Dr. Hawani Negussie is the Chair and Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education at the University of Massachusetts Global. She earned her doctoral degree in Educational Leadership (PK-16) from California State University Long Beach. She is a certified Infant Mental Health Specialist with a BA in Child Development and an MA in Early Childhood Education. Throughout her career, she has held various roles in advancing sustainable practices for children in education, policy, developmental approaches, and community-centered interventions. She has presented on many panels and worked with several institutions, leading training, and discussions that foreground opportunities to implement structural changes that bolster equity, equality, and inclusiveness inside and outside the PK-16 classroom, locally and globally. Dr. Negussie's current work and research interests revolve around identifying and deconstructing the root causes of cultural exclusion, institutional racism, and persistent inequities, particularly among children aged "birth to eight." Her research centers on developing strategies that reduce the dominant worldview in curriculum and instruction in early childhood, examining the impact of aid-driven educational policies in African countries, and advocating for the integration of indigenous knowledge and cultural practices into early childhood education programs in societies where the global majority lives. In 2019, Dr. Negussie Founded Early Childhood Education Ethiopia, a nonprofit organization committed to expanding, prioritizing, and building early learning programs in rural communities throughout Ethiopia.