As an educator, teacher educator, administrator, and scholar, I believe that good education is collective work that should be aimed at developing the potential of every individual to make positive contributions towards the betterment of the world and their societies. It is about building relationships in which all members of the classroom and work community feel valued and valuable, and are encouraged to share their experience and knowledge in order to build our collective consciousness and grow our capacities to become ever more intentional beings. To this end, I endeavor to promote the skills of critical reflexivity, open vulnerability, collaboration, and responsiveness. In this way, we can strengthen our sense of agency in order to better serve humanity.
Having spent my life living in six countries on four different continents, I identify as transnational. Born in the United States, I grew up mainly in Tanzania, and currently live in Egypt. Because I operate on the borders of nations and cultures and languages, it is hard for me to be defined or positioned by others. I embrace the confusion my apparent conflicting identities causes in others because I believe it helps break down dichotomies that separate us and them, and to disrupt binary notions of what it means to belong to a nation or a culture, to be a native speaker with a native accent, to believe in the superiority of one race, one religion, one gender, or one way. Because of my transnational experience, I am committed to addressing power inequities and injustice in the world around me, through bringing people together to discuss issues of import to our collective emancipation and development.
