The purpose of this BLOG is to create a space for dialogue between invited guests. Originally it was started because of a unique friendship: Brad C. Smith and Christelle L. Estrada. Brad passed away in 2024 and there is an entry to honor him that includes his obituary. His biography and posts will remain to honor his friendship.
Our common purpose was to create a space for reflective conversations and civil discourse about: The future of children and youth, specifically in Utah and also with insights from education systems throughout the world.
The social context and heritage of each individual represents some trends in political and economic thinking, however each has the perspective and practice of “considering another viewpoint.”
When Brad and I met we often said: “Well, this is what I am currently thinking.” So this BLOG offers a way to track changes in thinking based on a wide range of evidence that includes the questions: “What are the possible implications for children and youth?” And “How am I listening to others?”
Our newest dialogue partner is J. Bryan Quesenberry, esq. This is his introduction:
Twenty-four year attorney with broad experience representing city, country and state government agencies regarding general legal compliance, regulatory and administrative laws, open public meeting laws, procurement and contracting, government policies, legislation, and civil litigation. Provided legal counsel to executives and and administrators in government agencies regarding compliance state and federal statutes, case law, regulations, and rules. Extensive experience drafting, reviewing , negotiating, and litigating a wide variety of contracts and commercial disputes. Bryan attended the United States Military Academy at West Point for two years, served a two-year LDS mission to Fukuoka, Japan, and then graduated from Brigham Young University in 1996 with a bachelor’s degree in geology and a minor in Japanese. He then attended the University of Arizona law school where he graduated in 2001.
Brad C. Smith is a partner in the law firm of Stevenson Smith Hood, where his practice areas include banking law, construction and lien law, criminal defense, divorce and other domestic law, employment and labor law, education law, guardian ad litem, litigation, personal injury, property and real estate law, Social Security, wills, trusts and probate. Mr. Smith has served as a Judge Pro Tem for the Second Judicial District Court. He served from 2011 through 2014 as superintendent of schools of the Ogden City School District; and from 2014 through 2016 as Utah state superintendent of public instruction. He is admitted practice in Utah, the U.S. District Court, District of Utah; the U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit; and the U.S. Supreme Court. Mr. Smith is a member of the Utah and Weber County bar association and the Rex E. Lee American Inns of Court, Master of the Bench. He earned a B.S. degree of the University of Utah and his J.D. degree from the University of Utah S. J. Quinney College of Law.
Christelle L. Estrada is a lifelong advocate for free, public, universal education as a right for every child and youth, especially girls and those most disenfranchised by poverty. Born in post WWII Los Angeles, she was educated in California’s public school system until receiving a scholarship to attend an all girls’ College Preparatory High School. Entering the semi-contemplative Benedictine religious community at 18, she studied Catholic theology while she taught in private Catholic Schools. She received a B.A. degree from Mt. St. Mary’s College in English and Philosophy with an emphasis on eastern religious and existentialist texts. She did a yearlong retreat in a hermitage in Sedona, AZ with a Carmelite community and then received a papal dispensation to leave the Benedictine Order. Her Masters in Religions Studies focused on Ethics, Greek, and the exegesis of Christian scripture; simultaneously studying both Hebrew and the Wisdom texts at the Holocaust Center’s Yeshiva in Los Angeles. Her doctoral study began at the School of Theology at Claremont, an interdisciplinary degree in Psychology, Education and Comparative Religions. She has taught in elementary, middle and high school as well as in teacher education at the University of Utah and at the Claremont Graduate University where she earned a doctorate of philosophy in Education and Religion. She was a Citizen Ambassador to China with a delegation of 12 nations from the University of Rutgers and a member of the Oxford Roundtable at Lincoln College, UK. She has presented academic papers throughout her career as an educator, notably at the International Whitehead Conference at the University of Salzburg, Austria. She has studied with both Tibetan and Zen Buddhist teachers and is currently a certified teacher for Stanford’s Cultivating Compassion Training. Her most recent research interests are the neuroscience of compassion, design thinking, and language acquisition as developed for Utah’s refugee communities.
Across The Divide: A Dialogue 