Doaa Rashed, Ph.D. is a distinguished scholar in the field of language education, currently holding the position of Teaching Professor and Director of the Language Engagement Project at Rutgers University. A transnational scholar, Doaa was born in Egypt where her early fascination with languages led her to pursue a BA in Education from Alexandria University, focusing on Teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL), followed by a Master’s in Instructional Systems Development-Bilingual/ESOL Education and a Ph.D. in Language Literacy & Culture from University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC). Her extensive 25+ year career encompasses teaching EFL and ESL, teacher education, and English as an international language in various educational settings in Egypt and the U.S.
In her strategic roles, she has directed the MA TESOL Program and TESOL Teacher Professional Training Programs at UMBC, managing various educational tracks and fostering international partnerships. At Rutgers, she has led the Language Engagement Project and the Language and Social Justice Initiative, developing interdisciplinary curricular and para-curricular offerings that integrate languages and cultures into the curriculum.
Doaa’s scholarship intersects language education, social justice, leadership development, and transnational scholars’ identity, with a focus on autoethnography and reflexivity. Her research has earned her recognition, including the Achilles-Harper-Swenson Emerging Researcher Award from CREATE (2017).
Beyond academia, Doaa’s contributions extend to professional organizations, where she has held leadership positions in Maryland TESOL, TESOL International Association, IWRC, and Africa ELTA. Her efforts have significantly raised the profile of these organizations within the TESOL community. Her accolades include the Rutgers Mutual Mentoring Award, TESOL Leadership and Management Award, and a Fulbright Scholarship.
Her expertise has also seen her engage in consultancy work nationally and internationally, conducting coaching and mentoring workshops, and teacher training and curriculum development in Latin America and preparing for projects in the Pacific as an English Language Specialist with the U.S. Department of State.
A champion for transformative leadership, Dr. Rashed advocates for women scholars, transnational scholars, and marginalized groups, promoting systemic change and creating inclusive environments. She recently received the Rutgers Mutual Mentoring Grant to develop, in collaboration with colleagues, a mentoring experience for transnational female scholars in language programs at Rutgers. In addition, her most recent publications entitled “Female Leadership Identity in ELT: Autoethnographies of Global Perspectives” creates a space for emerging and experienced female leaders in ELT to examine the intersectionality of their leadership identities in diverse linguistic, cultural, and educational contexts globally. Further, she has been a strong supporter of minority language teachers, offering mentorship and professional development to amplify their voices in the ELT field. Her dedication to language education is also evident in her founding of I-EmpowerEd, LLC, a global social entrepreneurship for empowering communities and fostering leadership, particularly among women and minorities.