Be A Global Citizen!

Bethiel Girma is a Program Officer at Oak Foundation. She has worked in various capacities as an educator in the classroom, in non profit organizations, and in family foundations. Her decision to follow her gut instinct to move from California to Massachusetts for work set her on an exciting path that has opened up her view on the scale of her impact in the US and abroad. Bethiel places great emphasis on relationships as an important skill that has created new opportunities in not only her career, but her friend network. She values the act of building trust and strives to create conditions within her workplace to build a culture of care. Listen to what Bethiel has to say about being a global citizen!

Catie Hitzigrath is a transitional advisor at the University of Miami. Before starting her current role in higher education, Catie worked for over a decade as a chorus teacher and choir director for various schools. Her passion for music led her to teach middle school, which is her favorite age group. One big takeaway from her teaching career is that we all should be more open minded and follow our interests, similar to middle schoolers. She has a clear focus on empowering students and seeks to build her impact in the area of school success so that it is more equitable for everyone. Check out her story and learn what Catie’s thoughts are on global citizenship! 

Mark Hermano is a physics teacher with over two decades of teaching experience. Despite not dreaming of becoming a teacher when he was little, it seems like his path to teaching was written in the stars. He uses the analogy of our life being like a solar system. We are acted on by gravitational forces all the time and it reminds us of what is at the center of these forces. Mark has worked at various international schools both in the US and abroad. He is a global citizen who leads with his heart and demonstrates how his journey is far from over in education. Check out his thoughts on global citizenship!

Jenna Ekulona is a Partner Success Manager at Huron/ Studer Education. She started off her career as an 8th grade teacher and has worked across state lines from California to Texas to Michigan. Through deep reflection and critical reflection on her teaching praxis and the wider school systems in the US, Jenna strives to create equitable conditions and greater access to high-quality education for all students with particular emphasis on those who live on the margins. She is committed to creating new structures within the education landscape that better serve students to thrive and envision new possibilities for their futures. Enjoy the conversation!

Christine Vince is the Senior Curriculum Manager for the Primary Years Program at the International Baccalaureate (IB). She started off teaching 4th grade and then took on school leadership to lead her district as a PYP coordinator. With a strong desire to model what it means to be a global citizen to her children, she made a big career decision to accept a job with the IB in the Hague and move her family there too. With nearly three decades as an educator, she speaks about her passion for learning, designing curriculum, and creating greater access for all students to experience inquiry-based approaches. Christine outlines what it means to be internationally minded within the IB and why the work of early childhood educators is vital in setting students up for success in school and beyond.

Bryan Penprase is the Vice President for Sponsored Research and External Academic Relations at Soka University of America. He is an astronomer, researcher, professor, former Dean of Faculty, and global citizen. His path is unique, and one that he speaks of as being somewhat improbable. From his global travels to telescope sites to his participation in founding new institutions of higher learning to his research into global liberal arts programs all over the world, Bryan is actively seeking new ways to support and build avenues into the liberal arts. Tune into his exciting journey from a science enthusiast as a child to a global leader and researcher across disciplines. Enjoy the conversation! 

Nate Maynard is an environmental consultant, advisor, and researcher. His focus is on energy, ocean, and waste issues. With eight years of experience working across Asia, he has helped to inform and create new policies with governments and companies alike in the pursuit of wider sustainability measures for a better future. We discuss his personal background where hardships and larger questions of purpose/impact were recurring themes. Nate is committed to reducing carbon emissions. Despite the complexity and scale of making an impact in environmental spaces, Nate remains optimistic that significant advances are being made towards sustainability.

Colleen Tully is an indigenous and latina educator who is an education advocate for undocumented students and refugee students in foster care. She works at the Children’s Home of Poughkeepsie in New York. Her personal story of uncovering and honoring her own indigenous and latina roots informs the work she does with vulnerable communities. She emphasizes the need to be empathetic and sensitive to cultural contexts. The work she does with students who come from trauma backgrounds to arrive in the United States requires trauma-informed care to provide a sense of coming home for them. In this caring learning environment, she models what it means to be a global citizen through her genuine concern and support to have these resilient students know their true worth and brilliance. Enjoy the conversation!    

Ryan Allen is an Associate Professor of International and Comparative Education and Leadership at Soka University of America. Ryan has lived in different parts of the world that have greatly influenced his sense of identity and his approach to learning from others. When it comes to his work with students, he exercises empathy to understand their needs and help guide them towards becoming global citizens. Enjoy the conversation!

Abir Catovic is the school founder of a K-12 faith-based school with over three decades of teaching experience. She started off her professional career as a computer and electrical engineer. It wasn’t until after she had her first child that the thought of starting a school became her mission. Her journey of serving her community through her Islamist faith is one of her great passions in life. Abir shares about her immigrant parents and the process of blazing a new path for herself in a new environment where her religious faith was looked at with suspicion and hostility. She has risen above these negative views to lead a life that is true to herself, her culture, and her religious faith. Enjoy the conversation!