Graduate Student Members
Aigul Rakisheva
Aigul Rakisheva is a Ph.D. student in the Education Policy, Organization, and Leadership Department with a concentration in Global Studies in Education. Aigul obtained her Master’s in Educational Leadership (Higher Education) and a Bachelor’s in Geography at Kazakhstani universities. She worked as a Research Fellow at the Nazarbayev University Graduate School of Education and Kazakhstan Educational Research Association and as a Geography teacher at a Eurasian National University. Aigul is actively engaged in research and teaching activities at UIUC. Her research focuses on Sustainability Education, Information and Communication Technologies, and Teacher Education, contributing to various research projects in these areas.
Armando J. Torres
Armando J. Torres is earning his PhD degree in Global Studies in Education (GSE) within the Education Policy, Organization, and Leadership (EPOL) department and holds a BA in Global Studies and MEd in Postsecondary Administration. Armando is a popular educator, social entrepreneur and community mobilizer with 15 years of experience working in community with local and international CBO’s, scholars and mobilizers for social and digital transformation. Armando’s research focuses on community-based education, technology, mobilization, and sustainable transformational development in LMICs.
Bryan Lake
Bryan Lake is a Master’s student in Global Studies in Education in the department of Education Policy, Organization & Leadership in the College of Education. Bryan is a National Board Certified Teacher who most recently served as an elementary instructional coach in Urbana School District 116, where he championed inquiry-based and experiential learning opportunities with students and teachers through laboratory and outdoor learning spaces. He continues to support local school gardens through Champaign-Urbana’s Solidarity Gardens Affiliate and the Farm to School Program.
Paapa Nkrumah-Ababio
Paapa Nkrumah-Ababio is an educator and researcher passionate about reshaping education systems to drive sustainable development in Sub-Saharan Africa. Currently a Ph.D. student in Education Policy, Organization, and Leadership, Paapa specializes in Global Studies in Education and Evaluation. With a background that bridges STEM and education—holding a B.S. in Petroleum Engineering and an M.S.Ed. in Higher Education Affairs—Paapa’s research explores culturally relevant education and evaluation frameworks, particularly in Ghana. His work seeks to reimagine educational and evaluation systems to empower tertiary graduates as innovative problem-solvers who can diagnose, implement, and lead locally driven solutions that contribute to Africa’s sustainable development and independence. Paapa’s experience extends across various dimensions of higher education, grassroots communities, and international development organizations.
Wendy Dorman
Wendy Dorman is a PhD Candidate in Natural Resources & Environmental Sciences. She holds an MS in Ecology from Winthrop University and an MS in GIS from Eastern Michigan University. Her interdisciplinary research explores the mechanisms limiting the distribution of migratory birds and the potential for the scale and place of biodiversity data to influence student beliefs surrounding conservation and climate change. She enjoys hiking with her dog Atreyu, science fiction, birding, bonfires, and spending time with family and friends.
Director
Dr. Samantha Lindgren
Sam Lindgren’s work focuses on youth-oriented Sustainability Education, defined broadly to include multiple global traditions including Environmental Education and Education for Sustainable Development, and its impact on decision-making in the home, both in the United States and abroad. She examines youth and their ability to affect change in their homes and communities through purposeful sustainability education programming in formal and nonformal settings, particularly that which is situated in topics of household energy and sustainable agriculture. Internationally, her work is focused on the introduction of efficient cookstoves and sustainable agriculture practices in resource-limited settings and the role that education for women and youth play in strengthening community resilience. Domestically, she examines environmental education programming as a way to connect youth and their households more meaningfully to their local environments. Dr. Lindgren is affiliated faculty in the Center for the Study of Global Gender Equity, the Technology Entrepreneurship Center in the Grainger College of Engineering, and the Center for Culturally Responsive Evaluation and Assessment.