Speaker

Melissa Landa was an award-winning faculty member in the College of Education at the University of Maryland for ten years. Her teaching and research interests include preparing teachers to be culturally competent, successful literacy instruction for children in low-income immigrant communities, and the immigration and acculturation experiences of Ethiopian-Israelis. She created several innovative courses while at UMD, including a short-term education abroad program in Israel and courses that explored racism and antisemitism in literature, film, and the media. Melissa earned her B.A in English from Oberlin College, her M.A. in early childhood and applied development theory from Tufts University, and her Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction from the University of Maryland. An adaptation of her dissertation was recently published by Rowman and Littlefield, titled Early Childhood Literacy Teachers in High Poverty Schools: A Study of Courage and Caring. Melissa is currently Senior Associate for Membership and Diversity at the Academic Engagement Network and the President of the Oberlin Chapter of Alums for Campus Fairness. She written several essays opposing BDS for Scholars for Peace in the Middle East, and her essay on antisemitism in academia will appear in a book being published by the University of Wisconsin Press.