Sigma Alpha Iota

sai-national.org • Fall 2025 9 Dr. Keena Day, Ed.D Director, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, ex officio Dr. Keena Day is an educator, writer, and poet. She is currently the Chief Academic Officer at Breakthrough Public Schools in Cleveland, OH. An educator for over 20 years, teaching grades 6-12 ELA and social studies, she has also served as a certified literacy specialist and central office administrator in public and public charter districts. She has taught rhetoric and technical writing at the collegiate level. Keena leads school leadership, teachers, and school organizations in many areas of instructional leadership including culturally responsive pedagogy, curriculum, assessment, instructional design, leadership coaching, data analysis, systematic programming implementation, and literacy best practices. She specializes in dismantling oppressive and inequitable systems in organizations and using grassroots tactics to empower teachers and school leaders to implement change towards educational liberation and student intellectualism. Keena is also a freelance writer and journalist writing for several media outlets such as the Tennessee Tribune, Boardhawk, and My Black Colorado Magazine. Keena's work includes serving as a contributing author for two best-selling books released in 2021: e HBCU Experience: Band Alumni Edition, and the Black Studies collegiate textbooks Africana Paradigms, Practices, and Literary Texts and Elevating Humanity via Africana Womanism. She has been a frequent guest on podcasts and radio shows including Google Education, EdCuration, and Teach Colorado and has been a speaker at conferences focused on Black women's empowerment, politics, education, and literacy instruction. She has served on Diversity, Education, and Inclusion (DEI) city commissions and boards in Colorado and in various communities. Keena is the appointed SAI Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. She was initiated in 2003 by Kappa Iota Chapter at Tennessee State University. She has served in multiple collegiate and alumnae chapter roles and served as Province Officer (Psi B) and Region IV Regional Officer. She has received the Sword of Honor, Ruby Sword of Honor, Rose of Honor, and recognition pin from the Denver Alumnae Chapter. Keena's husband, Jimmy Day II, is the 2023 Colorado Teacher of the Year — the first music teacher to win the prestigious award in the state. He was initiated as an SAI Friend of the Arts and is a member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. ey have two sons: Jimmy, who is an architect in Denver, and Jimari, who is a recent graduate and Euphoniumist of Denver School of the Arts and will be studying eater at Metropolitan State University. Christine D. Bruns National Executive Director, ex officio Christine D. Bruns is an initiate of Epsilon Chapter at Ithaca College, where she studied oboe and earned both her BM and MM in Music Education. She taught public and private music for over 20 years in New York, Georgia, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington. She was also a writer for Korea Ye, a blog for military families living overseas in South Korea. As a performer, Christine was a member of the Ithaca Concert Band, Atlanta's Tara Winds, Bel Air (MD) Community Band, Chesapeake Bay Wind Ensemble, Colorado Springs Chorale (soprano), and a guest oboist with the 4th Infantry Division Band at Ft. Carson, CO and America's First Corps Army Band at JBLM, WA. From 2023-2024, she served as Musical Director for the SHAPE Performing Arts Centre in Mons, Belgium. Christine has been affiliated with the Ithaca, International, Baltimore, Raleigh/Durham, Colorado Springs, and Tacoma Alumnae Chapters. She served Sigma Alpha Iota as a Province Officer in Eta B and Tau A Provinces, was the 1st Region VI Regional Officer, and was NVP Collegiate Chapters from 2009-2013. As a Province Officer, Christine helped create a version of the MIT training program and chaired the committee to develop an Officer Training Manual. In 2008, she led the Weave II Leadership Seminar in Greenville, SC. She has led convention workshops on recruitment and multi- tasking chapter activities, and she was the chair of the National Objectives Committee for the 2009 and 2012 National Conventions. She also served SAI as Editor of PAN PIPES (2015-2024), was Director of the SAI Composers Bureau (2020-2023), and was Chair of the committee for the 2023 edition of the SAI Songbook. She accepted the position of Assistant Executive Director in 2023 and moved into the position of Executive Director in January 2025. Christine is a recipient of the SAI College Honor Award, Scholastic Award, Sword of Honor, Rose of Honor, Wreath of Achievement, Rose of Dedication, and Ring of Excellence. Christine is married to CW3 Robert Bruns, US Army (Ret.), a former Band Master for the US Army and an SAI Friend of the Arts. ey have one son, Michael. The 2025 Natial Cvention

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