In our global, ever shifting world, cultural awareness and adaptability are extremely valuable tools. Dr. Alta Mauro’s expertise shines, as she recounts tales from her days living in Abu Dhabi while navigating a unique racial, social, and economic landscape. As the Associate Dean of Inclusion & Belonging at Harvard College, she adeptly utilizes her knowledge to inspire the next generation of leaders. We also discuss how the pandemic is affecting Ramadan, why disruption can be healthy, and how institutions can continue to innovate regardless of their current level of success.

Bio:

Dr. Alta Mauro is the Associate Dean for Inclusion & Belonging at Harvard College, guiding divisional efforts related to equity, diversity, and inclusion. Under her direction, the Harvard Foundation for Intercultural & Race Relations, the Harvard College Women’s Center, the Office of BGLTQ Student Life, and Title IX coordination converge to leverage Harvard’s great diversity to cultivate inclusive community where all students can thrive.

Previously, Alta served as the founding director of Spiritual Life & Intercultural Education at New York University Abu Dhabi. The UAE’s cosmopolitan diversity provided an exciting backdrop to consider what it meant to educate from the intersection of Black diasporic, critical, womanist perspectives rooted in cultural humility, social justice, and equity. 

Alta earned a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Cultural Foundations from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Her dissertation, Identity (re)Determination Among Upwardly-Mobile Black Women, focuses on shifting notions of self, identity, and belonging among African-American women who have been acculturated in sociocultural spaces which are markedly different from their home communities. Other areas of her professional expertise include sustained dialogue and engaging culturally-relevant pedagogy across academic disciplines. Alta has co-authored three refereed book chapters, additional articles related to DEI and global education issues, and published poetry in a recent higher education anthology.

Highlights:

• The ways not enough-ness shows up and how Dr. Mauro deals with this.
• How Amer and Dr. Mauro are handling a less communal Ramadan.
• How to navigate between choosing a job with higher pay with a community focused position.
• What are helpful disruptions and how did they impact Dr. Mauro’s life?
• Amer and Dr. Mauro’s experience living in the Midwest, facing religious and racial animosity.
• How Dr. Mauro’s experience in the Middle East taught her to be tolerant of ambiguity.
• Acknowledging the exploitation of labor across the world. 
• How to differentiate between fundamental problems and first-world problems.
• What are the historical barriers for women of color? How have they changed over time?
• Do successful institutions stop innovating after time?
• Are we advocating for inclusive education too robotically and philosophically?

Connect with Amer and The Eclectic Inclusion Podcast:

Website | amerfahmed.com

Instagram | @dramerfahmed

Twitter | @dramerfahmed