Be A Global Citizen!

Today on the podcast, I spoke with Abbie Steinbacher about her thoughts on global citizenship. Abbie works in the tech world as a marketing manager. She is passionate about using her expertise in marketing to create greater family engagement within school spaces. She started a kid’s yoga company and developed curriculum, teacher training programs, and children’s books on wellness and yoga. She encourages everyone to try new things and boldly uncover what makes you unique and special as a global citizen. Enjoy the conversation! 

Today on the podcast, I spoke with Alex del Carmen about his thoughts on global citizenship. Alex is an Associate Dean and professor of criminology at Tarleton State University. He is an expert in law enforcement and frequently speaks on topics/areas related to police practices, racism, racial profiling and cultural diversity. Being born in Nicaragua and later becoming an American citizen, he shares how his experience growing up during a civil war informs his passion for justice and living a contributive life. Enjoy the conversation! 

Today on the podcast, I spoke with Lisa Galdino about her thoughts on global citizenship. Lisa works with Head Start as a Talent Development Specialist. She has over 14 years of teaching experience in early childhood education and has lived in different countries such as Canada and Brazil. She speaks about how her mother’s initiative to begin a Family Child Center taught her the value of connecting with others and earning trust. It becomes evident how staying curious and going outside of one’s comfort zone are key to becoming a global citizen. Enjoy the conversation!

Today on the podcast, I spoke with Michelle Niska about her thoughts on global citizenship. Michelle works for the Minnesota Department of Education as an English Learner Program specialist. She speaks about how empathy, compassion, and open mindedness need to be at the forefront of serving multilingual and multicultural families. Her experience is informed by a passion for learning as well as her journey of raising two children as a single mother. She discusses how ESL, family and community engagement, and Prince relate to the concept of global citizenship. Enjoy the conversation! 

Today on the podcast, I spoke with Salman Moti about his thoughts on global citizenship. Salman is the Director of Health System Quality and Operational Analytics at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Since an early age, he has been driven to understand the complexities around him to make better sense of the world. By navigating higher education as a first gen immigrant from Pakistan and exploring diverse areas such as finance, public health, and education, Salman has learned to embrace difference and encourage others to forge new paths. He also shares about his family and religious faith background as acts of service and self exploration about what it means to be a global citizen. Enjoy the conversation!

Today on the podcast, I spoke with Peter Sagun about his thoughts on global citizenship. Peter is the PYP coordinator at a IB school in Nagoya, Japan.  He has also served in roles such as principal, deputy head of school, and IB coordinator across countries such as Kazakhstan, Sweden, and the Philippines. He shares his insights on the need to be more mindful of one’s school culture and the wider country’s culture to establish bonds of trust and understanding as a leader. His views on being a global citizen speak to the embracing of multiple identities to form a greater whole. Enjoy the conversation!

Today on the podcast, I spoke with Zandra Pinnix about her thoughts on global citizenship. Zandra is a professor, biochemist and pre-health coach at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. She speaks about the many influential figures who guided and supported her to achieve big things. By anchoring her actions in faith, she speaks to making change in one’s community with a sense of joy and love as global citizens. Enjoy the conversation!

Today on the podcast, I spoke with Yuen Ip about his thoughts on global citizenship. Yuen is the chief executive officer at CPA Western School of Business. He has extensive leadership experience in areas such as higher education, healthcare, and accounting. From his formative years growing up in Spain, he speaks to why he is passionate about creating more access and opportunity for marginalized communities to gain visibility. In an ever changing world, Yuen is committed to being a grassroots, adaptive leader. Enjoy the conversation! 

Today on the podcast, I spoke with William Yip about his thoughts on global citizenship. William is a theater director and drama teacher. He is originally from Hong Kong and has been flying all around the world to spread his passion for theater within education. He speaks about his own journey as a teacher-facilitator and the profound influences that art has had on his character and personality. William believes that with humility and determination, anyone can be a global citizen. Enjoy the conversation! 

