Graduate School of Education and Human Development

Shaista E. Khilji is the Chair of the Department of Human and Organizational Learning and Professor of Human and Organizational Learning and International Affairs at George Washington University (GW). She also serves as a Fulbright Specialist with the U.S. Department of State and is the founder of the Humanizing Initiative, a research institute and consultancy.

Prof. Khilji is an award-winning educator and academic leader. She has used her entrepreneurial spirit to develop innovative programs that redefine leadership education and launch a scholarly journal that promotes inclusive international business research. She serves as the founding editor-in-chief of the South Asian Journal of Business Studies (Emerald Publications) and the founding program director of GW's Organizational Leadership & Learning Program. She served on the Faculty Senate Executive Committee during the global pandemic and has represented GW faculty on several institutional initiatives, including the Shared Governance Task Force.

Prof. Khilji is a thought leader with expertise in leadership, talent development, cross-cultural management, and organizational change. Her recent work highlights managerialism, macro talent management (a field she helped establish), and the integration of artificial intelligence into workplaces. Over the past twenty years, she has designed and published findings from more than 45 research projects. She has also mentored and trained hundreds of professionals and graduate students to conduct research, develop corporate programs that improve leadership performance, and drive global change. She has trained executives in Hong Kong, Vietnam, Singapore, Russia, the United States, Canada, Morocco, India, and Pakistan, and has served as a consultant to many public and private organizations.

Prof. Khilji has secured over US$4.75 million in training and research grants. From 2013 to 2017, she served as the Co-PI on a US$1 million project funded by the US Department of State, focused on women's empowerment in Pakistan, building academic partnerships, and fostering people-to-people ties. Additionally, she led efforts within GW to develop the next generation of USNA leaders through a master's degree in leadership education and human development (LEAD). She collaborated with the United States Coast Guard to train their officers through a master's degree in organizational leadership and learning (OLL).

Prof. Khilji has authored over 165 papers, published numerous scholarly articles in top-tier journals, written book chapters, and presented internationally at conferences. In 2007, GW nominated her as a "Rising Star in Academia Under 40 Years of Age" for a Washingtonian magazine award. She has received many awards, including the Best Reviewer and Outstanding Service awards from the Academy of Management, the Best Paper Award from the Academy of International Business, GW’s Service Excellence Award for hosting the Clinton Global Initiative University, the Morton A. Bender Teaching Award (2025), the Trachtenberg Service Award (2026), and the VALOR Award for cross-disciplinary work. In 2026, the Northeastern Association of Graduate Schools (NAGS) awarded her the Graduate Faculty Teaching Award (Doctoral Level).

She blogs at https://shaistaekhilji.substack.com and https://medium.com/@shaistakhilji 

Matthew Shirrell is an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership and Administration in the Graduate School of Education and Human Development at the George Washington University. His research explores the relationships between policy, the social and organizational characteristics of schools and school systems, and learning, improvement, and teacher retention. In 2020-21, he was awarded a National Academy of Education/Spencer Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship for his study of National Board-certified teachers’ roles in their colleagues’ learning and improvement. Dr. Shirrell’s work has been published in journals such as American Educational Research Journal, Sociology of Education, and Educational Administration Quarterly. A former elementary school teacher, he holds a Ph.D. in Human Development and Social Policy from Northwestern University, a M.S. in Early Childhood Education from Erikson Institute, and a B.A. in English from Grinnell College.

Bernhard Streitwieser is an Associate Professor of International Education and International Affairs at The George Washington University (GWU) in Washington, DC. He is Director of the Masters International Education Program; established and leads the university’s Refugee Educational Advancement Laboratory (REAL); and is co-chair of GWU’s UNESCO Chair in International Education for Development. Streitwieser’s research looks comparatively at the impact of globalization on the internationalization of higher education and focuses on three main themes: Migrants and refugees; student mobility and international exchange; and competition between international branch campuses and education hubs. Prior to joining GWU, Bernhard held research and teaching positions at the Max Planck Institute für Bildungsforschung in Berlin; the Humboldt Universität zu Berlin; Northwestern University; and the American Institutes for Research in Washington, DC. He has published seven books and written over 75 academic articles. His most recent books are Higher Education in the Era of Migration, Displacement and Internationalization (Routledge) and Accessing Quality Education: Local and Global Perspectives from Refugees (Rowman and Littlefield).

Dwayne Kwaysee Wright holds the position of Assistant Professor of Higher Education Administration and serves as the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Initiatives at George Washington University's (GW) Graduate School for Education and Human Development (GSEHD) in the District of Columbia. His scholarly work and social activism are dedicated to advancing educational opportunities and equity for all students, with a particular emphasis on those historically marginalized in American society. Dr. Wright is also a faculty member in GSEHD's Education & Inequality PhD Concentration and serves as Faculty-in-Residence at GW's Foggy Bottom Campus.

Originally hailing from Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. Wright spent his formative years in Latin America and the Caribbean before relocating to New York City. As a first-generation college student, he earned his PhD in Higher Education from Pennsylvania State University. Furthermore, Dr. Wright possesses a Juris Doctor from Penn State Law and a Master of Education from Pennsylvania State University’s College of Education. He obtained his Master of Business Administration from George Washington University School of Business and a Graduate Certificate in Non-Profit Management from George Washington University's Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration. He completed his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science at Norfolk State University, which is a Historically Black College/University (HBCU). Dr. Wright actively practices immigration law, specializing in family and student visas, and is licensed to practice in New York, New Jersey, and the District of Columbia.

Dr. Wright's research is informed by Critical Race Theory, Sociocultural Theory, and Critical Pedagogy. His research interests include access and equity policies for underserved populations in higher education, social science research in law, Multicultural Greek Life, and critical race theory in post-secondary education. His legal research explores education law, First Amendment jurisprudence, the impact of identity on learning, and American equal protection theory, with a particular focus on race-conscious admissions.