Global Executive Doctor of Education

“If I could be a perpetual student in the Global EdD program, I would. Through the program I was able to dig into what education means to me, while also seeing education through the lens of countries and cultures across the world. This global experience had a multidimensional impact, changing how I hope to influence education in the United States and even how I plan to educate my own children.”

My professional journey has been shaped by a deep belief in our shared humanity and the power of learning to connect us. The Global Executive EdD strengthened that commitment by amplifying global perspectives and leadership frameworks to design solutions that are both strategic and deeply human. Today, my work at the intersection of culture, technology, and responsible AI builds on those foundations. I loved being a student in the Global Executive Doctor of Education, a program that provided me with incredible mentorship, perspective and global networking. I am still actively communicating and collaborating across cohorts worldwide and grateful to be a part of Cohort 6. The program offered me very meaningful learning experiences about global education systems through on-site learning. These took place every 3 months with rotations in Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Finland and Qatar.

The Global Executive EdD experience fundamentally shifted my leadership from management to strategic, evidence-based transformation. It instilled the intellectual courage required to pioneer the founding of a new school, Tariq Bin Ziad, and lead its vision for bilingual excellence and future readiness. The program equipped me to anchor complex organizational strategy in robust research, allowing me to build systems of conscious leadership and sustainable impact rather than simply reacting to challenges. My favorite lesson was the profound understanding that true leadership is the courage to challenge accepted norms and engage in informed, responsible dissent. This lesson directly fuels my commitment to cultivating critical thinking in our students and pushing institutional boundaries to meet the needs of the future.

When I began the program, I was living in São Paulo, Brazil, and working as the local USC representative. My aim was to make a significant professional leap upon completing the GEEdD. Unexpectedly, my career progressed more rapidly than anticipated, and halfway through the program, I received an offer to work at USC’s main campus in LA. Joining the GEEdD has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, profoundly impacting all aspects of my life by fostering remarkable personal and professional growth, along with invaluable global connections and relationships. One of my fondest memories is our dissertation writing and review group. Through this group, we provided and received feedback, all while learning about the incredible work each of us was accomplishing individually.

The Global Ed.D. has benefited me in multiple ways. It has allowed me to reflect critically on the work I have done in the past to better understand connections to both local and global contexts. It has also pushed me to ask better questions with a more critical analysis of any given situation. For example, we used a gap analysis framework in the Global Ed.D. – I am constantly needing to use a gap-analysis in understanding the various harms the criminal legal system has imposed on communities. The Global Ed.D. expanded my level of analysis, but also opened up a world – literally -to think about comparison: What is done elsewhere? Does it work or not? Who controls the power, how and why? One of my fondest memories is visiting a community school in Peruíbe, São Paulo. It was great to learn how the community had built an education system that is both part of the larger system, but able to keep some autonomy for Indigenous practices and knowledge. I was also grateful – though I shouldn’t have been surprised – to hear the educators utilize some aspects of Paulo Freire’s education philosophy. It was good to know that his framework, which is core to my educational philosophy, was not just exported, but utilized locally.