Bio
Amra Sabic-El-Rayess is an associate professor of practice in Teachers College, Columbia University. Dr. Sabic-El-Rayess has taught, researched, and published on a range of issues in education, including Educational Displacement, targeted violence, hate prevention, interfaith collaboration, anti-Muslim racism, storytelling, radicalization, othering, transitional justice, corruption, social cohesion, social mobility, and social transformation. Dr. Sabic-El-Rayess’ work on building resilience to ethnicity-, race-, and religion-based violence has led to her ongoing international engagement.
She has delivered 100+ invited lectures and presentations in the U.S., South Korea, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Australia, Germany, Austria, Indonesia, Jordan, Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, the United Kingdom, and India. She is a recipient of research grants from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships; the Muslim World League; Smith Richardson Foundation; the U.S. State Department; Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and Kennan Institute; International Research and Exchange Board; Harriman Institute for Russian, Eurasian, and Eastern European Studies; and Women’s World Banking. Dr. Sabic-El-Rayess is a recipient of the 2021 Vecernjakov Pecat in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in recognition of her research, activism, and contribution toward social cohesion. As a Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) woman and survivor of the Bosnian Genocide, who immigrated to America, Dr. Sabic-El-Rayess has transformed from being an object of hate-fueled violence to a renowned scholar, author, teacher, and storyteller who is an exemplar of resilience in the face of hate and extremism. She was awarded a 2021 Finalist Medal for Excellence in Young Adult Nonfiction by the American Library Association and Best Book recognition by School Library Journal, Malala Fund, Capitol Choices, and Children’s Center for Literature for her biographical exploration of resilience to targeted violence and hate.
The Cat I Never Named has been integrated into the K-12 curricula and higher education courses throughout the United States as one of the defining texts on resilience to hate and empowerment through education. Her next nonfiction contribution, Three Summers (Macmillan Publishers-FSG, 2024), is a story of sisterhood and resilience in the three years leading up to the Bosnian Genocide.
Dr. Sabic-El-Rayess is committed to service of international, professional, and local communities. She is the first Muslim to be elected the President of Brown University’s Alumni Association in the University’s 258-year-long history and in such capacity will be joining the Brown University Corporation’s Board of Directors in 2023.
As the Chair of the Multicultural, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging Alumni Committee at Brown, Dr. Sabic-El-Rayess leads the effort to develop a university-wide and evidence-based mentorship program to support professional and career development of the historically underrepresented and first-generation students at Brown. She has also served as a Board Director of the International Center for Transitional Justice, the Tuxedo Park School, and Women’s March Global, and she is a Board Director of the Good Samaritan Hospital Foundation. She is a Member of the World Association of International Studies, and the International Institute for Middle East and Balkan Studies. She is the Scientific Advisor to the Forward Project, an initiative funded by the NATO and European Parliament, aimed at addressing radicalization in multiethnic contexts. As part of this effort, Dr. Sabic-El-Rayess has trained the Italian Transformative Learning Network of policy makers, practitioners, and educators on the Educational Displacement Model of radicalization. She engages in hundreds of dialogues in U.S. school auditoriums, classrooms, local and public libraries, and teacher support-groups where Dr. Sabic-El-Rayess’ steadfast commitment to uniting teachers, students, educational staff, and civic and faith leaders has led to the cultivation of united, cohesive and resilient communities.
Amra’s hometown of Bihać, Bosnia and Herzegovina