Professional Experience:

VISIONS, INC., Dorchester, MA 2020 – Present  CEO/Executive Director 

Responsible for ensuring the organization is positioned as a well-recognized and respected provider of services that supports diversity,  equity, and inclusion in both the private and public sectors.  

▪ Responsible for the general and active management of the organization, property, and affairs ▪ Manage staff of 12 and roster of over 50 consultants, as well as working closely with the Board of Directors  ▪ Develop strategic plan and annual business plans 

▪ Lead operations, marketing, fundraising, finances, and governance 

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY AT DOMINGUEZ HILLS, Dominguez Hills, CA 2018 – Present  Associate Professor / Lecturer, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution Program  

Lecturer both in seated and online courses for undergraduate and graduate students. Designs and instructs coursework and  curriculum, and supports coordination of professional development opportunities for faculty/staff.  

▪ Taught Mediation clinic for undergraduate and graduate students, supporting DRPA certification  ▪ Taught online graduate courses in Intercultural Communication and Conflict, Public Policy, Independent  Study via Blackboard 

LOS ANGELES HARBOR COLLEGE (LAHC), Los Angeles, CA 2017 – 2020 Director, Title V: First Year Experience (FYE) and Second Year Experience Program  

Plan, organize, and develop programming for Title V students, including those who qualify for Promise Initiatives, while also  managing a budget over $2.6 million and advocating for better access to education and social-emotional services.  ▪ Exceeded Title V Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) grant targets by over 200% in first year (600 students in  first cohort)  

▪ Managed budget, including salaries, purchases, and contracts for Title V grant, as well as through Equity  budget  

▪ Developed an endowment and received Foundation approval to match annually ($30,000 + Foundation  Match for five years)  

▪ Supported the development of Social Justice as a discipline for the college  

▪ Served as an Advocate under Title IX and a member of the Behavioral Intervention Team  ▪ Trained campus (faculty, staff, administrators, and students) on restorative practices and conferencing to  increase student engagement and decrease other forms of disciplinary actions  

▪ Created marketing plan for program, including College Promise initiatives for the district  ▪ Worked in collaboration with student services programs to streamline student engagement on campus  (eliminate redundancy of efforts) 

▪ Designed first master calendar of student engagement opportunities on campus increasing student  engagement and allowing trackable outcomes, and disseminated information via campus communication  platforms (e.g. Grad Guru)  

▪ Managed staff (over 15 individuals – specialists, student workers, administrative support)  ▪ Updated on-boarding process for LAHC so that new students’ experiences would be easier and more  streamlined, and supported additional student engagement  

▪ Provided Gallup StrengthsFinder to 1000 incoming first year students, allowing counselors (and assistants) to  enhance discussions regarding major and career exploration, and increase peer engagement  ▪ Developed first student ambassadors program where students serve as peer mentors, campus tour guides,  and other opportunities for student engagement  

▪ Facilitated Los Angeles College Promise (LACP) and California Promise Initiatives through Harbor  Advantage program, disseminating scholarships and program support to eligible students (approx. 1000  students), collaborating with Los Angeles Mayor’s Office and Los Angeles Community College District staff  

▪ Supported Outreach team in connecting to local high schools and community resources (e.g. Boys and Girls  Club) for recruitment and campus on-boarding process  

▪ Designed operations of Early Decision Days (on-boarding for incoming first year students)  ▪ Developed first Summer Bridge initiative for incoming first year students (approx. 1300 students)  ▪ Coordinated student success, academic affairs, and workplace readiness events for all-campus into one  uniform document each semester  

▪ Supported development of Dual Enrollment (at the high school level) and Adult Education Pathways  ▪ Managed website and social media presence for program  

▪ Advocated for student needs, including bookstore and dining vouchers on campus, as well as travel abroad  opportunities  

▪ Developed first year experience and second year experience program with internship component so that  students (approx. 300 students, thus far) connect relevance of studies to workplace  

