Current Students

Cameron Arnzen is a Politics & Education Ph.D. student at Teachers College, Columbia University. Before pursuing his doctorate, Cameron served in a variety of roles at The College of Idaho, including as an instructor and an academic advisor. He has also worked with IdahoEdNews.org, a public awareness service that spotlights public education in Idaho.  

Growing up in Idaho, rural education shaped Cameron’s research interests, which focus on education governance, public opinion, and the politics of education.

Cameron holds a B.A. in Political Economy from The College of Idaho and a M.A. in Political Science from Duke University.

Lezlie Braxton Campbell is an M.A. student in the Politics and Education program at Teachers College, Columbia University. He received his Bachelor of Science from Westfield State University in 2016 and worked in a different field before becoming an educator. 

Braxton was a middle school educator for three years and now teaches Adult Basic Education and organizes around education-related issues. He has also been politically and civically active in Massachusetts. Braxton has served as President of the Young Democrats of MA, Deputy Campaign Manager to elect the first Puerto Rican to the MA State Senate, and a Commissioner on the MA Commission on LGBTQ Youth. During his time as an undergrad, Braxton worked with youth focusing on conflict resolution and non-violence training and later on reform efforts around the school-to-prison pipeline, which inspired his work once he got into education. 

Although he did not have a conventional track, Braxton became an educator because he wanted to work in education policy, specifically focusing on school discipline and restorative justice efforts. Since becoming an educator, he has worked on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts around curriculum, teaching practices, and student behavior. His interests include the intersectionality of juvenile justice, school discipline, and poverty alleviation. They also include civic education, the impact of political systems on education, and culturally responsive curriculum and instruction practices. 

Emmel El-Fiky is an MA student in the Politics and Education program. She graduated from the College of William & Mary in 2019 with a BA in government and a double major in music. During her time in Williamsburg, she was involved in both the campus and local communities in various capacities, including as an editor for a student publication focused on art and social commentary, as an orientation leader for new students, and as an active member of the music program in numerous ways. Additionally, she was an after-school tutor, classroom assistant, and intern for the local public school system throughout her undergraduate career.

Prior to enrolling at Teachers College, Emmel was an associate editor for the periodicals team at the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) in Washington, DC. Her work with the editorial teams, which involved articles and publications about pedagogy, educational theory, and developmentally appropriate practice, as well as her growing curiosity about the political side of the field of education in the United States, led her to the decision to pursue higher education focused on the intersection of policy in theory and education in practice.

After graduating from TC, Emmel is interested in pursuing a career that advocates for policy backed by the latest research on educational practices, community and culturally responsive curriculum, and inclusivity.

Julia Finegan is an MA student in the Politics and Education Program. She holds a MAT from Relay Graduate School of Education (‘16) and BA in Political Science from the Honors College at Georgia Southern University (‘09).

Prior to attending TC, Julia started her career in education with Teach For America in 2010, teaching kindergarten and first grade in Atlanta, Georgia. She continued to teach after moving to New York in 2014 at Achievement First East New York Elementary school, where she was recognized as a distinguished teacher in the spring of 2021.

Julia and her husband Kyle have been married since 2012 and have two daughters.

After completing her studies at Teachers College, Julia looks forward to using her education working experience and policy studies to ensure all children receive access to equitable and exceptional early childhood programming.

Caleb Hausman is an MA student in the Politics and Education program. He graduated from Vanderbilt University in 2017 with a BA in Public Policy Studies, with a specialization in education policy. While an undergraduate at Vanderbilt, Caleb developed an interest in the intersections between politics and education through serving as campaign manager for a mayoral campaign and completing internships with Scottish Parliament and education advocacy nonprofits.

Prior to enrolling at Teachers College, Caleb spent five years working in various facets of the education field -- including roles in education research, education technology, and higher education communications. These experiences solidified Caleb's interest in supporting the development of equitable school systems and drove him to pursue further growth at TC.

Equipped with the skills and lessons gained through the TC experience, Caleb plans to pursue opportunities to build local political programs and structures that empower students and families of all backgrounds to have their voices heard in designing inclusive, change-making school systems.

Zihua (Eddy) Li is an M.A. student in the Politics and Education program at Teachers College, Columbia University. He graduated from University of California, Santa Barbara in June 2020 with majors in B.A. in Global Studies and German. At UCSB he worked as a language tutor in CLAS and was a leader involved in German Club.

Prior to his study at Teachers College, Columbia University, he spent three years running a K12 Day care educational institution in China. During this time, he worked part-time in many K12 educational institutions in China including New Orient, X Spark, and Global Education & Technology. His work has focused on K12 education primarily.

Zihua’s interests lie mainly in the field of K12 education. He is also interested in seeing how the education policies are formed and analyzed.

Chloe is a Politics and Education Ph.D. student, Columbia Law School Center for Public Research and Leadership Project Associate, and former Teacher’s College Arthur Zankel REACH Fellow with a passion for educational equity research, policy, and teaching.

Chloe received her Bachelor’s Degree in History from the University of Idaho in 2018 and Master’s Degree at Teachers College in 2022. Following her studies in Idaho, she accepted a position as the Education Fellow at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta Georgia. There, Chloe pursued research concerning the contemporary history of public policy and educational equity. While publishing content on notable historical figures and persistent inequity rooted in historic systems, Chloe engages with historical research and the interaction of contemporary American history and political identity.

Chloe’s professional aspiration is to connect public education with evidence-based research that defines historic systemic inequity in order to understand modern political systems, movements, and identity.

Carly Rettie is an MA student in the Politics and Education Program. She graduated from Virginia Tech in May 2021 with a B.S. in Human Development and minors in Political Science and Diversity and Community Engagement. At Virginia Tech she was involved in service organizations and represented the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences as an ambassador. 

Prior to attending TC Carly worked as intern at several different organizations including the National Children’s Museum, Literacy Volunteers of the New River Valley, Job’s for America’s Graduates, and the Virginia Tech College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences. Her work has focused on program development, volunteer coordination, event planning, grant writing, research, and teaching. 

After graduation Carly hopes to pursue a career in policy where she can focus on ensuring that public schools are equipped to provide equitable access to education and opportunity for all. 

Sara's career has spanned the private, public, and non-profit sectors. Presently, she is serving as a Research Assistant at the University of Houston's Education Research Center. Previously, she served as the Data & Research Manager for the Office of Teacher Leadership at the New York City Department of Education, leading all program evaluation and research strategy. She has also held positions at the Center for Public Research & Leadership, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, and IBM. She earned her B.A. in Political Economy & English from Tulane University and her M.Phil. in Education from the University of Cambridge (U.K.).

Payal Sharma is an MA student in the Politics and Education program at Teachers College, Columbia University. She also holds a B.A and M.A degree in History from Delhi University.

Prior to starting her graduate degree at Teachers College, she worked in different capacities in the education development sector across India. As an educator, her journey started as a Fellow with Teach for India (TFI) wherein she taught English, Math and Science in a public school in Delhi. After completing her fellowship, she worked with development organizations as a Program Manager and led policy implementation programs that aid systemic school improvement through capacity building of key stakeholders. She has also worked as an Instructional Coach to support teachers placed in low income private schools by designing and facilitating personalized professional development sessions. Currently, she is working for an education technology company as a Curriculum Facilitator.  

Her areas of interest and expertise include holistic school and teacher evaluation, education in contexts of systemic school reform and inclusive education.