Emily Thurston

Emily is currently the CUE Gates Doctoral Fellow for the DISD/IFL Network for School Improvement. She is pursuing a Doctor of Education degree with the intention of returning to secondary education spaces as a school administrator. Emily was drawn to the Urban Education area of concentration (UE ARCO) for myriad reasons, but above all, for its focus on equity and justice and for its alignment to her core values as an educator. The UE ARCO engages a wide range of Emily’s knowledge and skills, which she has honed across decades of experience in interrelated fields, to both critically examine and reimagine our public education system. Her goals are, ultimately, to lead with integrity for community transformation, to prepare youth for increasingly volatile and complex environments, and to spread a love of lifelong learning. She believes this requires advancing philosophical and cultural shifts at every level of the education system, and especially within policymaking spheres, toward holistic, student-centered, asset-based, and liberatory pedagogies.