Our Students

Research Discipline/Bio

My research centers around the intersection of education, conflict, development, and peacebuilding. I focus specifically on the agency of teachers in conflict-affected contexts, the provision of high-quality secondary education in emergencies, and the transformative role of education in protracted conflict. Outside of the doctoral program, I have worked in the international education and nonprofit sectors for over 15 years and am currently the Deputy Project Director for Fulbright Teacher Exchanges at IREX, a global international education development nonprofit.

Educational Background

Master of Philosophy, Comparative and International Education, Teachers College, 2024
Post Graduate Certificate, Nonprofit Management, Northeastern University, 2015
M.A., Conflict, Security and Development, University of Bradford, United Kingdom, 2012
B.A., Psychology and Cross-Cultural Studies, Carleton College, 2009

Honors/Awards

Peace and Security Scholar, United States Institute of Peace/Minerva Research Initiative, 2024-2025

Publications/Exhibitions

Henderson, C., & Hough, W. (2025). On the Precipice of Progress: Policy Openings that Improve Forcibly Displaced Adolescent and Youth Enrollment and Retention in Secondary Education. UNHCR and Plan International.

Hough, W. (2025). The PeaceJam Foundation: An analytical program review through a Transformative Peace Education lens. Current Issues in Comparative Education.

Mansour, S., Hough, W., & Dorombaeva, A. (2024). Borrowing money - borrowing ideas: The economics of policy transfer in the Global South. In Handbook of Comparative Education. Edward Elgar Publishers

Henderson, C. Mansour, S. & Hough, W. (2023). The missing piece: Secondary education in crisis contexts. UNHCR, Plan International, UNICEF

Hough, W. (2023). Review of School Leadership for Refugees’ Education: Social Justice Leadership for Immigrants, Migrants and Refugees. Current Issues in Comparative Education

Last Updated: Mar 13, 2025

Research Discipline/Bio

I am PhD candidate and my dissertation research, supported by a Fulbright Research Award in Bordeaux, France, is an ethnographic study on the food systems of Bordeaux. I am exploring the changing foodscapes in local and global contexts from the perspectives of city residents. Supported by my chef diploma at the Natural Gourmet Institute, a culinary school focused on health-supportive cuisine, I led academic seminars for youth on Farm-to-Table in Vermont and Tuscany, Italy, and French Cuisine in Paris, France. For my MA thesis, I researched permaculture, a method of sustainable development, in Costa Rica. I am interested in the role of experiential learning opportunities in driving transformation and the question: How do we, as educators, optimize learning for multicultural youth and young adults to cultivate peaceful and sustainable futures?

Educational Background

M.A., International Education Development, Teachers College, Columbia University, 2012
B.A., Psychology, Skidmore College, 2004

Honors/Awards

Fulbright Research Award, Bordeaux France, 2023-2024
Sharon Y. Nickols Scholar 2022-2023
L. Ray Balderston Scholar 2021-2022
TC General Scholar 2020-2023

Publications/Exhibitions

Ingraham, S. & Mason, L. (2023). Mental Health and Well-Being in International Education: Reflections on Providing Support for Students and Administrators. Institute of International Education. https://www.iie.org/publications/mental-health-and-well-being-in-international-education-reflections-on-providing-support-for-students-and-administrators/

Ingraham, S. (2023). Integrating a Gender Perspective into Mental Health Approaches for UN Peacekeeping. Applied Psychology Around the World. 5(1), 72-81. https://iaapsy.org/site/assets/files/1082/apaw_v5i1_feb_2023.pdf

Last Updated: Feb 17, 2025

Research Discipline/Bio

Sumit Karn is an instructor in the International and Transcultural Studies department at Teachers College, Columbia University, where he is also pursuing a Ph.D. in Comparative & International Education. His research interests center around the diffusion of ideas and institutions and the impact of public opinion on educational policies, reforms, and systems, particularly within the context of South Asia. Sumit pursues this work through the disciplinary lens of sociology and political science, utilizing multiple and mixed-method approaches.

Before joining Teachers College, Sumit worked/supported various impactful projects with organizations, such as Bloomberg Philanthropies (Global Scholar program), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (Ananya 3SI project with CDOT in Bihar, India), and Steps (DDA project of the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services). Prior to that, he worked as a journalist for the Everett Herald newspaper in Washington, USA.

