Be A Global Citizen!

Roni Pavick is an interdisciplinary art and astronomy teacher at Boston Public Schools. She is also the astronomy director working with Harvard Smithsonian, and she is a lecturer and presenter at NASA on space exploration and the history of the space program. She shares how watching space launches and pursuing her passions in the arts blazed a unique path for her as an educator. Her perspective ch...

Greg Daniel is the Chief of Staff to the Deputy Chancellor of the Division of Inclusive and Accessible Learning (DIAL) for the NYC Department of Education. He is a seasoned teacher and school leader who had his start with Teach For America.  With a passion for servant leadership and empowering students in underserved communities to find and use their voice, he shares about his extensive work with...

Pili Lindley is the Co-Founder and Head Counselor at the non profit organization SCORE in Lima, Peru. She is passionate about supporting students navigate through the college admissions process and cultivating within them the soft skills needed to find their way towards achieving career success. A major influence on Pili’s own education journey was her college experience debating in Model United N...

Rommel Mejia is a special education teacher and school leader with 15 years of experience in the classroom. He is passionate about family and community engagement with an emphasis on social justice, inclusion, and culturally-responsive learning. From his own experiences going through schooling in the Philippines with the support of both his school and family, he advocates for students to feel a gr...

Lucia Sanchez is a Special Education teacher in the Franklin McKinley School District. She grew up on the east side of San Jose and her story is closely tied to her parent’s struggle in achieving the American Dream as Mexican immigrants. For her parents, it was about working multiple jobs with very little money to create the best conditions for their family. Education was a high priority, and Luci...

Mayra Da Rocha is a SLIFE (Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education) teacher at Boston Public Schools. She is the daughter of Brazilian immigrants who dedicated themselves to building community and advocating for legal protections for other immigrants in the Boston area. Mayra speaks about the profound influence her parent’s advocacy work had on her views on social justice. There are...

Aaron Seria has a background in accounting, finance analysis, grants management, and leadership education. Currently, he works for Sound Transit in Seattle, Washington as their Senior Project Control Specialist. He shares a story about his ambition to build a small company out of a garage when he was in high school. From small beginnings to larger endeavors in governmental roles, he would continue...

Chelsie Wong is a current student at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in the Human Development and Education program. She is a dual citizen of Hong Kong and Canada. She talks about how she navigated these cultures by persevering in the face of homesickness and expanding her sense of self by embracing the local culture. A core pillar of her identity is family. She shared a multi-generationa...

Zaher Ibrahim is a coach and leader who is passionate about supporting individuals and organizations to become more thoughtful and effective global leaders. He shares about his struggle to build his own sense of self through transforming and reframing his traumas growing up in a war-torn country of Lebanon, leading an unsatisfying early career in civil engineering, and confronting his personal and...

Bethiel Girma is a Program Officer at Oak Foundation. She has worked in various capacities as an educator in the classroom, in non profit organizations, and in family foundations. Her decision to follow her gut instinct to move from California to Massachusetts for work set her on an exciting path that has opened up her view on the scale of her impact in the US and abroad. Bethiel places great emph...

Catie Hitzigrath is a transitional advisor at the University of Miami. Before starting her current role in higher education, Catie worked for over a decade as a chorus teacher and choir director for various schools. Her passion for music led her to teach middle school, which is her favorite age group. One big takeaway from her teaching career is that we all should be more open minded and follow ou...

Mark Hermano is a physics teacher with over two decades of teaching experience. Despite not dreaming of becoming a teacher when he was little, it seems like his path to teaching was written in the stars. He uses the analogy of our life being like a solar system. We are acted on by gravitational forces all the time and it reminds us of what is at the center of these forces. Mark has worked at vario...

Jenna Ekulona is a Partner Success Manager at Huron/ Studer Education. She started off her career as an 8th grade teacher and has worked across state lines from California to Texas to Michigan. Through deep reflection and critical reflection on her teaching praxis and the wider school systems in the US, Jenna strives to create equitable conditions and greater access to high-quality education for a...

Christine Vince is the Senior Curriculum Manager for the Primary Years Program at the International Baccalaureate (IB). She started off teaching 4th grade and then took on school leadership to lead her district as a PYP coordinator. With a strong desire to model what it means to be a global citizen to her children, she made a big career decision to accept a job with the IB in the Hague and move he...

Bryan Penprase is the Vice President for Sponsored Research and External Academic Relations at Soka University of America. He is an astronomer, researcher, professor, former Dean of Faculty, and global citizen. His path is unique, and one that he speaks of as being somewhat improbable. From his global travels to telescope sites to his participation in founding new institutions of higher learning t...

Nate Maynard is an environmental consultant, advisor, and researcher. His focus is on energy, ocean, and waste issues. With eight years of experience working across Asia, he has helped to inform and create new policies with governments and companies alike in the pursuit of wider sustainability measures for a better future. We discuss his personal background where hardships and larger questions of...

Colleen Tully is an indigenous and latina educator who is an education advocate for undocumented students and refugee students in foster care. She works at the Children’s Home of Poughkeepsie in New York. Her personal story of uncovering and honoring her own indigenous and latina roots informs the work she does with vulnerable communities. She emphasizes the need to be empathetic and sensitive to...

Ryan Allen is an Associate Professor of International and Comparative Education and Leadership at Soka University of America. Ryan has lived in different parts of the world that have greatly influenced his sense of identity and his approach to learning from others. When it comes to his work with students, he exercises empathy to understand their needs and help guide them towards becoming global ci...

Abir Catovic is the school founder of a K-12 faith-based school with over three decades of teaching experience. She started off her professional career as a computer and electrical engineer. It wasn’t until after she had her first child that the thought of starting a school became her mission. Her journey of serving her community through her Islamist faith is one of her great passions in life. Abi...

Rebecca Liu is the Assistant Director of Undergraduate Studies at Duke Kunshan University. She shares her passion for serving students from all over the world. Students from Duke Kunshan University learn how to cultivate their own sense of rooted global citizenship. She speaks of her own journey to understand what this concept of rooted global citizenship means to her as she traveled from rural Ch...

Today on the podcast, I spoke with Suji Pyun about her thoughts on global citizenship. Suji is an education consultant who has extensive teaching experience in both South Korea and California. She identifies as Korean American and is part of the 1.5 generation. She shares about the work she does in mentoring students to craft their own stories and identities. There are great insights into the powe...

Today on the podcast, I spoke with Dani Zoorob about his thoughts on global citizenship. Dani is a Professor and Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Louisiana State University. He is passionate about education and how to engage his students to become capable and effective medical doctors. His greatest influences come from women and he is proud to advance medical research for...

Today on the podcast, I spoke with Abbie Steinbacher about her thoughts on global citizenship. Abbie works in the tech world as a marketing manager. She is passionate about using her expertise in marketing to create greater family engagement within school spaces. She started a kid’s yoga company and developed curriculum, teacher training programs, and children’s books on wellness and yoga. She enc...

Today on the podcast, I spoke with Alex del Carmen about his thoughts on global citizenship. Alex is an Associate Dean and professor of criminology at Tarleton State University. He is an expert in law enforcement and frequently speaks on topics/areas related to police practices, racism, racial profiling and cultural diversity. Being born in Nicaragua and later becoming an American citizen, he shar...

Today on the podcast, I spoke with Lisa Galdino about her thoughts on global citizenship. Lisa works with Head Start as a Talent Development Specialist. She has over 14 years of teaching experience in early childhood education and has lived in different countries such as Canada and Brazil. She speaks about how her mother’s initiative to begin a Family Child Center taught her the value of connectin...