(Dr. Shirley R. (Berry) Butler Derge holding her book, Asante Sana, "Thank You" Father James E. Groppi, 2017) Dr. Shirley R. (Berry) Butler Derge has enjoyed a distinguished twenty-five-year career as a teacher, author, lecturer, and publisher. Her notable achievements include receiving the Most Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award from Wisconsin Bell/Ameritech, the Most Outstanding High School Teacher of the Year Award from the Metropolitan Milwaukee Alliance of Black School Educators (MMABSE), and the Black Excellence Award for Teaching from the Milwaukee Times and Channel 6. With her warm personality and great sense of humor, Dr. Derge uniquely recognizes her students' inner talents and inspires a lifelong passion for learning. She has authored numerous innovative curriculum textbooks, urban class plays, and collections of ethnic poetry. Dr. Shirley R. (Berry) Butler Derge holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education and a Master of Arts in Exceptional Education, both from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She also earned her Doctoral Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Sarasota. Additionally, she is the founder and former principal of The Nzingha Institute of Creative Learning and Living, an urban high school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.