Aisha Haynes

Aisha Haynes currently serves as a pedagogical specialist at Columbia University’s Double Discovery Center, a college access program dedicated to getting students to, through, and beyond college. In her role, Aisha facilitates the implementation of academic enrichment activities to provide high school students with an effective academic bridge from high school to college. With over a decade of teaching experience, Aisha is dedicated to creating an equitable educational system for all students. She has paired her background as a secondary school teacher in Brooklyn, with her current professional research in educational policy as a doctoral candidate at New York University.

Aisha earned her master’s degree in Teaching at Fordham University and obtained her bachelor’s degree in English Literature at Villanova University. Her dissertation research explores the experiences of New York City principals in a market economy at the intersection of the rapid gentrification of many New York City neighborhoods.

Aisha is Brooklyn born and bred and a proud product of the New York City public school system and thus, is deeply committed to improving the quality of the educational experience for black and brown students. Aisha also serves on the executive board for the nonprofit, Creating Our Own Legacy (COOL) Kids, an organization committed to cultivating the next generation to become socially conscious leaders. Through volunteerism, community collaboration, and leadership development, COOL Kids offers a continuum of service-oriented leadership opportunities for children and young adults.