About Us

Dr. Amra Sabic-El-Rayess is a scholar, award-winning author, and the Founding and Executive Director of the International Interfaith Research Lab at Teachers College, Columbia University. Dr. Sabic-El-Rayess has taught, researched, and published on a range of issues in education, including Educational Displacement, targeted violence, hate prevention, interfaith collaboration, anti-Muslim racism, storytelling, radicalization, othering, transitional justice, corruption, social cohesion, social mobility, and social transformation. She has delivered 100+ invited lectures in the U.S., South Korea, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Australia, Qatar, Germany, Austria, Indonesia, China, Mongolia, Azerbaijan, Jordan, Turkey, Morocco, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, the United Kingdom, and India. She is a recipient of research grants from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships; the Muslim World League; Smith Richardson Foundation; the U.S. State Department; Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and Kennan Institute; International Research and Exchange Board; Harriman Institute for Russian, Eurasian, and Eastern European Studies; and Women’s World Banking. She was awarded a 2021 Finalist Medal for Excellence in Young Adult Nonfiction by the American Library Association and Best Book recognition by School Library Journal, Malala Fund, Capitol Choices, and Children’s Center for Literature for her biographical exploration of resilience to targeted violence and hate. The Cat I Never Named (Bloomsbury, 2020) has been integrated into the K-12 curricula and higher education institutions throughout the United States as one of the defining texts on resilience to hate and empowerment through education. Three Summers (Macmillan Publishers-FSG, 2024), is a story of sisterhood and resilience in the three years leading up to the Bosnian Genocide. In her students’ feedback, Amra is consistently praised as one of the most inspiring professors they have encountered.

Dr. Romy Ghanem serves as the Senior Researcher and Curriculum Director of the International Interfaith Research Lab. She holds a doctorate degree in Applied Linguistics and has been an educator and curriculum developer since 2010. Her research areas include second language (L2) pronunciation, linguistic and reverse linguistic stereotyping, language profiling, and L2 speaker accentedness. Her studies have explored issues related to the improvement of L2 learners’ intelligibility, the effects of accent on perceptions of speakers’ social attractiveness and teaching competence, and the analysis of second language speech. Her book L2 Spoken Discourse Linguistic Features and Analyses (Routledge, 2023) brings together various strands of research and application with an emphasis on the analysis of speech properties, which can be a gate-keeping function of speech. Its innovative approach lies with the introduction of segmental, suprasegmental, lexico-grammatical, and pragmatic features in the analysis of L2 speech. Her current interests lie in the implementation of the latest research and curricular designs for the purpose of eradicating hate, prejudice, and profiling, as well as the promotion of social connectedness through education.

Vikramaditya (Vik) Joshi supports developing strategic partnerships with the Lab, collaborates on the production of scholarly research and publications and conceptualizes the organization and management all programming in accordance with its stated Mission and Values. He is a doctoral student in the Philosophy and Education program at Teachers College, Columbia University. He holds a B.A. in Philosophy and Literature from Bard College (Annandale-on-Hudson, New York) and an M.A. in Biography and Creative Non-Fiction from the University of East Anglia (Norwich, United Kingdom). He has served first as a Teaching Fellow and, for the past three years, as a member of the faculty of the Bard Prison Initiative – a college-in-prison program at maximum and medium security prisons in Up-state New York. He has worked on educational programming, through the Initiative, with the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) for five years, focused on the teaching, advising, and tutoring of incarcerated students. He has served as a Fellow at Columbia University’s Center for Justice. He is currently a faculty member at Fordham University in the Philosophy Department.

Dora is currently a master student studying Instructional Technology and Media at Teachers College, Columbia University. She holds a B.A. in psychology and asian studies from Vanderbilt University. Her psychology background led her to be passionate about promoting empathy and social connectedness, while her industry experiences in creating content for brands honed her skills as a multimodal storyteller. Her passion now lies in the intersection of learning experience design and multimodal storytelling. In the recent TC Innovation Award, she was the user experience designer in the winning team, Transcendence, which created an AI-powered music journal to promote therapeutic self-expression.

Chenhao (Gary) Yin is a graduate research assistant in the lab. He is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Mental Health Counseling at Teachers College, Columbia University. Gary's primary focus lies in understanding cultural nuances and applying those insights to enhance individual well-being while working towards the reduction of hate and violence. 

Abhishek is currently a Masters student of Anthropology and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, developing his ethnographic research skills and theoretical knowledge. At India’s premier academic journal, Economic and Political Weekly, he worked across different mediums including podcasts, videos and graphics to give complex scholarly papers a digital life.