TEL Alumni Spotlight, Craig Aarons-Martin
Summer 2025
We are honored to shine this month’s Alumni Spotlight on Craig Aarons-Martin, a member of TEL’s 2022–2023 cohort. A former school leader turned full-time education consultant, Craig’s work spans continents and communities, offering transformational support to educators, leaders, and organizations rooted in equity, healing, and belonging. Whether leading strategic visioning sessions, coaching leaders, or simply sitting in stillness with others, Craig’s presence radiates light, joy, and a deep commitment to beloved community.
A Journey of Purpose and Possibility
Once a school principal responsible for hundreds of students, families, and staff, Craig has expanded his reach as an independent consultant, bringing “wholehearted joy work” to systems across the globe. From Africa to Asia to the U.S., Craig walks with communities toward healing and transformation.
“I’m continuing to be an angelic troublemaker in the ways I can,” Craig shared. “My hope is that I am bringing light to folks… helping them create thriving communities.”
His work centers on coaching and community care, supporting those who serve others while holding space for reflection, alignment, and joy. “Sometimes I just sit and listen. Many leaders don’t have someone who will reflect truth with love. I feel humbled to be that person.”
The TEL Experience: Healing the Inner to Transform the Outer
For Craig, TEL came at a pivotal moment. Leading in emotionally charged, high-responsibility roles, he found himself wrestling with anger and longing for wholeness.
“I carried a level of anger. Some of it was about George Floyd. Some of it was about being consistently dehumanized. I didn’t know how to navigate that. TEL helped me start healing.”
Through TEL, he found tools, and more importantly, community, to begin doing the inner work necessary for liberation. “You all gave me this gift of Love and Rage by Lama Rod Owens. There’s a quote: ‘If we don’t wrestle with anger, we never get to the heartbeat.’ TEL helped me reach the heartbeat, and then the healing.”
Craig still returns to his TEL journal, his cohort, and his beloved clearness committee. “I’m more wholehearted now. I’ve learned to speak with integrity and heart.”
Practices that Sustain
Craig’s spiritual practices anchor his leadership. From early-morning meditation to sage and candle rituals, to devotionals and breath work, he centers presence and alignment.
“When we started our TEL sessions, we always began by getting centered. That ritual of presence, of breath and stillness, is something I’ve carried with me.”
He continues to use the music, poems, and mindfulness tools introduced in TEL to support both his own wellbeing and that of the communities he serves. “I brought all those tools back to my community, some folks were like, ‘Who is this guy?’ But that’s the transformation.”
Creating the Space He Once Needed
Growing up as a queer Black boy in New Orleans, Craig remembers lacking the support and affirmation he needed. Today, he works to create the spaces he once yearned for.
“My journey now is doing healing work for the young man who didn’t have the family support. I want to create a hearth where people can feel at home and brave. Even if they don’t understand, they can still love. They can still show up.”
Whether serving youth, educators, or caregivers, Craig creates spaces of deep compassion. “I’ll block, tackle, and fight if I need to on behalf of our young people. And I’ll lead adults with love, too.”
The Ripple Effect of TEL
Craig’s presence continues to ripple through his former school and far beyond.
“Some of my kids saw what I brought back from TEL and started pulling those practices for themselves. And now I have staff reaching out like, ‘Can we have coffee?’ That’s the gift of TEL.”
He credits TEL for transforming not just his leadership, but his community. “The energy you carry can shift a room. Your healing impacts others. It’s not just personal, it’s cellular, collective, and institutional.”
Final Reflections
To the TEL community and beyond, Craig offers this message:
“You have the gift of choice. Choose how you lead, how you love. If something brings you closer to wholeness, keep going. Don’t let the noise steer you away from that light, it might just be someone else’s liberation, too.”
Craig continues to serve as a living embodiment of TEL’s vision: that transformative leadership begins within, and that healing leaders create healing communities. His work and his presence remind us all of what’s possible when we lead from love, joy, and authenticity.