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Hannah Assefa, Ph.D. (she/her), is an educator, researcher, and founder of The Practice of Belonging, a consultancy supporting schools and districts in developing the reflective, relational conditions that allow all students and educators to truly belong.
Hannah brings over a decade of experience as a classroom educator and professional learning designer. She earned her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from Southern New Hampshire University, where her dissertation research examined how formal professional development shapes educators’ confidence and self-efficacy in culturally responsive teaching. Her findings, drawn from surveys and in-depth interviews with classroom teachers across multiple districts, underscore what practitioners have long known: the learning that actually changes practice is sustained, relational, and grounded in trust. Raised in Northern Vermont as a biracial child navigating questions of identity, Hannah brings both scholarly rigor and lived experience to this work. She understands what it means to be the student on the outside looking in, and what it takes to build classrooms and schools where that experience is no longer the norm. Through The Practice of Belonging, Hannah partners with schools, districts, and educational organizations to design and implement professional learning that honors educators' expertise, deepens reflective practice, and extends belonging beyond the classroom. She continues to teach at The Barn School, where she models every day what she asks of the educators she works with: curiosity, care, and an unwillingness to stop growing. |
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