Educational Background

Master of Arts, International Educational Development, Teachers College, Columbia University, 2023
Graduate Certificate, Global Education Entrepreneurship and Innovation, University of Pennsylvania, 2020
Bachelor of Arts, Strategic Communication, Washington State University, 2019
Associate of Arts, Journalism, Everett Community College, 2015

Honors/Awards

Doctoral Scholarship ($ 78K+), Teachers College, Columbia University (2023 - 2026); George W. Perkins Memorial Award, for exemplary commitment to the International and Comparative Education program, Teachers College, Columbia University, 2024; Fully-funded Master's ($ 140K+) scholarship, Teachers College, Columbia University (2021 – 2023); Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund ($ 25K), U.S. Department of State, 2013; Community College Initiative Program ($ 32K), Everett Community College, 2012

Publications/Exhibitions

Karn, S., Churiwal, V., Henderson, C. J., Chin, M., & Sanjeev, S. (2023). More girls are accessing school, but are they learning? An exploratory study of the factors influencing girls’ mathematics achievement in Pakistan. Current Issues in Comparative Education, 25(1).

Oyewole, K. A., Karn, S., Classen, J., & Yurkofsky, M. M. (2022). Equitable Research-Practice Partnerships: A Multilevel Reimagining. The Assembly, 5(1), 40–59.

Last Updated: Sep 30, 2024

Research Discipline/Bio

Samaya Mansour is a Ph.D. candidate in International and Comparative Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, where she also serves as a Doctoral Research Fellow for the Division of Academic Planning and Global Affairs. Samaya works at the intersection of research, policy, and practice to advance global education through meaningful partnerships. In her dissertation research, she uses a decolonial lens to explore how refugees reconstitute citizenship in displacement contexts.

Currently, she is the Senior Research Analyst with the Gender Equality in and through Education workstream and co-coordinates the Echidna Global Scholars Program at the Center for Universal Education at Brookings. Prior to her current role, Samaya co-led international research and development projects with INEE, UNHCR, UNDP, Plan International, and others, providing research-based insights and policy recommendations aimed at improving education systems in fragile and crisis contexts.

Educational Background

MPhil in Education, Cambridge University, 2017
BA in Education, American University of Beirut, 2015

Last Updated: Feb 11, 2025

Research Discipline/Bio

Grace Na is a Ph.D. candidate in international and comparative education with a specialization in political science. Her main research focuses on the global governance of education, specifically examining how its mechanisms have evolved over time. She is also helping spearhead a project that investigates the politics of knowledge production in intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), exploring the roles of the OECD, the World Bank, and UNESCO in shaping educational discourse and policy. Before embarking on her doctoral studies, she worked to advance global education reform by helping to establish a nonprofit organization that fosters partnerships among policymakers, educators, and business leaders. Additionally, she has experience in North Korea policy work in Washington, D.C., where she engaged with various government branches to address complex geopolitical challenges.

Last Updated: Mar 21, 2025

Research Discipline/Bio

Sara, Researcher and Policy Advisor, is a Doctoral Fellow pursuing a PhD in Comparative and International Education at Teachers College (TC), Columbia University. She is the 2024-25 editor-in-chief of the journal Current Issues in Comparative Education. Her PhD research centers on the intersection of climate mobility, internal displacement, disasters, and school abandonment among adolescent girls in Honduras. This work reflects her commitment to addressing pressing global issues through context-based academic inquiry and practical policy insights.

With a passion for advancing education policy and practice, Sara brings a wealth of interdisciplinary experience from her engagements in Switzerland, India, Italy, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Canada, Venezuela, and the United Kingdom. She was a Hillary Rodham Clinton Global Challenges Scholar in 2021-22 and an International Fellow at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) in 2023-24.

Educational Background

Master of Philosophy (MPhil), Comparative and International Education, TC, Columbia University

Master of Arts (MA), Global Challenges: Law, Policy, & Practice, Swansea University’s Hillary Rodham Clinton School of Law, 2022, Highest Honors (Distinction)

Bachelor of Arts (BA), Majors: Social Research & Public Policy; Theatre, Minor: Political Science, New York University (NYU) Abu Dhabi, 2020, Summa Cum Laude

International Baccalaureate, The Mahindra United World College (UWC) of India, 2016

Honors/Awards

Doctoral Fellow, TC, 2022-25; Pre-dissertation Travel Grant, Institute of Latin American Studies, 2024; International Fellow, School of International & Public Affairs, 2023-24; George W. Perkins Memorial Scholarship Award, TC, 2023; Hillary Rodham Clinton Global Challenges Scholar, Swansea University, 2021-22; Finalist, Rhodes Scholarship, 2020; Female Athlete of the Year, Abu Dhabi Inter-University Sports League, 2018; Outstanding Impact Initiative, Clinton Global Initiative University, 2018

