Throughout my career, I have worked as an equity strategist committed to transforming school environments so every student feels seen, valued, and supported. My work centers on dismantling systemic barriers, strengthening identity-affirming practices, and building culturally sustaining learning ecosystems across classrooms, schools, and districts. I partner with leaders, educators, and institutions to conduct equity audits, redesign curriculum, and co-create frameworks that advance belonging, rigor, and justice for all students. 

Student voice has always been at the heart of my work. I believe that when students are empowered to speak their truths and shape their learning, classrooms become spaces of liberation, agency, and possibility. I have led national conversations on elevating student voice as a pathway to equity, co-authored Pedagogies of Voice, and developed frameworks that help educators cultivate identity, belonging, inquiry, and efficacy. My work in this area has influenced school systems across the United States and internationally, shaping policies and practices that ensure students—especially those historically marginalized—are active agents in their educational journeys.

My doctoral research, Perceptions of Inclusion and Belonging of Arab American Students, explored how Arab American youth experience identity, belonging, and inclusion within U.S. schools. Through in-depth qualitative research, I examined the impact of school culture, peer dynamics, and institutional bias on students’ well-being and academic success. This work continues to inform my advocacy for culturally sustaining pedagogy, humanizing education, and equitable learning environments. My dissertation laid the foundation for my career-long commitment to centering the voices and lived experiences of students at the margins.

Relocating to Illinois marked a transformative chapter in my career. It allowed me to take on leadership roles that expanded my impact across district, state, and national levels. In Illinois, I served as an instructional leader, department chair, district equity leader, curriculum consultant, and university professor. I collaborated with diverse school communities, led professional learning initiatives, and helped shape statewide equity guidelines. My time in Illinois strengthened my understanding of the complex intersections between policy, practice, community, and identity in education.

Working in Abu Dhabi was a defining global experience that deepened my understanding of culturally diverse learning ecosystems. While consulting with schools in the UAE, I supported curriculum redesign, coached educators on inclusive instructional practices, and helped leaders integrate equity and culturally responsive pedagogy in multilingual contexts. This work reinforced the importance of honoring cultural identity while ensuring that learning is rigorous, relevant, and connected to students’ lived realities. My experiences in Abu Dhabi continue to shape my international consulting work today.

As an international consultant, I have had the honor of partnering with schools, ministries of education, and educator networks across North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. My global consulting work focuses on culturally responsive curriculum design, instructional leadership, equity-centered school transformation, and student agency. I design and facilitate professional development, guide strategic planning, and collaborate with institutions to implement sustainable equity frameworks. My commitment is to help learning communities across the world create environments where students thrive academically and emotionally—and where identity is a source of strength, not a barrier.

Some of the most powerful moments of my career have taken place while teaching and consulting in refugee camps. There, I witnessed the resilience, brilliance, and aspirations of students navigating unimaginable challenges. My work in these settings strengthened my belief that education must be a force for healing, safety, and empowerment. I collaborated with local educators to develop trauma-informed practices, create culturally relevant curriculum, and build spaces where displaced students could reconnect with their identities and find hope. These experiences remain foundational to my philosophy of humanizing education.

I have spent much of my career writing curriculum for international schools and global learning organizations. My focus is on designing learning experiences that are culturally sustaining, globally relevant, and grounded in research-based instructional excellence. I work with international teams to integrate inquiry-based learning, project-based frameworks, multilingualism, and identity-affirming pedagogy. My global curriculum work ensures that students across diverse cultural and geographic contexts develop the knowledge, agency, compassion, and critical thinking needed to engage as global citizens.

In the United States, I have led curriculum development at the classroom, department, district, and national levels. My work includes designing equity-centered English Language Arts curriculum, developing culturally responsive units, guiding standards-aligned instructional materials, and leading districtwide curriculum transformation. I partner with school systems to align curriculum with best practices in literacy, equity, assessment, and student-centered pedagogy. Whether writing national frameworks or collaborating with local educators, my goal is always the same: to ensure that every student experiences rigorous, meaningful, identity-affirming learning.