2023 Writers in Residence

Rena is a doctoral student in International Education at NYU. Her research interests focus on education in humanitarian contexts, especially those affected by conflict. She studies how social emotional learning (SEL) manifests across cultures and is influenced by international aid.

During her residency, Rena will write about the rise and transfer of social emotional learning (SEL) as a response to provide for young people affected by crisis and conflict. The study aims to understand why SEL has not achieved its potential for improving well-being and learning in conflict-affected settings by understanding potential “interruptions” in the translation of SEL across cultural and contextual boundaries.

Franco is the CEO and co-founder of Enseña Peru. He is also a co-founder of Ayni, which brings together more than 1,300 leaders in education from all roles to reimagine education. In addition, he has served as a member of the Network Advisory Council of Teach for All and has been a jury member in several national teacher prizes in Peru.

Franco suggests if communities don't find ways to shift the purpose of education, kids will grow far from a thriving life and without agency over their personal, professional, planetary, and citizenship lives. He adds that the the narrative in Peru is mostly "get a job, pay the bills." But without innovative practices, Franco believes communities have no clue what a new education story could look like. Therefore, he will highlight the necessity of combining a new purpose and a new approach to innovation in education. He intends his writing to reach leaders worldwide who can promote a different narrative about how to pursue education transformation.

As social justice educator, Viet has been spending a decade working relentlessly with children and youth in different settings in Vietnam, using education as a tool for the empowerment and liberation of individuals and communities. He is the founder and current director of Dream&Do School for Future Changemakers, an education center that practices and promotes pedagogies for socio-ecological transformation.

Taking on the personal experience of being a social justice educator and restorative justice practitioner in Vietnam, Viet will write about how restorative-based pedagogy can transform school climates, build up community, resolve conflicts, address social injustice in education, and eventually empower teachers and students to change the world beyond the classroom walls. Furthermore, his writing is expected to explore an opportunity to envision a new global consensus on transforming education for sustainable and regenerative futures.