festival, what a joy to experience @aleliabundles.bsky.social (author of Joy Goddess: A'Lelia Walker and the Harlem Renaissance) & @dolenperkinsvaldez.bsky.social (author of Happy Land) in convo on their biography and historical fiction, respectively.
Ran into this amazing human being @itsafronomics.bsky.social in a crosswalk. Though our first in person meeting, I'm a big fan of Anna's work & vision. If you've not picked her new book The Double Tax do it now!
Also pre-order my next book, When Trees Testify too!
Link: bookshop.org/p/books/when...
Also pre-order my next book, When Trees Testify too!
Link: bookshop.org/p/books/when...
October 7, 2025 at 10:06 PM
Ran into this amazing human being @itsafronomics.bsky.social in a crosswalk. Though our first in person meeting, I'm a big fan of Anna's work & vision. If you've not picked her new book The Double Tax do it now!
Also pre-order my next book, When Trees Testify too!
Link: bookshop.org/p/books/when...
Also pre-order my next book, When Trees Testify too!
Link: bookshop.org/p/books/when...
Morning writing inspiration is from Ms. @aleliabundles.bsky.social whom I recently had the pleasure of hearing talk about her latest book Joy Goddess: "Our stories are our power. I write the books I wish had been written for me." That's a whole sermon & also what I seek to do in #WhenTreesTestify.
October 6, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Morning writing inspiration is from Ms. @aleliabundles.bsky.social whom I recently had the pleasure of hearing talk about her latest book Joy Goddess: "Our stories are our power. I write the books I wish had been written for me." That's a whole sermon & also what I seek to do in #WhenTreesTestify.
A whole word ..a whole call to action.
Thank you @smashfizzle.bsky.social !!!
Thank you @smashfizzle.bsky.social !!!
What I know from being Black my whole life, and poor for the majority of it, is that politely ignoring a root issue to attend to one closer to the surface is like robbing Peter to pay Paul. It’s a band-aid on a gaping wound, and it will not hold your flesh together for long. The US needs stitches.
October 2, 2025 at 3:09 PM
A whole word ..a whole call to action.
Thank you @smashfizzle.bsky.social !!!
Thank you @smashfizzle.bsky.social !!!
Full text of "Reimagining a path from institutional willingness to readiness: ecosystem variables that promote or impede sustainable transformation in higher education" now available:
www.frontiersin.org/journals/edu...
www.frontiersin.org/journals/edu...
October 2, 2025 at 12:42 PM
Full text of "Reimagining a path from institutional willingness to readiness: ecosystem variables that promote or impede sustainable transformation in higher education" now available:
www.frontiersin.org/journals/edu...
www.frontiersin.org/journals/edu...
Editing proofs of "Reimagining a path from institutional willingness to readiness: Ecosystem variables that promote or impede sustainable transformation in higher education" with Joseph Whittaker on willingness vs readiness to support institutional transformation
www.frontiersin.org/journals/edu...
www.frontiersin.org/journals/edu...
![First page of article with text that reads;
Frontiers in Education
TYPE Conceptual Analysis
PUBLISHED XX xx 2025
DOI 10.3389/feduc.2025.1571030
OPEN ACCESS
EDITED BY
David Pérez-Jorge, University of La Laguna, Spain
REVIEWED BY
Nikita Lad,
George Mason University, United States Itahisa Pérez Pérez.