▪ Designed first FYE Seminar for the college by developing curriculum through collaboration with faculty for  FYE theme and common reader, conducting professional development and training for instructors, and  coordinating 20 sections of FYE students (900 students)  

▪ Provided professional development opportunities for Counseling Assistants and Counselors on campus by  coordinating various resources, and thus, developing first uniform training guide for LAHC campus  ▪ Brought weekly fresh produce for all-campus to address food insecurity, developing hunger-free campus ini tiatives  

▪ Broke down silos between Academic Affairs and Student Services by designing event bringing everyone  together to support students, such as Majors March (Madness), First Gen Day, and Summer Bridge events,  amongst others  

▪ Served on advisory board to President in regard to crisis and life management  

▪ Collaborated with local council member’s office to support students experiencing homelessness by  prioritizing LAHC students in new local transitional housing  

▪ Organized well-attended all-campus events, including Pulitzer Prize Winner Viet Thanh Nguyen, with 300  guests (designed to match FYE common reader, The Refugees) as part of One Campus, One Book initiative I  led on campus  

▪ Developed First-Annual ‘First Generation Event’ for LAHC campus, bringing together students, faculty, and  alum to discuss challenges of their college experiences  

▪ Supported Umoja and Black Student Union for Black History Month, and helped programming by  developing Africana Wednesdays  

UNIVERSITY OF DUHOK, Duhok, Kurdish Republic of Iraq 2017 – Present  Visiting Professor, Peace Studies  

Design and instruct coursework and curriculum for students and faculty in the newly developing Peace Studies Department, as well  as facilitating restorative practices for faculty and staff.  

▪ Taught restorative practices (RP), including community conferencing, transitional justice, introduction to  peace studies to graduate students, as well as Training of Trainers (ToT) of RP for administrators/faculty at  the University of Mosul  

INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST 2009 – 2017    

 WORLD VISION (WV) INTERNATIONAL, Los Angeles, CA & Beirut, Lebanon 2014 – 2017

Global Education in Emergencies (EiE) Specialist  

Program Manager, No Lost Generation (NLG)  

Responsible for providing technical advice, training materials, and guidelines to response offices  

▪ Provided quality support in program management of the EiE Middle East “One Syria” strategy  development and development of WV’s Global End Violence Against Children Campaign, and  specifically managed “No Lost Generation” program ($3+ million budget), providing educational  and psychosocial support for Syrian refugees and host communities (including Early Childhood  Education and Early Childhood Development)  

▪ Managed the NLG grant in Lebanon – $2+ million annual budget and 12 cross-country staff, while  also supporting the design and submission of later stages of grant  

▪ Facilitated the establishment of 15 educational and psychosocial centers for refugee communities in  Lebanon (including Early Childhood Education and Early Childhood Development)  

▪ Designed psychosocial programming, access to education, and menstrual education campaigns for  developing countries, including South Sudan, Syria, Iraq/KRI, and Lebanon  

▪ Supported post-disaster education and psychosocial programming (e.g. Nepal Earthquake)  (including Early Childhood Education and Early Childhood Development)  

▪ Managed team of over 100 individuals on emergency education roster globally, as well as developed  professional development opportunities for emergency deployment  

THE WORLD BANK, Freetown, Sierra Leone & Dushanbe, Tajikistan 2011 – 2016  Social Development Specialist (Education/Livelihoods/Resettlement)  

 Responsible for the development and delivery of social development programs on complex projects, including   compensation/ livelihood programs pertaining to the education, child protection, and health of affected communities ▪ Managed project implementation, including projects’ financial activities, annual budgeting and planning  for a budget over $150 million on Bumbuna Hydroelectric Dam project in Sierra Leone  

▪ Designed social impact surveys for various stakeholders, including community members, agency  providers, and government officials  

▪ Advocated for vulnerable populations, including women, children, individuals with disabilities,  minority ethnic groups, child soldiers and former sex workers, and refugees/IDPs  