Today on the podcast, I spoke with Muslimah Williams about her thoughts on global citizenship. Muslimah is an accessibility coordinator at Oberlin college. She talks about why her work to embrace and support students’ needs with kindness is rooted in her values as a global citizen. She believes that more empathy, more generosity of spirit, and more diversity with an open heart are key to fostering global citizens. Enjoy the conversation!

Today on the podcast, I spoke with Dr. Khalya Hopkins about her thoughts on global citizenship. Khalya is a special education instructional coach for the NYC department of education and an adjunct lecturer at Harvard University. She is passionate about racial equity, inclusive classrooms, culturally responsive education, and teaching. Her views on global citizenship center on lifting perspectives, building partnerships, and cultivating a greater sense of belonging in the world. Enjoy the conversation! 

Today on the podcast, I spoke with Rocio Mondragon Reyes about her thoughts on global citizenship. Rocio is a career development program lead in Sacramento. She also sits on the Board of a school that serves primarily a latino population. Her journey to become an educator started with an interest in immigration law. The story of her family and her parent’s undocumented status serves as a driving force to create a greater impact on underrepresented communities in the Bay area. In the episode, she talks about how being a global citizen involves standing up for justice and building community right where you are. Enjoy the conversation!

Today on the podcast, I spoke with Liz Hara about her thoughts on global citizenship. Liz is a puppet builder and puppeteer for Sesame street. She also writes for television shows of different ages. She speaks about the magic of puppets and how they bring out one’s full imagination and wonder. Liz also brings up the importance of play as a way to build resiliency and joy. One of many takeaways from this episode is that as global citizens we must learn how to play. Enjoy the conversation!

Today on the podcast, I spoke with Mariah Nandyona about her thoughts on global citizenship. Mariah is a school administrator in Uganda. She has a strong background in finance, business, and accounting that informs much of the foundational work she is doing to lead her school community towards greater inclusion and higher academic achievements. She speaks about her growth as a school leader and the efforts she is making to ensure that education is more accessible to children in her community, especially for girls and teenage mothers. She believes that being a global citizen is about having empathy and care for others. Enjoy the conversation!

Today on the podcast, I spoke with Dr. Timothy McCarthy about his thoughts on global citizenship. Tim is a professor at Harvard University in both the graduate school of education and the Kennedy school of government. As a historian, he has a keen eye to make connections between events and peoples to reveal the stories that make history. Tim looks to his own personal history and the larger world historical events that shaped him and led him down a path of being a scholar, teacher, and activist. Enjoy the conversation!

Today on the podcast, I spoke with Carolyn Siegel about her thoughts on global citizenship. Carolyn is associate director of college counseling at a private school in Los Altos, California. She has extensive teaching experience as a Spanish teacher and taught at the undergraduate level at Brown University. With her love of language and belief in the power of education, she speaks about what makes for a global citizen. Qualities such as empathy and curiosity come to mind as she recounts her own past teachers who made a difference in her life. Enjoy the conversation! 

Today on the podcast, I spoke with James Austin about his thoughts on global citizenship. James is the assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations at a PK-12 school district in Georgia. He shares his journey to find a career that combines finance and teaching. The many positive influences that his family has had on him demonstrates rootedness in his home state of Georgia, while expressing a spirit of entrepreneurship about how to go beyond what has been done before. James is a committed global citizen to his school district and encourages young people to be the change they wish to see in the world. Enjoy the conversation! 

Today on the podcast, I spoke with Dr. Irvin Scott about his thoughts on global citizenship. Dr. Scott is a professor at Harvard Graduate School of Education. He shares some of his journey as an educator who sought after opportunities in school leadership to transform the lives of his community. He brings insight from an extensive portfolio working in classrooms, school districts, and foundations about what it means to cultivate new school leaders. Enjoy the conversation! 

