Speaker Spotlight: Rhea Nedd
Dr Rhea Nedd describes herself as a lifelong educator. Having grown up in a household with educator parents, she learned early on the impact that education has in harnessing a strong community. The exposure she received would come to define her life’s work as a champion for educational equity in higher education.
Dr Nedd was born in Trinidad and Tobago and she immigrated to the United States with her family when she was 7. They settled in Montgomery County where she completed high school. She went on to complete a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Maryland, a Master’s Degree from The Catholic University of America and a PhD from Howard University. Her research and work explores the intersections between: education and social development; cognitive and non-cognitive indicators of development; access to higher education; corporate social responsibility as a strategy of sustainable development; good governance; and poverty reduction initiatives. Dr Nedd serves as the Associate Director of the McNair Scholars program at the University of Maryland. It is in this role that Dr Nedd seeks to challenge educational equity.
The McNair Scholar Program was established to support underserved students gain entrance into graduate school. When asked what she enjoyed most about her job, Dr Nedd replied, “I like that I get to change the perception of the type of students that attain a PhD”. As part of the program, Dr Nedd accompanies the students on a trip to Ghana every summer. This gives students the opportunity to research educational equity on a global scale.
The ideology of equity became apparent to Dr Nedd when she was a child as a result of her mother’s work. Her mother worked for the United Nations under the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Dr Nedd watched her mother and her colleagues build a neighborhood playground in a small town in Trinidad. In doing so, she witnessed how this project would come to unify the community. “Although it was a rather small project, I saw the pride that this resource brought to the community. Everyone wanted to be involved because they knew it was an investment into their community”, Dr Nedd recalls.
This experience ignited a curiosity that would intensify as she pursued higher education. Dr Nedd began to explore how economic development and educational opportunities fostered stable communities. As this theory swirled in her head, she began to realize that many of her classmates and professors were not reflective of the community she lived in. The absences of peers that were immigrants and/or people of color was a daunting truth that would inspire what Dr Nedd decided to champion, education equity.
Dr Nedd was introduced to LCMC by board member Annie Foster-Ahmed. The two had worked together in several programs at UMD that sought to support low-income, first generation college students excel. “Hearing about the work that organization was doing made me realize that LCMC’s student population was similar to the parents and family members of the students that I worked with”, she said. “When an opening became available, I filled out a form to become a board member because this would be another way for me to invest in my community”, she continued.
As a new board member, Dr Nedd will bring her philosophy of educational equity to LCMC. She wants to start dialogues about race, justice and equality. She knows that diversity is our strength and she wants LCMC to focus on inclusivity.