Publications/Exhibitions

Pan-Algarra, S. M. (2023). [Review of the book Navigating Precarity in Educational Contexts: Reflection, Pedagogy, and Activism for Change, edited by K. Monkman, A. Frkovich, & A. Proweller]. Comparative Education Review, 67(4), 918-920. https://doi.org/10.1086/726910

Gleason, N., & Pan-Algarra, S. (2022). Disruption & Public Policy Education across Asia: The Fourth Industrial Revolution, the Climate Crisis & COVID-19. In S. Nair & N. Varma (Eds.), Emerging Pedagogies for Policy Education: Insights from Asia (pp. 15-38). Palgrave Macmillan

Last Updated: Mar 1, 2025

Research Discipline/Bio

I am a doctoral candidate in Anthropology and Education. My research interests include adult education, community organizing and collective political action, urbanism and urban infrastructure, and Latin American immigration to the United States. My dissertation work considers community organizing and advocacy efforts around traffic safety issues within participatory planning initiatives. Through ethnographic engagement, this project considers how a variety of stakeholders, especially Latinx immigrants, participate in planning initiatives and community organizing and how the knowledge they produce for and through these efforts is legitimated, transformed, contested, and reinscribed as they attempt to improve traffic safety. Prior to entering doctoral study, I was an educator, organizer, and nonprofit leader working across southern and central New Jersey.

Educational Background

Master of Science in Education, Adult Education, Indiana University, May 2019.
Bachelor of Arts in Applied Linguistics, Iowa State University, Dec 2006

Honors/Awards

Wenner-Gren Dissertation Fieldwork Grant, 2024-2025; Education Policy Dissertation Research Fellowship, 2024-2025; National Association of Student Anthropologists Carrie Hunter-Tate Award, 2023; Teachers College Dean’s Grant for Student Research, 2023; American Anthropologist Contributing Editors Program, 2021-2023; Anthropology Research Fund in Honor of Lambros Comitas, 2021, 2022; Teachers College Doctoral Fellowship, 2021-2022.

Publications/Exhibitions

Callejas, Linda, Jenna Barchas-Lichtenstein, Aaron Su, and Elena Peeples. 2024. “Publics, Anthropologies, and Public Anthropologies.” American Anthropologist. 126, no. 1: 149-152. https://doi-org.ezproxy.cul.columbia.edu/10.1111/aman.13936
Peeples, Elena. 2021. “People, Policy, and Praxis: Freirean Pedagogy and Local-Level Policy Implementation.” Current Issues in Comparative Education 23, no. 2: 80-94. https://doi.org/10.7916/r4q8-qg91

Last Updated: Oct 14, 2024

Research Discipline/Bio

Darren Rabinowitz is a PhD candidate studying International and Comparative Education at Teachers College (TC), Columbia University, and works as a research associate at the TC Center for Sustainable Futures. His dissertation research investiages the role of environmental provisions in national constitions and their influence on policy making, education, citizenship and activism. His research interests include globalization theories, peacebuilding, social movements, civil society, climate change education, citizenship education, and youth activism. He has previosuly worked on international education resesach projects with the, Global Education Monitoring Report (GEMR), Earth Institute, Columbia Univeristy, the The Monitoring and Evaluating Climate Communication and Education Project (MECCE) and the North American Association for Environmental Education.

Educational Background

Masters of Arts, International Educational Development, Teachers College, 2019.
Bachelors of Arts, Interdisciplinary Studies, American University, 2015.

Honors/Awards

International & Transcultural Studies Summer Research Grant, 2024; Education in Emergencies SIG - Student Paper Award, 2024; Dean's Grant for Student Research, 2024; Vice President’s Grant for Diversity and Community Initiatives 2023; Doctoral Fellowship , 2021; Grant Recipient: International and Comparative Education Interdepartmental Grant, 2019; Grant Recipient: TC Center for African Education Travel Grant 2019; Grant Recipient: Earth Institute Fellowship, 2019

Publications/Exhibitions

Rabinowitz, D. (2024). Peacebuilding Inc.: Neoliberal Influences on Rwanda’s Vulnerable Youth. COMPARE
Brock, A. Waltner, E., Redman, A. Rabinowitz, D. Chassé, P. Abbonizio, J. (Forthcoming, 2024). Cross-disciplinary Perspectives on Developing Global Datasets and Indicators for Monitoring Climate Change Education and Communication. Discover Sustainability

Last Updated: Oct 2, 2024

Research Discipline/Bio

Issa is a doctoral student and graduate research assistant at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her research interests include teacher identity and roles in the context of forced displacement.

