Graduate Student Committee 2024-25
Benjamin LebovitzJunior Representative: Benjamin Lebovitz, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Ben is a Ph.D. student in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis and an Institute Education Studies predoctoral fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Their research focuses on the intersection of education policy and LGBTQ+ student and educator identity, wellbeing, and belonging. Prior to beginning their doctoral studies, Ben taught high school choir and advised a gender and sexuality alliance (GSA) in southern Arizona. |
Ayse Gurdal
Junior Representative: Ayse Gurdal, William and Mary School of Education
Ayse is a Ph.D. student at William and Mary School of Education on the track of K-12 Leadership. Before her time in Williamsburg, she was a research assistant at Baskent University in Turkey. In her master studies, she focused on the Vibrant Schools which “foster wonder, playfulness, laughter, movement, creativity, and adventurous learning” and how school leaders in Turkey take actions to create such learning environments. Since Vibrant School Scale has its roots in US contexts, working with prominent scholars in the US on the topic brought her life great joy. She is passionate about digging more into Vibrant Schools focusing on child nature, breeding their curiosity, and emboldening their voices to foster deeper learning. She mentioned that what brings is her joy is crafting her own jewelry in her spare time while her cat tries to catch the thread with his specific "cattitude." |
Dayna MuNizCommunications Director: Dayna Muniz, Temple University
Dayna is a doctoral student in the Educational Leadership program at Temple University’s College of Education and Human Development. Her research interests center on equity-focused school leadership, the superintendency, organizational change, the experiences of minoritized educational leaders, and understanding schools as racialized organizations. She is a graduate student representative for UCEA’s Graduate Student Council and is the communications chair for AERA’s Division A Graduate Student Council. Professionally, she serves as the Associate Director of the Coalition for Educational Equity at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education where she develops equity-focused professional learning opportunities to support school districts in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey. In addition, Dayna plans and executes program evaluation and technical assistance projects at the request of districts looking to better understand their systems and the experiences of students, educators, and families in their schools. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and two daughters. When asked about what brings her joy, she responded, "Most recently, it was sitting in my mom's patio in El Paso and enjoying a beautiful desert night. It had just rained so the creosote was in the air and it was much cooler than other nights. It was a great memory to bring home to Philadelphia with us." You can reach her at dbmuniz@temple.edu |