Na’ilah Suad Nasir
President, Spencer Foundation
Evanston, IL
Na'ilah Suad Nasir is the sixth president of the Spencer Foundation, which funds education research nationally. Prior to joining Spencer, she held a faculty appointment in education and African American studies at the University of California, Berkeley where she also served as the chair of African American studies, then later as the Vice Chancellor for Equity and Inclusion. She also served on the faculty of the Stanford Graduate School of Education.
Nasir’s research examines the racialized and cultural nature of learning and schooling, with a particular focus on the experiences of African American students. She co-edited The Handbook of the Cultural Foundations of Learning and We Dare Say Love: Supporting Achievement in the Educational Life of Black Boys. She is the author of Racialized Identities: Race and Achievement for African-American Youth.
Dr. Nasir is a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, the National Academy of Education and a fellow of the American Educational Research Association. She is a former president of the American Educational Research Association. She serves on the L&S Advisory Board and is a board director of Stiles Hall, both at UC Berkeley.