Issa earned a Master of Arts in Teaching from Teachers College, Columbia University, as a Peace Corps Fellow in the Department of Mathematics, Science, and Technology. During her time at Teachers College, Issa also taught high school science at a project-based high school. She has worked with the International Rescue Committee's Youth Education team, supporting refugee education initiatives, and she has taught secondary science in Mozambique as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Currently, Issa serves as the Chair of Community Engagement for the New York City Peace Corps Association.

Educational Background

Master of Arts in Teaching, Chemistry, Teachers College, 2022

Honors/Awards

Jaffe Peace Corps Fellow (TC), 2020

Last Updated: Feb 25, 2025

Research Discipline/Bio

Noël is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of International and Transcultural Studies at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her dissertation research, situated in South Korean alternative schools for North Korean displaced youth, examines the impact of national unification discourse on resettlement schooling contexts. This project is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant in Cultural Anthropology. Noël's appointments as a Teaching Assistant have been in the Department of Anthropology at Columbia University, the Asian and Middle Eastern Cultures Department at Barnard College, the Education Program at Barnard College, and the International and Transcultural Studies department at Teachers College. She is also a Senior Editor for Current Issues in Comparative Education (CICE) Journal and former Academic Chair of the Association for Educational Anthropology (AEA) at Teachers College.

Educational Background

M.Phil, Applied Anthropology, Teachers College (2022)
M.A., Anthropology, Columbia University (2018)
B.A., History, Carnegie Mellon University (2016)

Honors/Awards

Teachers College Dean's Grant for Student Research, 2024; Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant in Cultural Anthropology, National Science Foundation (NSF), 2023-2024; Arthur Zankel Urban Fellowship, 2018-2020; Columbia University Roger Lehecka Double Discovery Center Fellowship 2018-2020.

Publications/Exhibitions

Um, Noël. 2020. “Biopower, mediascapes, and the politics of fear in the age of COVID-19." City & Society 32 (2).

Last Updated: Oct 1, 2024

Research Discipline/Bio

Sarah G. Vazquez is a Ph.D. Candidate in Anthropology and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, where her research examines the intersection of childhood, digital technology, civic engagement, and multicultural education. Her dissertation, Civic Media Worlds, is an ethnographic study exploring how multilingual children use digital technologies in their social lives, and in particular how they are engaged with the Roblox ecosystem. Working in partnership with Clifton Public Schools in Passaic County, New Jersey, her research contributions to conversations on education technology, digital equity, civic media literacy and the role of digital technologies in shaping civic identities among young children.

Sarah is also a member of the Primary School Faculty at Montclair Kimberley Academy in Essex County, New Jersey. Prior to her doctoral studies, she taught in elementary education for several years in the US and internationally.

More information: www.sarahgvazquez.me

Educational Background

Master of Philosophy, Anthropology and Education, Columbia University, 2024.
Master of Arts in Teaching (magna cum laude), Elementary Education, Johns Hopkins University, 2018.
Bachelors of Arts (cum laude), American Studies, Georgetown University, 2013.

Honors/Awards

Dissertation Fellowship (Klingenstein Center), 2024-25; Provost's Dissertation Research Award (Office of the Vice Dean for Research), 2024-25; Invited Scholar, Doctoral Research Collective for the Study of Race and Ethnicity (Office for Diversity and Community Affairs), 2021-22; Doctoral Research Fellowship (Programs in Anthropology), 2019-21; Anthropology Research Fund in Honor of Lambros Comitas (Teachers College, Columbia University), 2020.

Publications/Exhibitions

Vazquez, Sarah. 2021. Virtual Archive, TC COVID-19 Community Archive, Teachers
College, Columbia University, New York City, NY

Vazquez, Sarah. 2020. “From the Epicenter, At the Apex: A dispatch about birth and COVID-19 from New York City.” City & Society 32 (2): CISO.12330.

