Houston, TX - Blackshear Elementary School

Gloria Crandall

Learning Center Director

Email: gcrandall@usdreamacademy.org

Gloria Crandall, an esteemed education professional and wellness advocate, serves as our Center Director at Peck Elementary School. Hailing from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Crandall enriches her role with a rich cultural heritage and diverse perspective, benefiting the Houston, Texas, community. Her dedication to education and wellness shapes her approach to leadership and community engagement, making her a respected figure in her field.

Her academic achievements include a Master's in Education from Strayer University, highlighting her commitment to continuous learning and educational excellence. In her capacity at U.S. Dream Academy, she is renowned for her outstanding ability to connect with and support families and youth, fostering a supportive and enriching educational environment and strengthening community bonds.

Dipen Bhakta

Co-Area Leader

Email: dbhakta@usdreamacademy.org

In 1999 Dipen and his family moved to Houston, TX, to the Third Ward neighborhood. Little did he know that the Houston Learning Center opened in his community in 2002 when he was in the 7th grade.  While a student at the University of Houston Dipen desired to become closer to the community he grew up in.  In 2008, he became a mentor for the U.S. Dream Academy that was located not far from his university. 

This started him on his journey from a volunteer mentor to leading the expansion of Dream Academy in Houston.    In 2013, after successfully mentoring for five years, Dipen was given the opportunity to be the Program Coordinator at the Learning Center at Foster Elementary School. A role he says would eventually shape his understanding of Youth Development.  With much support from his colleague and mentor, Walter Hull, Dipen took the position of Center Director in 2015. 

Leading the expansion, Dipen and his co-leader Walter have expanded from one learning center to three along with the development of a new youth-led violence reduction project called the Scott Street Youth Initiative.  Dipen focuses on high quality collaborations with various community based programs and universities across the City of Houston and implements and oversees research-based quality programming methods to support the Learning Center Directors and staff at the various sites in Houston.

Walter Hull

Co-Area Leader

Email: whull@usdreamacademy.org

Over the past 13 years, Walter Hull has become a rising Social Artist, Thought Leader, and Youth Development Strategist in Houston, TX. Through his work with the U.S. Dream Academy, a national mentoring organization dedicated to improving neighborhoods that have been harmed by mass incarceration, Walter has helped shape the organization's approach to community asset building through mentoring.

As an artist, his choreography has deep roots in social justice stories in the black community that he refers to as his Village Responsibility. As Executive Director of Urban Souls Dance Company, Walter has founded the URBAN Kids and URBAN Girls Initiative that mentors youth through the art of dance. He has also created artist development workshops in Kigali, Rwanda, geared towards providing space for youth artists to develop as leaders in their communities.

Today, Walter continues his work with the U.S. Dream Academy Houston and enjoys collaborating with organizations to tell their story, support their youth voice, and facilitate mentoring training.