Our Faces, Our Voices, Part Two: Turning Voice into Vision

Building on the foundation introduced in Part One: Where Belonging Begins, Bridging Legacies Across Campuses (BLAC, LLC) continues its mission to help schools, companies, and communities build systems of belonging through narrative, data, and design. Founded by educator and equity designer Jonathan Lee, BLAC centers one guiding belief: belonging begins with listening.

In Part Two: Turning Voice into Vision, BLAC moves from story to system—showing how personal narratives become structured insight through the Narrative Intelligence Model, a framework that transforms listening into learning and learning into change.

In Part One: Where Belonging Begins, BLAC explored how BIPOC voices illuminate identity, community, and access through five guiding questions that frame every conversation:

1.     Who are you? and What do you do?

2.     What was or is your educational journey?

3.     When did you first learn you were a person of color in that journey?

4.     Knowing what you know as an adult and person of color, what would you tell your younger self?

5.     What is next for you?

These questions create structure and trust, forming the foundation of BLAC’s Our Faces, Our Voices podcast series. In Part Two: Turning Voice into Vision, those same questions evolve from dialogue to design. The voices that shared personal reflection now become data and direction, guiding how BLAC connects storytelling, technology, and research to create lasting systems of equity.

Through Our Faces, Our Voices, BLAC developed what it calls the Narrative Intelligence Model, a method that blends human interpretation and artificial intelligence to identify recurring patterns within lived experience. The goal is to reveal how belonging, mentorship, and legacy emerge across stories and to translate those discoveries into frameworks that help institutions listen, learn, and change.

The process begins with the careful preservation of every voice. Recordings are uploaded into Otter.ai, where transcription captures the full conversation. Each transcript is reviewed for accuracy, tone, and meaning so that no nuance is lost. Once confirmed, the material is coded by theme and prepared for AI-assisted synthesis. This layered approach protects both the factual and emotional integrity of each participant’s words.

Artificial intelligence offers remarkable potential for education and analysis but requires discernment. Scholars at the University of Illinois have noted that AI can expand personalization, accessibility, and instructional reach when used responsibly. The same technology, however, can also reproduce inequities or simplify complex experiences. BLAC treats AI as an extension of the listening process, not a substitute for it.

This approach aligns with Scientific American’s perspective that AI in education should evolve the way the calculator did in math classrooms: by deepening critical thinking rather than replacing it. BLAC applies that principle through NotebookLM, which integrates transcripts, audio, and reflection into a shared digital space. The result is an immersive environment where stories are not just heard but experienced.

AI also allows time to be reclaimed for more purposeful work. Tasks that once required hours of manual transcription or organization can now be completed in a fraction of the time. This efficiency creates space for reflection, strategy, and creativity. For BLAC, AI is a thought partner that helps transform dialogue into direction, creating what it calls “bandwidth freedom”—the ability to reinvest time into mission-driven work.

At the same time, BLAC acknowledges that innovation must coexist with mindfulness. Research from MIT highlights the environmental costs of large-scale generative AI systems, inviting institutions to balance progress with reflection. For BLAC, this serves as a thoughtful pause, a reminder that ethical design includes awareness of both social and environmental impact.

BLAC’s process combines technical precision and human purpose. The data reveals patterns, but the stories give those patterns meaning. Technology is not used to speak for people but to listen more effectively. The Narrative Intelligence Model ensures that empathy remains central to every stage of analysis, transforming AI from a mechanical tool into a medium for understanding.

Across more than forty interviews, consistent themes appear. Visibility creates stability. Mentorship fosters growth across difference. Access becomes a question of continuity rather than entry. Legacy transforms reflection into responsibility. One participant summarized this clearly: “Being heard changed how I saw myself. It gave me the courage to stay.”

These findings align with broader research on inclusion and leadership. The National Center for Institutional Diversity defines “relational accountability” as the foundation of effective equity work. The College Rover study expands on this concept, emphasizing that true belonging requires shared understanding, trust, and translation across experiences. Together, these studies affirm BLAC’s method: stories and data are not opposites but partners in building equity.

Turning Voice into Vision fulfills the purpose established in Part One. It proves that storytelling can become systems design, that technology can strengthen connection, and that insight can evolve into strategy. By the end of this phase, BLAC has moved from listening to learning and from learning to modeling.

This transition sets the foundation for Part Three: Designing Belonging, where BLAC turns these insights into structured frameworks that organizations can apply to build cultures of care, mentorship, and accountability.

To all who have shared their stories through Our Faces, Our Voices, BLAC offers deep gratitude. Each voice not only informs the research but also shapes the future of how equity is designed and practiced.

Reader Reflection

Where do you see yourself in this conversation?How do you balance technology and humanity in your own work? Consider how listening, data, and innovation can coexist to honor the full depth of lived experience. What might it look like for you to design time and space for reflection and purpose?

Works Cited (MLA)

College Rover. “BIPOC Student Experience: Barriers and Belonging.” College Rover Campus Library, 2024, https://collegerover.com/campus-library/news/299/bipoc-students.Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “Explained: Generative AI’s Environmental Impact.” MIT News, 17 Jan. 2025, https://news.mit.edu/2025/explained-generative-ai-environmental-impact-0117.National Center for Institutional Diversity. Thriving Staff of Color: Building Culture through Cascade Mentorship. University of Michigan, 2024, https://ncid.umich.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/report-thriving-staff-of-color-cascade-ncid.pdf.Scientific American. “AI Can Transform the Classroom Just Like the Calculator.” Scientific American, 2024, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ai-can-transform-the-classroom-just-like-the-calculator/.University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. “AI in Schools: Pros and Cons.” Education at Illinois Newsroom, 24 Oct. 2024, https://education.illinois.edu/about/news-events/news/article/2024/10/24/ai-in-schools--pros-and-cons.