A life-changing, courage-building experience

Dr. Sawsan Jaber is a mission-driven educator who seeks out ways to empower her students

When she enters her classroom, Dr. Sawsan Jaber hopes to transform the world. As an English teacher at East Leyden High School in Franklin Park, IL, Sawsan is working to impact the lives of her individual students and, simultaneously, to promote empowering, inclusive educational policies at the national level.

After earning an MA in educational leadership at Concordia-Chicago, Sawsan continued her doctoral studies at the University, graduating in 2019 with a PhD in leadership and a specialization in curriculum and instruction. Sawsan is a passionate, mission-driven educator. “I can’t imagine myself doing anything different,” she explains. “There is nothing more rewarding than seeing the light of a student and the fire that is ignited when you serve them whole-heartedly.”

Sawsan counts her PhD work at Concordia-Chicago as a life-changing, courage-building experience. “I am appreciative of everything Concordia-Chicago has given me and hope to continue to pay it forward,” she says. “My PhD is where I was finally able to have the critical conversations that led me to understand and name my experiences and to understand the systems and history that led to those experiences.”  

Sawsan seeks out and builds community among educators who share her commitment to equity for the diverse students who populate American classrooms. She is a fellow of the Our Voice Alliance and founder of the Arab American Education Network. Education Unfiltered Consulting, the company Sawsan founded in 2017, focuses on leadership building, strategic planning, anti-racist training, curriculum writing and mapping.