Curriculum Vitae

Research Interests

  • International and comparative education
  • Postsocialist and post-Soviet studies
  • Cultural anthropology
  • Peace and tolerance education
  • Multiculturalism and citizenship education
  • National education reforms
  • Global borrowing, lending and international standards

Education

Present

Ph.D. Candidate, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
Education Policy Studies and Anthropology. GPA 3.94
Dissertation Chair: Dr. Bradley A.U. Levinson
Dissertation Topic: Tolerance education and the making of the post-Soviet Citizen in Lithuania

2006- 07

M.A., George Washington University, Washington, DC
Comparative and International Education, GPA 3.97
Thesis Advisor: Dr. James H. Williams
Master’s Thesis: Examining tolerance: a comparative case study of education and society in Japan, Latvia, and Lithuania.

1996- 2000

B.A., Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, NY
International Studies, GPA 3.67
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Deborah Hertz
Undergraduate Thesis: US humanitarian intervention since World War II

Other Academic Training

2010

Vilniaus Universitetas, Vilnius, Lithuania
Summer Language and Culture Course, Advanced Lithuanian.
Course Grade (8/10) Good.

Vytauto Didžiojo Universitetas, Kaunas, Lithuania
Summer Language and Culture Course, Advanced Lithuanian.
Course Grade: 10/10 (Excellent)

2009

Vytauto Didžiojo Universitetas, Kaunas, Lithuania
Summer Language and Culture Course, Advanced Lithuanian.
Course Grade: 10/10 (Excellent)

2006-2008

Kristijono Donelaicio Mokykla, Washington, DC.
Lithuanian Language School, Intermediate Lithuanian.

1999-2000

School for International Training (study abroad)
Berlin, Germany and Geneva, Switzerland.
International Affairs, History and Cultural Studies

Publications

Book Chapters:

2010: “When intolerance means more than prejudice: Lithuanian education reforms for the promotion of tolerance” in Silova, I. (ed.) Post-socialism is not dead: (re)reading the global in comparative education, Emerald Publishers: Bingly, United Kingdom.

Monographs:

United Nations Education, Cultural, and Scientific Organization (UNESCO) Estonia, (2010) Youth attitudes toward cultural diversity in Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Finland, and the United States. Investigator for US-based data collection and analysis for UNESCO- sponsored project on cultural perceptions (project dates: January 2009- December 2009).

Editorial:

Guest Editor, Anthropology of Eastern Europe Review, Spring 2010 Special Issue: Gender in Postsocialist Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union, vol. 28(1).

Invited Talks:

Does tolerance education promote intolerance in Lithuania? Vilnius Seminar Series at the Jewish Community of Lithuania Vilnius, Lithuania. July 14, 2010.

Conference Presentations

(Upcoming) Moving Forward, Looking Back: Naming the Holocaust in Lithuanian Textbooks. Paper presentation. The 9th Annual Baltic Studies Conference. Stockholm, Sweden. June 2011.

Heroes, enemies, and victims re-imagined: Competing representations of World War II events in the Baltic States. Panel presentation. The Comparative and International Education Society. Montreal, Canada, May 2011.

Education and the making of the post-Soviet Lithuanian: school reforms for tolerance in the EU context. Paper presentation. Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies (AABS) Annual Conference, Seattle, WA. April 2010.

Education policy in Lithuania: a step toward tolerance or just EU accession? Paper presentation. The Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) Annual Conference, Chicago, IL. March 2009.

Examining tolerance: a comparative case study of education and society in Latvia and Lithuania. Paper presentation. The Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies (AABS), Bloomington, Indiana. June 2008.

Tolerance education: comparative case studies in Japan, Latvia, and Lithuania. Paper presentation. The Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) Annual Conference, New York, NY. May 2008.

Assessing tolerance education programs. Paper presentation. The Educational Symposium for Research Innovations (ESRI), Washington, DC. March 2008.

Holocaust education in the Baltic States. Paper Presentation. Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) Annual Conference, Baltimore, MD . March 2007.

Leadership Experience

President, Baltic and Finnish Studies Association [BaFSA], Indiana University. 2008-2009.

Student Representative, International Programs Committee, School of Education, Indiana University, 2009-2010.

Scholarships and Awards

Fulbright Program for U.S. Students International Research Grant to conduct 9 months of research in Lithuania. U.S. Department of State. AY 2011-2012.

Women in Science Conference Travel Grant to present a paper at an international conference. Office of Women’s Affairs, Indiana University. Spring 2011.

Foreign Language Area Studies Fellowship (FLAS) to support advanced, in-country language training. United States Department of Education (US/DE) through the IU center for Global Change. Summer 2010.

Pre-Dissertation Grant to support research-related summer travel abroad prior to conducting dissertation research. Office of the Vice President of International Affairs (OVPIA) at Indiana University. Summer 2010.

Scholastic Stipend for the study of the Lithuanian language in Lithuania. Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Lithuania, Education Exchanges Support Foundation. Summer 2009.

International Enhancement Grant for the study of Lithuanian language and culture. Office of the Vice President of International Affairs (OVPIA) at Indiana University. Summer 2009.

Full Academic Fellowship (four years), Indiana University, School of Education. Fall 2008- spring 2012.

Achievement of Excellence Nomination, The George Washington University, Washington DC. Fall 2000.

Sally Bragg Baker Scholarship for study abroad, School for International Training. Fall 1999.

Professional Memberships

  • American Anthropological Association (AAA)
  • Comparative and International Education Society (CIES)
  • Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies (AABS)

Languages

  • English – native
  • Lithuanian – Conversational

Teaching Experience

2009-11

Indiana University, Bloomington, IN

Associate Instructor (AI), Education H340: Education and American Culture.
Department of Educational Policy and Leadership Studies.

  • Maintain complete responsibility, including syllabus design, for three sections of required advanced education course on the social, political, and historical context of American education policy and practice.

2008

The Close Up Foundation, Washington, D.C.

Program Instructor, Civic Understanding through Experiential Learning

  • Instructed diverse groups of high school students during experiential learning programs throughout historical sites in Washington, DC, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and New York.
  • Facilitated discussions and debates between students and high-level policy experts, ambassadors, and elected officials.