Who are you and what are your practitioner sites?
I am Jacqui Oyimer, an international development and transformative education practitioner with experience working at the intersection of policy, partnerships, justice, and social impact. My practitioner work has included government, civil society, and community-based spaces, particularly in Ghana, where I have worked on human trafficking prevention and response, policy development, community engagement, and multi-sector partnerships. I am also the founder and leader of Star Women, a community initiative focused on women’s growth, leadership, and empowerment. My work extends into educational spaces through teaching, research, and engagement with young people and communities.
What inspired you to join the Doctoral Program in Transformative Education?
My decision to pursue the Doctoral Program in Transformative Education grew out of years of working with communities, government, civil society, and women and young people in Ghana. Across these spaces, I have seen both the possibilities and limitations of policy and development interventions in creating lasting social change. These experiences prompted me to think more deeply about the role of education, knowledge, and lived experience in shaping how people understand themselves, their communities, and their capacity to transform the systems around them. I was drawn to the program because it offers an opportunity to bring my practice into conversation with scholarship, deepen my understanding of transformative approaches to education, and develop as a practitioner-scholar committed to advancing more equitable and meaningful social change.
What do you hope the Doctoral Program in Transformative Education will help you accomplish in the future?
I hope the Doctoral Program in Transformative Education will equip me to deepen my practice, strengthen my scholarship, and contribute more meaningfully to social change. I want to develop the knowledge and tools to critically examine systems, policies, and practices that shape people’s lives and to translate research and lived experience into more equitable and transformative approaches. In the future, I hope to bridge scholarship, policy, and practice in ways that amplify the knowledge and agency of communities, women, and young people. Ultimately, I hope to use my work to contribute to institutions and communities where education becomes a catalyst for greater equity, justice, and collective transformation.