▪ Supported strengthening of Office of National Security projects, such as in disaster management  ▪ Provided technical support to facilitate resettlement and technical advice on community engagement  activities for Ministry of Energy in Tajikistan and Sierra Leone  

▪ Served as an advocate for the needs of beneficiary communities in all aspects of social health,  including child protection, education, housing, transportation/roads, and food security  

▪ Coordinated compensation of communities, as well as livelihood support in collaboration with  service agencies and the Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) and Tajikistan (GoT), respectively  ▪ Worked with partner environmental specialists to ascertain all project impacts on communities,  including individuals, communities, and the environment  

▪ Provided recommendations on how to mitigate social impacts on communities, and developed plans  to ensure support was provided to improve livelihoods  

▪ Developed ToT for community members, including educators  

▪ Established a mobile phone technology program in Sierra Leone to teach basic literacy to  undereducated adults through advocacy with the Ministry of Education  

▪ Managed project teams from GoSL and GoT, including Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Education,  Ministry of Social Welfare, amongst others, while advising the Minister of Energy of options  

 DEFENCE FOR CHILDREN INTERNATIONAL (DCI), Freetown, Sierra Leone 2011 – 2014   Project Manager  

Responsible for the development and execution of programs to support juveniles in Remand Homes  

▪ Managed team of 10 within Ministry of Energy  

▪ Collaborated with UNICEF, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Social Welfare, Ministry of Youth and  Sports, and other INGOs to develop regional and national programs supporting incarcerated youth,  “street children”, including trafficked individuals  

▪ Designed wrap-around program supporting diversion (from formal justice system) for youth by  partnering with various INGOs and UNICF 

▪ Researched and supported connecting indigenous forms of dispute resolution with formal justice  system  

▪ Advocated for improved detention process to include education and psychosocial programming  

U-TOUCH FOR AFRICA, Gulu, Uganda 2009 – 2010  Technical Advisor 

Responsible for establishing technology research/education centers in northern Uganda, in partnership with the African  Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF)  

▪ Received donations of 30 laptops and traveled to northern Uganda to develop technology resource  centers  

▪ Trained 30 community members in 3 different sites on how to utilize technology, especially toward  non-formal education  

▪ Provided psychosocial support for former child soldiers and supported reentry conversations   

HIGH TECH HIGH INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL, San Diego, CA 2006 – 2010  Civics, Law & Society, Humanities, and Sociology Teacher  

▪ Developed Project Based Learning (PBL) curriculum for class and planned exhibitions accordingly (approx.  30 students/class and 5 sections/day)  

▪ Trained (ToT) PBL globally, and developed partnerships (distance learning) with schools in England,  Uganda, Slovakia, and Mexico  

▪ Created first competitive Swim Team for the High Tech High Village (3+ high schools), and supported as  head coach  

▪ Advised 20 students from grades 9-12, annually  

Qualifications:

MSW, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 2020

EdD (Doctorate in Education), Education Administration, Northeastern University, Boston,  

MA, 2019 (expected)  

Dissertation: How do refugees attain information literacy?  

▪ Academic Excellence Award (2018) 

Masters of Arts: Peace and Justice Studies, University of San Diego, San Diego, CA, 2011 Conflict  Resolution / Human Rights Advocacy (December 2011)  

Thesis: Global restorative practices (as seen through case study: Sierra Leone – Youth Diversion)  

▪ Gandhi Fellowship (2010 – 2011)  

▪ Social Innovation Challenge, Grant Recipient (2011)  

▪ Restorative Practices Specialist (Trainer – Community Conferencing)  

Juris Doctor, Southwestern University School of Law, Los Angeles, CA, 2005  

▪ Advocate, Interscholastic Trial Advocacy Honors Program  

▪ Oralist, Moot Court Honors Program  

Bachelor of Arts: Sociology and Political Science, University of California, San Diego, CA, 2001  

Languages

  • English and Farsi (fluent)
  •  Spanish and Krio (conversational)
  • Arabic (beginner)
  •  French (beginner)
  • Portuguese (beginner)