Karina Malik is the path elementary inclusive coach. Previous to this position, she was a dual-language, early childhood, special education teacher in Washington Heights, NYC for nearly a decade. In this position she taught in a 50/50 language model, teaching both Spanish and English in an inclusive setting. Her work as a special education teacher propelled her passion for advocacy in the early childhood education field and ultimately motivated her work as a doctoral candidate in the department of Curriculum and Teaching at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her dissertation research focuses on understanding Latinx special education teachers who identify as Black, Indigenous and/or People of Color (BIPOC) and their experiences in New York City public schools. This topic hits home for Karina as she was born and raised in Queens, New York and attended public schools for the majority of her educational career.