Today on the podcast, I spoke with Dr Peter and Theresa Nguyen about their thoughts on global citizenship. Dr Pete is a family medicine physician and Dr Theresa is a child and adolescent and adult psychiatrist. From this conversation, it is clear how passionate they both are for valuing their patients and emphasizing the importance of mental health. They also share interesting perspectives on global citizenship in their own parenting strategies for their children. They are happily married and share insights into how they seek to prepare young people for a rapidly changing and increasingly stressful world. Enjoy the conversation!

Today on the podcast, I spoke with Jason Hill about his thoughts on global citizenship. Jason is a current student at Harvard Graduate School of Education in the Learning Design, Innovation, and Technology program. He has worked in diverse areas of higher education, outdoor education, public health, and technology. He talks about the deeper meanings of belonging and community. By showing up for those in one’s community, Jason emphasizes the role that we each play in building our connections with others to foster global citizenship. Enjoy the conversation!

Today on the podcast, I spoke with Anny Chan about her thoughts on global citizenship. Anny is currently a masters student at Harvard Graduate School of Education in the Education in Leadership, Organizations, and Entrepreneurship program. She is originally from Hong Kong and now lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She is passionate about connecting with people from different cultural backgrounds and building organizational networks to support the learning of intercultural competencies. Enjoy the conversation! 

Today on the podcast, I spoke with Paula Franklin about her thoughts on global citizenship. Paula is a US government and Global Politics teacher in Knoxville, Tennessee. She speaks to the importance of having students know that what they do matters. From the local context and expanding to the global, Paula guides her students in shared inquiry about political issues. Enjoy the conversation!

Today on the podcast, I spoke with Noah Heller about his thoughts on global citizenship. Noah is Lecturer on Education and a core faculty member in the Teacher and Teacher Leadership (TTL) program at Harvard. He talks about his non linear journey through schooling and his formation of a social identity from deep reflections on race and class. He works in schools as a teacher trainer and engages professionals in how to expand their teacher toolkits. Check out our conversation about the intersections between social identities, learning, and global citizenship.

Today on the podcast, I spoke with Monique Brinson about her thoughts on global citizenship. Monique is a teacher and education leader with three decades of professional experience. She is originally from Massachusetts and now lives in Northern California. She shares her personal journey as a young learner confronting harsh opposition from societal pressures like race and class. Her awakening to the mission of education is beautifully told. From building her foundation and connecting to her deeper ancestral roots in Africa, she speaks to why she does the important work of educating youth for the world. Enjoy the conversation! 

Today on the podcast, I’ll be sharing a brief statement about the educational philosophy that underpins Soka and what is my vision for a reimagined schooling environment. Enjoy!

Today on the podcast, I spoke with Liss Scogland about her thoughts on global citizenship. Liss is an early learning specialist working in Austin, Texas. She is originally from Monterrey, Mexico and speaks to her bilingual and bicultural upbringing. Her journey speaks to cultivating one’s sense of curiosity about the world and applying skills to create value in and outside of the classroom. She has used her background in industrial design to forge an exciting career in PreK education across state and national lines. Enjoy the conversation! 

Today on the podcast, I spoke with Elisabeth Duursma about her thoughts on global citizenship. Elisabeth is a research theme fellow at Western Sydney University. She is originally from the Netherlands and now lives in Australia. She is engaged in research that involves child development, literacy, and poverty. Her discussions about incarcerated fathers’ influence on the literacy rates of their children is aligned with her belief in making an active contribution to society. She is a dynamic researcher and compassionate mentor for her graduate students too! Enjoy what Elisabeth has to say about global citizenship!

Today on the podcast, we are doing something different. As part of a final assignment for my graduate course on Equity and Opportunity, I’m inviting three previous guests, Judson Tomlin, Reid Pierce, and Wayne Jones to join me in reflecting on social class identity. Each of us will share individual reflections and then participate in a dialogue. Enjoy the conversation! 

Today on the podcast, I spoke with Nir Froimovici about his thoughts on global citizenship. Nir is a Product Manager at Microsoft and also teaches Computer science at a public high school. He is originally from Israel and now lives in Seattle, Washington. He talks about the importance of education that instills a drive to learn about the self and the world. His insights about math, computers, leadership, storytelling, and global citizenship are tied to his personal and professional experiences. Enjoy the conversation!

