Aligning My Purpose
After 20 years in education, I'm exploring a different path. And I've never felt more aligned with my purpose.
This past June, many of you know that I stepped away from my Head of School role in California. And while that humbling leadership role was important and fulfilling, I stepped away because of the quiet yet constant inward call for me to return to my research work with girls.
The Journey…
In 2014, I began a journey that deepened my personal philosophy of education at University of Oxford. Oxford opened my mind and heart to anthropology of education and the realities of education globally more deeply than I’d ever known. My fieldwork in Kenya inspired me to learn more about African-led girls' schools in semi-nomadic/agropastoral communities.
When I moved to University of Cambridge for my PhD, I brought with me a love for social anthropology in education and ethnographic research conducting extensive ethnographic research in Karamoja, Uganda where I lived with and learned from a congregation of women religious educators at an all-girls Catholic boarding school following 16 young women who welcomed me into their lives and their communities as they navigated the transition from secondary school into womanhood.
Most rigorous, deeply humanistic qualitative research too rarely leaves university libraries and academic databases. It reaches a tiny audience of people with credentials and access behind paywalls. Even though my PhD journey has come to an end, my heart wants to democratize knowledge and bring empathetic and rigorous research to the masses.
Today and Tomorrow…
Now, I'm dedicated to making rigorous research accessible to a broader audience through compelling storytelling. I’m reworking my thesis into a mainstream non-fiction publication for the masses with empathetic, rich, descriptive ethnographic storytelling to share the unique stories of extraordinary women in one agropastoral community in Karamoja, Uganda.
✍️ Writing ✍️ Writing essays and long-form articles to make research accessible to educators, policymakers, and anyone interested in understanding how we prepare young people to thrive.
🎤 Speaking 🎤 Keynotes and presentations at schools, conferences, and organizations on girls' education, international development, educational leadership, and what it means to build bridges across cultures.
🔍 Research & Consulting 🔍 Bringing my expertise to organizations and institutions working on girls' education, inclusive curriculum, and international education strategy.
🌍 Building Community 🌍 Creating space and building a community for educators, researchers, and development professionals interested in humanistic approaches to education and social change. If you have great work you want me to share, send it my way!
Follow along and support this new journey! Here we go!