University of La Laguna, Spain
*CORRESPONDENCE
55] Beronda L. Montgomery
berondam@gmail.com
RECEIVED 04 February 2025
ACCEPT
Whittaker JA and Montgomery BL (2025)
Reimagining a path from institutional willingness to readiness: ecosystem variables that promote or impede sustainable transformation in higher education
Joseph A. Whittaker¹ and Beronda L. Montgomery²*
Global Advisors and Analysts, LLC, Grayson, GA. United States, "Department of Biology, Grinnell College, Grinnell, IA, United States
Many colleges and universities purport agendas involving strategies centered on the readiness to diversify the faculty, staff, and student bodies, modernize curricula, and promote innovation in research and discovery, among other advancements. However, higher education institutions remain reticent in addressing these variables over the long term and are slow to change. In this article, we argue that impediments to change continue to exist because many conflate willingness to change with readiness for change. We seek to support institutions in identifying and amplifying facilitators-both progressive leaders and stakeholders-who will be supported to assess an institution's current state and to advocate, facilitate, and help lead the shift to a state of...](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:wshmnbxikfiuzsry7onmbpdy/bafkreihd67uuju5rcaan3ruwjcn2tsyiulk4rq7uxzbxk4hdxaduzwfemi@jpeg)
September 24, 2025 at 8:53 PM
Editing proofs of "Reimagining a path from institutional willingness to readiness: Ecosystem variables that promote or impede sustainable transformation in higher education" with Joseph Whittaker on willingness vs readiness to support institutional transformation
www.frontiersin.org/journals/edu...
www.frontiersin.org/journals/edu...
Reposted by Beronda L. Montgomery
Book mail from @henryholtbooks.bsky.social !
I’m so excited to read @berondam.bsky.social ‘s new book!!
I’m so excited to read @berondam.bsky.social ‘s new book!!
September 24, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Book mail from @henryholtbooks.bsky.social !
I’m so excited to read @berondam.bsky.social ‘s new book!!
I’m so excited to read @berondam.bsky.social ‘s new book!!
Great convo between @taylorbyas.bsky.social on her most recent poetry book "Resting Bitch Face" with @roxanegay.bsky.social for the Audacious Book Club. Great insights on demands on Black women & their bodies—erasure, politicization, expectation of performative acceptability (e.g., smiling vs RBF).
September 24, 2025 at 12:47 AM
Great convo between @taylorbyas.bsky.social on her most recent poetry book "Resting Bitch Face" with @roxanegay.bsky.social for the Audacious Book Club. Great insights on demands on Black women & their bodies—erasure, politicization, expectation of performative acceptability (e.g., smiling vs RBF).
I started writing (or at least officially publishing) about the prevalence of & ills associated with gatekeeping in academia in 2020 [ scholar.valpo.edu/jvbl/vol13/i... ]. I proposed an alternative of Groundskeeping. One day I need to share how much gatekeeping I've experienced in these efforts! 😭😂
Academic Leadership: Gatekeeping or Groundskeeping?
Common approaches to academic leadership include serving as assessors of the progress of individuals towards organizationally determined milestones and markers of success. Likewise, leadership develop...
scholar.valpo.edu
September 22, 2025 at 3:30 PM
I started writing (or at least officially publishing) about the prevalence of & ills associated with gatekeeping in academia in 2020 [ scholar.valpo.edu/jvbl/vol13/i... ]. I proposed an alternative of Groundskeeping. One day I need to share how much gatekeeping I've experienced in these efforts! 😭😂
September 20, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Reposted by Beronda L. Montgomery
I love this book! Grateful to receive an early copy. I’ve been savoring it, not wanting it to end. Now that I’ve finished, I’m thinking about making a pilgrimage to visit some of the trees. 🌳
Cover of "When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, History, and America's Black Botanical Legacy"!!! published by @henryholtbooks.bsky.social.
I can't tell you all adequately how proud of & eager I am to share this with the world!!!
Coming January 20, 2026
Pre-order NOW: bookshop.org/p/books/when...
I can't tell you all adequately how proud of & eager I am to share this with the world!!!
Coming January 20, 2026
Pre-order NOW: bookshop.org/p/books/when...
September 19, 2025 at 9:15 PM
I love this book! Grateful to receive an early copy. I’ve been savoring it, not wanting it to end. Now that I’ve finished, I’m thinking about making a pilgrimage to visit some of the trees. 🌳