Today on the podcast, I spoke with Natalia Vanegas about her thoughts on global citizenship. Natalia is a school principal at Community Prep. She was born in Colombia and lives in Providence, Rhode Island. She speaks about immigration, empathy, and connection. There are fascinating parallels with her own immigrant story and the myriad stories of students and their families that she serves as an education leader. Enjoy the conversation! 

Today on the podcast, I spoke with Reid Pierce about his thoughts on global citizenship. Reid is a history and theory of knowledge teacher at an international school in Pune, India. Prior to his teaching career, he worked as a lawyer and management consultant. He speaks about his core values in Indian philosophy and how they inform not only his teaching approach to history, but his greater purpose for cultivating students to be better human beings, and in turn, better global citizens. Enjoy the conversation! 

Today on the podcast, I spoke with Alejandro Brambila about his thoughts on global citizenship. Alejandro is a fourth grade teacher in Sacramento, California. He has worked in various careers that include serving in the military, working as a personal trainer, an emergency medical technician, and working in the fashion industry. He shares stories about some of the major influences in his life that brought him to teaching. He is passionate about underserved children and providing them with strong mentorship. He believes in the power of education to uplift students out of poverty. Find out what Alejandro has to say about what it means to be a global citizen. Enjoy the conversation!

Today on the podcast, I spoke with Judson Tomlin about his thoughts on global citizenship. Judson is a biology teacher at the United World College in Singapore. He is originally from Alabama and has lived abroad in countries like Egypt and China. He shares how important it is for people to ground themselves in their cultural identity through reflection and listening to others. He encourages everyone to become global citizens who are interested in engaging people across differences. Enjoy the conversation! 

Today on the podcast, I spoke with Midm Yi about his thoughts on global citizenship. Midm is a network instructional coach at the Learn Charter school in Chicago. He talks about the need for educators to nurture the voices of their students. He is also a writer and shares a children’s book he is writing for his one-year old daughter about what it means to hold multiple identities. Enjoy the conversation! 

This is the thirteenth installment of the interview series called 'Foster the GCs.' I spoke with Professor Alexander Harang and his students about global citizenship, human education, and humanism. This is an exciting opportunity to listen in on what kind of dialogues happen within the classrooms here. The course is called CORE: Enduring questions of humanity. Enjoy what these 13 SUA students have to say about their role as global citizens and what is human education according to the school founder, Daisaku Ikeda.

Today on the podcast, I spoke with Fernanda Silva about her thoughts on global citizenship.Fernanda is a learning designer for the World Bank. She is originally from Ecuador and now lives in Barbados. She is passionate about serving vulnerable communities by creating capacity building programs and workshops. She has lived in different places around the world and encourages anyone to live abroad to discover themselves! Enjoy the conversation! 

Today on the podcast, I spoke with Soleiman about his thoughts on global citizenship. Soleiman is originally from Brazil and has lived in South Korea for the past 23 years. He is currently the director of alumni and international relations at Chadwick International. He shares about his love of teaching and learning from an early age and how this passion brought him to Korea. He is a dynamic educator who wants to ignite the spark of learning in others. Enjoy the conversation! 

Today on the podcast, I spoke with Wayne Jones about his thoughts on global citizenship. Wayne is an Equal Opportunity Specialist at HUD. He is originally from Kentucky and now lives in Houstin, Texas. He has a background in public policy and law. His interests in education, community organizing and engagement, music, and travel all inform his understanding of what it means to be a global citizen: someone who is open minded and compassionate. Find out more about what this lawyer and education leader has to say on global citizenship. Enjoy the conversation!