Last Updated: Feb 24, 2025

Research Discipline/Bio

Nina is a Ph.D. student and Doctoral Fellow in the International and Comparative Education. Her passion is supporting teachers and school leaders to build inclusive and caring learning environments for all students. Her research interests lie at the intersection of educational policy, socioemotional and civic education, and teacher and principal education and practices. Prior to joining TC, Nina worked as a high school teacher in Chile. She also worked as a teacher coach in several organizations and at the Chilean Department of Education, where she led a national initiative on project based learning. Additionally, she conducted research in several organizations such as UNDP, Aptus, and EMElab. In 2023, following her relocation to the U.S., Nina joined the Learning Policy Institute (LPI) as a full-time research and policy intern, where she contributed to case studies on teacher preparation.

Educational Background

M.A. International Education Policy Analysis, Stanford University, 2022
B.A. Education, Universidad Andrés Bello, 2018
Diploma, Quantitative Social Research Methods, Universidad Diego Portales, 2017
B.A. Sociology, Universidad de Chile, 2014

Honors/Awards

Doctoral Fellowship, Teachers College, Columbia University, 2024-2027
GSE Travel Grant, 2022, Stanford University
ICE/IEPA MA Fund Grant, 2022, Stanford University

Publications/Exhibitions

Yacher, N. (2024). “How can we change if we are the same people?”: Chilean academic leaders’ experiences implementing a practice-based teacher education approach. Teaching and Teacher Education, 138, 104412. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2023.104412

Last Updated: Nov 3, 2024

Research Discipline/Bio

Erica Clarke Yardy is a doctoral student in the Anthropology and Education program. She is also a Research Associate with the NYC Early Childhood Research Network. Her focus is on collaborative research with Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) workers to explore the experience of this work. Her projects include the use of collaborative ethnography, autoethnography, ethnographic conversations, collecting life histories, and content analysis. More recently, Erica has framed this work within a feminist ethnographic lens. She has presented her work at conferences including the American Educational Research Association Conference, the Visions of Racial Justice and Childhood Conference, the Reconceptualizing Early Childhood Education Conference, and the American Anthropological Association Conference. Prior to her research work, she was an early childhood teacher in Barbados, Illinois, and the New York City Metropolitan Area.

Educational Background

Master of Arts, Early Childhood Special Education, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2015
Diploma in Education (Primary), The University of the West Indies, 2011
Bachelor of Science, Psychology, The University of the West Indies, 2008

Publications/Exhibitions

Yardy, C. E., (November, 2024). Complicating The Simple: Representations of Early Care and Education Work. Presentation at The American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting, Tampa, FL.
Yardy, C. E.., May, A., Mohamed, S., Peters, L., Swadener, B., & Bloch, M. N. (November, 2024). Weaving Intergenerational Stories of Justice: Childhoods and Child Care in Africa and the African Diaspora. Presentation at the Reconceptualizing Early Childhood Education Conference, Chicago, IL.
Yardy, C. E.., Kirton, T., Omoyele, O., & Duke, Z. (June, 2024). Appropriate for Whom? A Critical Examination of Diverse Representation in Children’s Literacy. Presentation at Visions of Racial Justice and Childhood: Inequalities, Identities, Politics, Relationalities and Representations, Rutgers University, Camden, NJ.
Yardy, C. E., Kirton, T., Omoyele, O., & Duke, Z. (April, 2024). On Listening to What Early Childhood Teachers Say: Reflections on Collaborative Inquiry, Community, and Care. Presentation at the American Education Research Association, Philadelphia, PA.
Yardy, C. E., Pierce, P., Salazar, N., Zhang, Z. (October, 2023). Learning Through Doing: Street-Vending in the New York City Neighborhoods of East Elmhurst and Harlem. Presentation at the 4th Conference in Anthropology and Education, Teachers College, Columbia University, NY, NY.
Anderson, D., & Yardy, C. E. (2023, July 27). Case Study: Research-Practitioner-Partnerships and Early Childhood. Presentation at National Network of Education Research-Practice Partnerships Annual Forum, Houston, TX

Last Updated: Mar 14, 2025

Research Discipline/Bio

I focus on how education can empower and solve problems in marginalized communities, especially in realms of conflict. Drawing from my experience in anti-child trafficking and diverse teaching roles, I aim to create strategies that foster social cohesion driving a meaningful social change through education and edtech.

Educational Background

M.A. International Education, New York University
B.A Teaching with Major in Spanish Language, Universidad de los Andes,

Honors/Awards

Zankel Fellowship, Teachers College, Columbia University 2024 – 2025.
School Commencement Representative for Graduate Students, Class Representative, for the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development, 2024, New York University.

Last Updated: Feb 17, 2025