Dr. Pempho Chinkondenji’s research focuses on school (re)integration of student mothers, pregnancy-related education policies, and the relationship between gender, education, and development in Southern Africa. With emphasis on African and African diaspora populations in primary, secondary, and higher education contexts, Pempho’s scholarship draws from interdisciplinary fields to address structural inequalities within educational policies and practices.

Dr. Mariam Rashid is an interdisciplinary scholar whose research focuses on global refugee resettlement policies and practices, coloniality of displacement, and issues related to statelessness, nativity, and indigeneity within minority peoples of East Africa. Her work also critically engages with the discourse of diversity and inclusivity within higher education institutions.

After leaving CIE, I returned to my previous position as a literacy specialist supporting mother tongue literacy initiatives among Darfur refugees in eastern Chad. It was good to be back with some new ideas and inspiration after my time at CIE. My team leader retired not too long after, so I am now the project coordinator and spend a lot more time in the office these days, writing reports and proposals.

I have had several notable accomplishments in my life. Probably the most notable was that I completed my master’s degree in international education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The master’s degree program equipped me with the significant knowledge, skills, and tools that I needed for my work in managing development and humanitarian projects. I would like to thank the Center for International Education (CIE) at UMass Amherst for providing me with an assistantship and the opportunity to work at the University Support and Workforce Development Project (USWDP).

After graduating from CIE in September 2018, I returned to my home country, Bangladesh, and joined my old work place, the Institute of Education and Research (IER), University of Dhaka as an assistant professor. I always loved teaching, and still love to learn from my students. However, teaching has become more challenging now after experiencing the teaching-learning pedagogy of our scholar-practitioner faculties at CIE and UMASS.

Upon finishing my Ph.D. at UMass in September 2018, I returned to Bangladesh and accepted a faculty position in BRAC University where I teach and lead two postgraduate programs. I am coordinating the M.Ed. in Educational Leadership and School Improvement and the M.Sc. in Early Childhood Development programs at the BRAC Institute of Educational Development.

Zia passed away on November 5th 2020.  Zia's obituary.

Verity Norman-Tichawangana is the Executive Director of Jitegemee Children's Program in Machakos, Kenya. "Jitegemee" means "to sustain yourself" in Kiswahili, and the program provides formal and non-formal educational support and other social services to vulnerable children in the community.