A PASSIONATE TEAM OF EDUCATORS & RESEARCHERS AT TEACHERS COLLEGE, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
MEET THE TEAM
Our extraordinary team of researchers, educators, data analysts, and education technology specialists bring together years of teaching and course management experience to support the program’s design, implementation, maintenance, and sustainable growth as we expand our program offerings in the future.
Amra Sabic-El-Rayess
PROFESSOR, AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR, AND ACTIVIST
Amra Sabic-El-Rayess is a professor, award-winning author and researcher who grew up in Bihać, Bosnia and Herzegovina. After surviving the Bosnian Genocide, she emigrated to the United States in 1996. By December 1999, she earned a B.A. in Economics from Brown University. Later, she obtained two Master's degrees and a Doctorate from Columbia University. Currently, she is a professor at Columbia University’s Teachers College working on understanding how and why societies fall apart and what role education can play in unifying communities. She has published on education-related issues and has delivered 100+ invited lectures around the world to adult and adolescent audiences. Her award-winning memoir, The Cat | Never Named: A True Story of Love, War, and Survival (Bloomsbury, 2020) was published to critical acclaim. Dr. Sabic-El-Rayess was awarded a 2021 Finalist Medal for Excellence in Young Adult Nonfiction by the American Library Association and Best Book recognition by School Library Journal, Malala Fund, Capitol Choices, and Children’s Center for Literature for her memoir -- a defining text on resilience to hate and empowerment through education. Her next nonfiction contribution, Three Summers (Macmillan Publishers-FSG, April 9, 2024), is a story of resilience and sisterhood in the three years leading up to the Bosnian Genocide. Sabic-El-Rayess is currently President of the Brown Alumni Association and a member of The Corporation of Brown University.
Vik Joshi
DIRECTOR, PROGRAM DESIGN AND STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS
Vik Joshi is a Doctoral Student in the Philosophy and Education Program at Teachers College, Columbia University. He holds a B.A in Philosophy and Literature from Bard College (U.S) and an M.A in Biography and Creative Non-Fiction from the University of East Anglia (U.K). He has served on the faculty of the Bard Prison Initiative, teaching and advising in maximum and medium security prison in Up-State New York; taught as part of the Philosophy faculty at Fordham University; and held fellowships at the Center for Justice at Columbia University and within the inaugural cohort of Mr. Harry Belafonte's The Gathering for Justice. His research, which builds on Dr. Sabic-El-Rayess' novel theory of Educational Displacement, seeks to offer a robust philosophical account of resilience in schools alongside protective factors against violence such as belonging and storytelling. Inspired by Project Belonging's mission to build connected, compassionate, and caring student leaders who will unify their communities, Vik hopes to design a thoughtful learning experience for all our participants and build strong partnerships with organizations that seek to cultivate belonging in classrooms and schools.
.jpg)
Shaune Marx
GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT, CURRICULUM, COORDINATION, AND OUTREACH
Shaune currently studies Cognitive Science in Education within the Department of Human Development at Teacher's College, Columbia University. She was named as a Zankel Fellow in Fall 2023 and works with the Center for the Professional Education of Teachers to support educators in New York City Public Schools. Before coming to Teacher's College, she taught AP English at a high school in Austin, Texas, after falling in love with education as an English foreign language teacher in Madrid, Spain. She holds a BA in Professional Writing and Creative Writing from Carnegie Mellon University, and firmly believes in the transformative power of storytelling. She joins the Project Belonging team hoping to empower students to create resilient, empathetic communities.