Today on the podcast, I spoke with Prakash Bista about his thoughts on global citizenship. Prakash completed his early education and high school in Nepal, and received a scholarship to pursue a BA in Liberal Arts degree at Soka University of America and another scholarship to attend the London School of Economics where he received his Masters in Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship in 2018. After graduating, Prakash returned to his home village to lead his village's first service-oriented non-profit school, called Modern Model Residential School. His school currently houses 32 orphans and children in need and provides education to 250 children together with its sister school. Enjoy the conversation! 

Today on the podcast, I spoke to Ramon Paras who graduated from SUA in 2008. He went on to receive his M.A. in TESOL from Soka University, Japan. For past ten years, he has been teaching English Language Skills, University Prep Courses, and Project-based lessons at Kansai Soka High School in Osaka, Japan. His interests are in Social Emotional Learning, Dialogic Learning, and Global Citizenship Education. He also has a deep passion for building a strong rapport with his students and creating a classroom environment where everyone feels seen, heard, and encouraged. Enjoy the conversation!

Today on the podcast, I spoke with Dustin Purdy about his thoughts on global citizenship. Dustin is a mathematics teacher at Dwight Global Online School. He is originally from New York, and has taught in both rural and urban settings. He shares about addressing math anxiety, discussing math as a universal language for global connection, and inspiring the growth mindset in students. Enjoy the conversation!

Today on the podcast, I spoke with Jay Lutsky about his thoughts on global citizenship. Jay is a children’s dentist with over 30 years of dental practice. He is originally from New York and now lives in Los Angeles. He shares stories about his work within the Navy reserves, his volunteer service for an international organization that provides free dental work for low-income communities in Latin America, and his spiritual journey of perceiving his mission as a dentist and as a Buddhist.  Find out what this dentist has to say about what it means to be a global citizen. Enjoy the conversation!

Today on the podcast, I spoke with Rey Bustillo about his thoughts on global citizenship. Rey is a Speech and Language Pathologist. He also worked in law enforcement in the Philippines for 20 years, serving in various capacities such as the chief of police and criminal investigator at the US embassy.  He is committed to serving and protecting not only his local community, but the global community. Through his passion for service, Rey connects with his students and offers them new perspectives and hope about what it means to be a global citizen. Enjoy the conversation!

Today on the podcast, I spoke with Viki Rudez about her thoughts on global citizenship. Viki is an English and Literature teacher at Dwight Global Online school. She has over 20 years of teaching experience in multiple countries around the world. She is passionate about languages and sees global citizenship as a commitment to being open minded. Enjoy the conversation!

Today on the podcast, I spoke with Dani about her thoughts on global citizenship. Dani is a content creator who posts regularly for her channel about topics such as autism, identity, and cultivating empathy for others. She has amassed many followers on her channel and she shares some of her insights about the kind of influence that social media and technology have towards positively influencing the world. Enjoy the conversation!

Follow Dani's IG account: @myneurotype

Today on the podcast, I spoke with Wenli Jen about her thoughts on global citizenship. She is a consultant for Integral Prudence Solutions, a TedX speaker, and a professor of Asian and Ethnic Studies, and Public Health at Cal State Dominguez Hills. In our conversation, Wenli shares how an understanding of one’s power and privilege is vital towards cultivating greater awareness and humility as a global citizen. Enjoy our conversation!

Here is the long awaited update on the rebrand! Introducing....(dramatic pause).... Peace Together! Find out more about what this rebrand means for the podcast and beyond in this quick update episode. Be sure to check out and follow the new Instagram handle :) @_peacetogether

Enjoy!

Today on the podcast, I spoke with St Claire Adriaan about his thoughts on global citizenship. He is originally from South Africa and has worked as a teacher, coordinator, and principal for over two decades. He speaks about the importance of community in fostering global citizens and how each person must not only be aware of injustices, but speak out against them. Enjoy our conversation!

I wanted to let the listeners of 'Be A Global Citizen!' know that I will be focusing on rebranding my podcast. There are many exciting things I'm planning for this rebrand and I can't wait to share it with the community. Stay tuned! For now, I will hold off on posting for the next month until the rebrand is complete. Thank you for your support and understanding! Take care :)