Our Favorite Books
Our AdvancED Bookcase is filled with our favorite books to further your education and skills in entrepreneurship and personal development. We have also added a few titles for youth if your organization serves this audience. Enjoy!
Some of the products below may contain affiliate links. If you take action (i.e. make a purchase) after clicking one of these links, I'll earn some money which I'll use to donate to local nonprofits, attend professional development conferences, and develop more affirmation gifts like my AdvancED Affirmation Stickers.
Some of the products below may contain affiliate links. If you take action (i.e. make a purchase) after clicking one of these links, I'll earn some money which I'll use to donate to local nonprofits, attend professional development conferences, and develop more affirmation gifts like my AdvancED Affirmation Stickers.
New Book Highlight!
Applied Wisdom for the Nonprofit Sector: Eight Practical Insights by James C. Morgan (second edition)
Jim Morgan, a well-known Silicon Valley high-tech executive and philanthropic leader, shares leadership and management principles proven to be effective in nonprofit, philanthropic and business contexts. Explore the eight simple insights that have consistently delivered great results supporting the nonprofit sector in complex, real-world situations. Learn more about the book and order a FREE copy here. Learn more about the FREE Applied Wisdom for Nonprofits Digital Bundle here. |
Fav Book Throwback!
The Privileged Poor: How Elite Colleges Are Failing Disadvantaged Students by Anthony Abraham Jack
Getting in is only half the battle. The Privileged Poor reveals how―and why―disadvantaged students struggle at elite colleges, and explains what schools can do differently if these students are to thrive.
The Ivy League looks different than it used to. College presidents and deans of admission have opened their doors―and their coffers―to support a more diverse student body. But is it enough just to admit these students? In The Privileged Poor, Anthony Jack reveals that the struggles of less privileged students continue long after they’ve arrived on campus. Admission, they quickly learn, is not the same as acceptance. This bracing and necessary book documents how university policies and cultures can exacerbate preexisting inequalities and reveals why these policies hit some students harder than others. Learn more about the book and author here. |
Why this book? Why Now?
This is one of Mer's go-to books to understand and describe the struggles of underserved, college-bound students. This book accurately reflects her experience supporting students in and around South Central LA as the former Executive Director of South Central Scholars (2008-2013). Whether students were first-generation, low-income, BIPOC, or a combination of the three, they all struggled in different ways both at the Ivy League colleges and other "selective" universities.
As both students and educators navigate a new normal with the SCOTUS decisions of 2023 and the fraught implementation of the Better FAFSA in 2024, all those that work or care about college access and success must double their attention to how to best serve students, not just to get in, but to STAY in. Explore this book to better understand what micro- and macro-agressions look like for low-income students applying to and attending selective colleges and universities, so that you can consider how best to support their unique and significant needs.
This is one of Mer's go-to books to understand and describe the struggles of underserved, college-bound students. This book accurately reflects her experience supporting students in and around South Central LA as the former Executive Director of South Central Scholars (2008-2013). Whether students were first-generation, low-income, BIPOC, or a combination of the three, they all struggled in different ways both at the Ivy League colleges and other "selective" universities.
As both students and educators navigate a new normal with the SCOTUS decisions of 2023 and the fraught implementation of the Better FAFSA in 2024, all those that work or care about college access and success must double their attention to how to best serve students, not just to get in, but to STAY in. Explore this book to better understand what micro- and macro-agressions look like for low-income students applying to and attending selective colleges and universities, so that you can consider how best to support their unique and significant needs.
Part of the shock was learning that skinfolk ain’t always kinfolk, and that itself was a jarring education. He thought seeing another brown face would be a saving grace, at least a feeling of being home, but the wealth and culture gap meant that he couldn’t connect with anyone, including his own roommate. There was just nothing to talk about, no common reference point." (Vox June 2019)
Fav Book for Parents!
Be a Parent Champion: A Guide for Black Families on Educational Parenting as We Wait for the System to Heal by Tovi C. Scruggs a.k.a. Tici'ess
For those of you who work with Black Families, please enjoy the 10th Anniversary edition of Be a Parent Champion, a FREE resource that you may choose to share with them that supports their “educational parenting.” Access free resources like an eBook and Discussion Guide.
Other resources you can purchase include a Workbook and Curriculum (coming soon!). Mer has participated in Tovi's workshops, purchased and gifted this book. She specifically follows Tovi's work on Professional Spirituality. |
Professional spirituality™ focuses on us—as accomplished professionals—having an active mind and spirit, caring about our work deeply, being purposeful in our work, and having a desire to deepen connection with our colleagues and those we serve in a positive and meaningful way. We serve from our be-ingness and not so much our do-ingness. Thus, ease and flow become the conditioned, natural way of our leadership.
The Deeper the Roots: A Memoir of Hope and Home Michael Tubbs A New Earth:
Awakening to Your Life's Purpose Eckhart Tolle Blink: The Power of Thinking
Without Thinking Malcolm Gladwell The Privileged Poor: How Elite Colleges are Failing Disadvantaged Students
Anthony Abraham Jack HBR's 10 Must Reads on Leadership
Harvard Business Review The New Grad's Guide to Workplace Success: How to Learn, Grow, and Prosper Early in Your Career
Kadar Lewis Ed.D. |
Educating Mindfully: Stories of School Transformation Through Mindfulness A Collaborative Project of Coalition of Schools Educating Mindfully What Happy Women Know:
How New Findings in Positive Psychology Can Change Women's Lives for the Better Drs. Dan Baker & Cathy Greenberg The Checklist Manifesto:
How to Get Things Right Atul Gawande Master My Money: 16 Steps to Solve Your Money Problems & Create a Foundation for Financial Freedom
Dr. Dominique' N. Reese Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts.
Brené Brown Be a Parent Champion: A Guide to Becoming a Partner with Your Child's School
Tovi C. Scruggs |
Embrace the Power of You: Owning Your Identity at Work Tricia Montalvo Timm Rest: Why You Get More
Done When You Work Less Alex Soojung-Kim Pang Becoming
Michelle Obama Present Over Perfect:
Leaving Behind Frantic for a Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living Shauna Niequist Strengths Based Leadership: Great Leaders, Teams, and Why People Follow
Don Clifton You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life
Jen Sincero |
Our Favorite Books for Youth
If you are a practitioner, educator, or a leader of an organization that supports youth, consider adding one of the following books to your book list for kids. They will offer insights on the benefits of mindfulness, meditation, growth mindset, SMART goal-setting, social emotional wellness, and more.
A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo
Marlon Bundo & Jill Twiss |
AdvancED Consulting, LLC