Chiara Cannella

Chiara Cannella serves as Interim Dean and Professor of Teacher Education at Fort Lewis College, where she has been faculty since 2010. Based in the Teacher Education Department, she is a leading scholar in culturally responsive and anti-bias education, with expertise spanning sociocultural research, American Indian education, and social justice frameworks.

Her educational background includes:

• Ph.D. in Anthropology and Education, University of Arizona (2009)
• M.A. in Anthropology and Education, University of Arizona (2004)
• B.A. in English Language & Literature, University of Michigan (1996)

Dr. Cannella's research centers on education for marginalized students and identity construction through critical sociocultural lenses. She investigates how teacher leadership programs shape professional identity, examines academic identity formation among marginalized youth, and develops counter-hegemonic research methodologies. Her work consistently connects classroom practice to broader social justice movements through community-based partnerships and humanizing pedagogical approaches.

Analysis of her publications (2008-2015) reveals persistent focus on resistance-based educational frameworks, particularly in contexts of political pressure like Tucson's ethnic studies ban. Her scholarship bridges anthropology and education through qualitative methodologies that center student and teacher agency, with recurring themes of civic identity development, community resistance to disinvestment, and culturally sustaining pedagogy.

Dr. Cannella actively translates research into practice through:

• Professional development for regional school districts on supporting marginalized students
• Co-founding the Southwest Colorado Culturally, Linguistically, and Economically Diverse Working Group
• Service on the Durango 9-R Achievement Gap Task Force
• Committee work for American Educational Research Association's Division G
• Consulting engagements with tribal education programs including presentations at Northeastern State University

Her collaborative approach extends to research partnerships documented in co-authored works with scholars like Luis Moll and Julio Cammarota, emphasizing community cultural wealth models and sociocultural perspectives on educational relationships.