Empowerment is not given or awarded, but rather discovered within yourself. Dr. Amra Sabic-El-Rayess endured years of violence, bombing and religious persecution during the ethnic cleansing of Muslims in Bosnia in the early 1990s.
In this inaugural Uceda lecture, she reveals how she survived some of the darkest, most terrifying moments in her life, and then found ways to empower herself as a first-generation immigrant to the United States. Her memoir and self-study of survival will be published in the fall of 2020 (Bloomsbury).
Amra Sabic-El-Rayess, PhD, is the Associate Professor of Practice in Education Policy and Social Analysis at Teachers College; the Project Director at the Center for Benefit-Cost Studies in Education at TC; and a faculty member at the Harriman Institute for Russian, Eurasian and Eastern European Studies. Dr. Sabic-El-Rayess is an interdisciplinary scholar who draws on economics, sociology, and political science to study education links to social mobility, social transformations, teacher quality, transitional justice, corruption, elite formation, radicalization and the inclusion of women. She maps out concrete ways to bolster womens social mobility through financial empowerment. She also examines how informal educational practices and formal education institutions create new societal dynamics, norms, and behaviors.
The Charo Uceda Women's Empowerment Lecture Series will address issues and propose solutions to challenges affecting women related specifically to education policy, nutrition and psychology. This lecture series aims to raise awareness and inspire students, alumni and faculty to take action on behalf of women worldwide. Nationally and internationally renowned speakers will share their experiences and insights about overcoming adversity in order to promote the empowerment of women.
