Elie is a master’s student in the Education, Culture, and Society program. Elie is interested in the study of education and schooling which he considers to be an institutional system of oppression and social reproduction. Elie wishes to work toward engaging people’s political consciousness in order to politicize education and class analysis. When academia does not take up all his energy and time, he likes to read and play the drums.
Read MoreKareena is a currently a master’s student in the International Educational Development Program at the Graduate School of Education at University of Pennsylvania. Prior to coming to Penn, she taught at various schools in New York City.
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Read MoreKaitlin McCann; ECS Graduate School of Education UPenn; Teacher School District of Philadelphia; Executive Board Member Caucus of Working Educators
Read MoreComing from the DC area, Maya is a third year undergraduate student who is passionate about helping others. She is currently studying biology at the University of Pennsylvania with hopes of becoming a medical doctor. In addition to working as a Research Assistant at the Center for Cellular Immunotherapies at Penn Medicine…
Read MoreRaised in the suburbs in Connecticut, Marissa has lived in New York, Boston, and Paris before moving to Philadelphia for graduate school. After studying history and literature in college, she merged her love of history with her passion for education and justice by writing history curriculum for middle school students that focused on challenging dominant narratives and highlighting diverse voices. At the Penn Graduate School of Education, Marissa is pursuing her master's degree in Education, Culture, and Society, studying the history of how the Civil War has been taught (and mistaught) to students throughout history.
Read MoreSanah is a first-year masters student at the University of Pennsylvania working towards a dual degree in non-profit leadership and education, culture, and society. She is the founder and CEO of a non-profit organization called The Love Your Natural Self Foundation, which focuses on empowering individuals through events, movements, and hands-on sessions. She started this organization after losing all of her hair to Alopecia in the seventh grade and struggling with wigs, bullying and low self-worth. Now, her non-profit organization hosts projects in 150 schools and 28 countries worldwide. The biggest project hosted by her non-profit is the International Day of Self Love. She has reached over 50,000 students through speaking engagements and raises over $35,000 in fundraising per year.
Read MoreJessica grew up in Nashville, TN, and studied and worked in the Boston, MA area prior to moving to Philadelphia. Jessica is pursuing her master's degree in the Education, Culture, and Society program.
Read MoreCaroline grew up in Long Island and New Jersey but most recently moved to Philadelphia from Berkeley, CA. She is studying ECS at the Graduate School of Education. She is passionate about the possibilities in good school finance policy and is excited to teach when she is done with her current program. Caroline also plays roller derby and screenprints at an art studio in West Philly.
Read MoreRachel completed their undergrad in History at the University of Central Oklahoma. A graduate of Education, Culture and Society’s master’s program, Rachel's master’s paper explored the role of settler colonialism in the United States, with an emphasis on the ways that relationships between teachers and students can challenge or reproduce white supremacist systems. They are deeply concerned with building solidarity across organizing movements and understanding the ways different forms of oppression play off of one another. Being Potawatomi, space and place are deeply essential to their work, and they hope to return home soon.
Read MorePenelope Ramirez is a proud Black Dominican whose originally from The Bronx, NY...
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Read MoreHailing from West Virginia by way of Montreal, Jax Lastinger is passionate about social justice and liberation for marginalized people. Jax is a second year master's student at the Graduate School of Education, studying Education, Culture and Society.
Read MoreRyan earned his master’s degree at Penn GSE, and currently works as a research consultant. Reading at the intersections of autonomist marxism, post-structuralism, and critical literacies, Ryan intends to continue scholarship while organizing education collaboratives. His broader research interests include youth’s political geographies within-and-beyond community organizations, radical theories of power, and decolonial epistemologies of space.
Read MoreLaShawnda earned her M.S.Ed. from Penn GSE’s Education Policy Program, where she also worked as research assistant for the Racial Empowerment Collaborative. A first generation graduate of the University of Virginia, Brooks joined Teach for America in 2009, serving for two years in Atlanta and later worked as an instructional coach for City Year. She now directs Philips Andover Academy’s Institute for the Recruitment of Teachers.
Read MoreOlivia DiNucci currently works at Penn Global with interest in pursuing a masters in international development with an emphasis on gender and social justice. Prior to coming to Penn, she served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco working primarily with women and girls empowerment initiatives.
Read MoreDorothy Villarreal is a master’s student in Higher Education at the University of Pennsylvania. As an undergraduate, Dorothy became fascinated by the power of higher education to shape and guide students from all walks of lives through transformative experiences. As a first-gen immigrant and scholar, she is interested in exploring the valuable contributions minority students bring to the universities in which they enroll, as well as deepening the understanding of the ways in which universities help support these students on campus.
Read MoreMenen Stroud is completing her master’s degree in Education, Culture and Society at the University of Pennsylvania. She is interested in how schools can be transformed into sites of liberation, with a particular interest in how activism can play a role in that process. Menen is originally from Oakland, CA, and hopes to take her research and learnings back home to work with the communities in which she grew up.
Read MoreMia Shaw is a currently a PhD student in education at the University of Pennsylvania. She is interested in examining the effectiveness of making and project-based learning (PBL) in STEAM education for Black and Brown youth, particularly in the spheres of student voice, identity development, and creativity/innovation.
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