Dr. Rohany Nayan was born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. She describes herself as an “accidental immigrant” who arrived in the U.S. to pursue her studies, and eventually made a home here. She moved to Chicago recently, and worked as an adjunct lecturer at the University of Illinois at Chicago in the Department Educational Psychology. She holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with a concentration in Literacy Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and holds a master’s degree in Language Education (TESL) and a bachelor’s degree in English Education (ESL) from Indiana University in Bloomington.
Her work focuses on examining literacy practices in complex learning environments in a variety of settings. Her interests also include a focus on minority and immigrant families and their children’s experiences in their adopted country and how the interwoven issues of culture, language and meaning-making act upon their identity and literacy development. Her work has appeared in several academic volumes.
She sees herself as a foodie who enjoys diverse cuisines. In her free time, she enjoys reading, making arts and crafts (i.e. origami, kirigami, etc.), and studying languages. She is passionate about building bridges across communities, and enjoys collecting resources especially on Islam, cultures and literacy development, researching cross cultural awareness, and developing interfaith dialogues.
One of her immediate goals in life is to lessen her carbon footprint on earth by adjusting and transforming her lifestyle and daily habits into green living. She can be reached email at: rohanynayan@gmail.com