Xiong was born in Thailand but raised in Milwaukee, WI, where he studied International Affairs and Political Science as an undergraduate at Marquette University. During his time at Marquette, he has studied abroad three times in China, and has visited and taught rural Chinese elementary students a couple of times. Xiong’s teaching experiences have influenced his current interests to understand education in a conflict or post-conflict area and how to implement successful educational system.
Risa was born and grew up in Japan. After gaining her degree in international development studies, she engaged in operations support for Japanese official development assistance-related projects to improve education in developing countries for three years. Her academic and professional experiences sparked her interest in international educational development and a firm belief in the impact of education. Since she participated in the projects in Nepal and Lebanon, she is interested in education in natural disaster affected areas and education for refugees.
Morgan was born in the United States and grew up in the state of Kansas. She completed her undergraduate study at Brigham Young University in Utah, USA but took a leave of absence after her first year of college. During her leave of absence, she learned Spanish and participated in various service and learning trips throughout Latin America including Mexico, El Salvador, and Guatemala. After completing her degree in Educational Psychology, she wanted to continue learning about development in an international context and is now studying at the University of Pennslyvania. Her interest in emergency education emerged when she heard first-hand accounts of the effect of civil unrest on the intellectual development of children in Latin America. With her collegues, she is looking forward to creating a space where others can collaborate and learn more about progress for education in emergencies around the world.
Carlos was born in Philadelphia, PA, where he studied English and Environmental Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. He now continues his studies at UPenn earning his Master’s degree in International Education and Development. Carlos currently works with the Penn Cultural Heritage Center researching the destruction of cultural heritage in Syria and Afghanistan. Besides his interests in global identity politics and post-war education, Carlos is a practicing poet. His works can be found in National Geographic, Best of Net, The Journal and elsewhere.
Learning for Tomorrow : Education in Emergencies 