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Stanton Wortham is the Charles F. Donovan, S.J., Dean of the Boston College Lynch School of Education and Human Development and serves as a member of the steering committee for the Transformative Education Lab. His research applies techniques from linguistic anthropology to study interaction, learning, and leadership development in classrooms and organizations. He has also studied media discourse, autobiographical narrative, and Mexican migration to the US. He was formerly the Judy & Howard Berkowitz Professor of Education at the University of Pennsylvania. His books include Learning Identity, Bullish on Uncertainty, Discourse Analysis beyond the Speech Event, and Migration Narratives.

Deoksoon Kim is a Professor of TESOL and Applied Linguistics at the Lynch School of Education and Human Development and Director of the Transformative Education Lab. Her work focuses on technology-mediated language learning, teacher education for diverse learners, and global education, grounded in a commitment to digital equity and access for multilingual students. She has led pioneering online formative education initiatives that support whole-person development in higher education and collaborated with Korea’s Hyuckshin School to advance learning centered on identity, agency, and belonging. Previously, she directed federally funded K–12 projects. Dr. Kim prepares educators to lead with empathy, equity, and cultural responsiveness.

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Zixi Li, Ph.D., is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Transformative Education Lab. She earned her Ph.D. in Instructional Systems Technology with a minor in Adult Education from Indiana University. Her research examines self-directed and lifelong learning, instructional technology, and computer-assisted learning, with a focus on advancing educational equity in underserved and rural contexts. She also develops and studies innovative approaches to professional development that empower educators and learners across the lifespan.

Jieun Sung is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Formative Education and the Transformative Education Lab. Her work is concerned broadly with ways that education, schooling, ethical formation, and preparation of individuals to participate in social, cultural, political, and civic life are interrelated. She is particularly interested in the educational experiences of families with backgrounds of immigration and the significance of non-school contexts as influential sites for formation of ideas about the learning and holistic development of young people. This fall, she will teach a core course for the program in Transformative Educational Studies, FORM 1051, Reimagining School and Society.Ìý

Drina Yatsu is a doctoral candidate at the Lynch School of Education and Human Development and a graduate assistant at TEL. Her research focuses on language and literacy education for multilingual students, with particular interest in multimodality and the role of technology in learning. At Boston College, she has engaged with formative education initiatives from multiple angles: contributing to the Pulled Up Short podcast, examining formative education in online settings during the pandemic, and working with City Connects, a TEL-affiliated initiative supporting holistic student development. This year, she will be a facilitator for the Lynch School's first-year program, ERA (Experience, Reflection, Action).

Chris Higgins is the Department Chair and a Professor in the Department of Formative Education. A philosopher of education and an advocate of whole-person formative education, he focuses on questions of meaning and purpose as they relate to teaching and learning. His recent book, Undeclared: A Philosophy of Formative Higher Education, explores a more expansive vision of higher education as a space for holistic development, and was named by Choice, a publishing unit of the Association of College and Research Libraries, to its list of 2024 Outstanding Academic Titles. Dr. Higgins is a member of the steering committee for the Transformative Education Lab.

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Rebecca Lowenhaupt is a Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Higher Education whose work examines educational leadership and policy and how immigration impacts school leadership. Her research focuses on the role of school principals and other school and district leaders in supporting culturally and linguistically diverse students. Her work includes the PIECE Project, a research collaborative in partnership with six U.S. districts and funded by the W. T. Grant and Spencer Foundations to understand and document effective practices to support immigrant-origin students. Dr. Lowenhaupt is a member of the steering committee for the Transformative Education Lab.Ìý

Belle Liang is the Ascione Faculty Formation Fellow and a Professor of Counseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology. An expert in purposeful youth development, Dr. Liang is the founder and Principal Investigator of Purpose Lab, where she leads the development of True North, a web application and curriculum that facilitates purpose learning and development among college students. She is also a co-author of the bestselling How to Navigate Life: The New Science of Finding Your Way in School, Career, and Beyond, a guide for students, families, and educators to develop a pathway toward purpose. Dr. Liang is a member of the steering committee for the TEL.

Scott Seider is an applied developmental psychologist and committee member of the Transformative Education Lab. His research focuses on how educators can foster young people’s civic development and critical consciousness, aligning closely with the TEL’s mission to advance transformative teaching and learning. He is the author of four books and numerous articles on promising educational practices, and also studies how parents in multiracial and interfaith families share cultural assets with their children. Dr. Seider teaches courses on adolescent development, qualitative research, and social transformation, and serves on advisory boards for several youth-serving organizations at Boston College.

Michael Serazio is a professor in the Department of Communication and a committee member of the Transformative Education Lab. His research and teaching explore media production, advertising, popular culture, political communication, and new media—topics that connect to the Lab’s focus on media, culture, and transformative learning. He is the author of Your Ad Here: The Cool Sell of Guerrilla Marketing (NYU Press, 2013) and has published in leading journals including the Journal of Communication and Television & New Media. A former journalist, Dr. Serazio continues to write for outlets such as The Atlantic and The Wall Street Journal.

Anthony S. Bryk is a committee member of TEL and president emeritus of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. His career has focused on improving educational systems through research, collaboration, and organizational learning—work that aligns closely with the Lab’s mission. He previously held the Spencer Chair in Organizational Studies at Stanford University and served as the Marshall Field IV Professor of Urban Education at the University of Chicago, where he co-founded the Center for Urban School Improvement. Dr. Bryk earned his Ed.D. from Harvard University and is a member of both the National Academy of Education and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Mary E. Walsh is the Executive Director of City Connects and Professor Emerita at the Lynch School of Education and Human Development at Boston College.She is also the director of the Center for Optimized Student Support, which studies interventions that enhance the academic and healthy development of youth. A leader in whole-child and school-community approaches, Dr. Walsh has published widely on supporting children and families. Her work advances a vision of formative education grounded in equity, well-being, and integrated support systems.Ìý

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Marina Umaschi Bers is the Augustus Long Professor of Education at the Lynch School of Education and Human Development at Boston College, with a secondary appointment in Computer Science and affiliation with the Schiller Institute. As director of the DevTech Research Group, which she founded in 2001, she explores technologies for early childhood learning. Her current research focuses on robotics and programming languages that promote new ways of thinking and learning in early childhood, alongside socio-emotional development. Through tools like ScratchJr and the KIBO robot, she advances a vision of coding as not only a technical skill but an ethical, humanistic, and formative practice.

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