As a social scientist and educator with 30 years of experience, Dr. Zaal’s goals are to make education more accessible, amplify community voices, and recognize the cultural wealth of my students. She is a multilingual immigrant of Palestinian and Colombian heritage. Her journey as an educator began at Rutgers University, where she spearheaded a STEM initiative for the Douglass Project for Women in Math, Science, and Engineering. During this time, she encountered the groundbreaking work of the AAUW, and their report titled “How Schools Shortchange Girls.” Her passion for science and her goal to help remove barriers for girls in STEM motivated her to teach. She became a middle school math and science teacher and was also one of the founding teachers at the Greater Brunswick Charter School in New Brunswick, New Jersey. As an Associate Professor of Teaching and Learning at Montclair State University, she has the privilege of working with high school students, as well as undergraduate and master’s-level students interested in becoming teachers. She also mentors doctoral candidates. She studies what motivates racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse individuals to join and stay in the teaching profession. As the director and founder of the Red Hawks Rising Teacher Academy, she has collaboratively built a nationally recognized partnership between Montclair State University, the American Federation of Teachers, and the Newark Board of Education. In addition, she is the founder of a research collective called Reclaiming ME: Muslim Educators. They conducting the first national study of Muslim teachers in K-12 public schools supported by a grant from the Spencer Foundation. She contributes her expertise as a member of the editorial board for the Bank Street Occasional Paper Series. Throughout her career, she has been honored with numerous awards, including fellowships from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Ford Foundation, and the American Association of University Women (AAUW). The support of the AAUW’s American Dissertation Fellowship enabled her to conduct research internationally and to expand her skills as a professional. Since 2018, she has had the pleasure of serving on AAUW’s International Fellowships selection panel, and since 2021, as an Ambassador for AAUW’s STEMEd initiative. She is honored to be nominated to the Board of Directors and to be able to contribute to AAUW’s powerful legacy.