Faith Northern is the Communications and Outreach Manager at the Research Alliance for New York City Schools. In this role, she implements a range of strategies to engage stakeholders in the Research Alliance’s work, and promotes the use of evidence in NYC’s education system. Faith also conducts qualitative research as part of several Research Alliance studies, including an interdisciplinary project aimed at illuminating the structural, educational, and mental health factors driving high school non-completion for NYC youth.
Faith brings experience with educational programming, community outreach and engagement, and qualitative research methods, including intergroup dialogue, focus groups, observations, and interviews. Before joining the Research Alliance, Faith was a graduate research analyst for NYU’s Office of Academic Program Review & Assessment, and the lead program coordinator for NYU Steinhardt's SHARE-CSD program, which provides paid summer research experience to students from underrepresented groups in STEM and health-related fields. Faith also served as a programming assistant for SEEDS: Access Changes Everything, a nonprofit that prepares motivated, high-achieving, low-income students for admission to private schools and colleges. In this position, Faith was responsible for communicating with current and prospective scholars and their families; ensuring the accuracy and integrity of program data; and assisting in the planning and organization of orientations, parent meetings, college tours, and special events. Faith’s prior experience also includes collecting and analyzing data about the experiences of immigrant, Afro-Caribbean women teachers and working with the Poughkeepsie Children's Cabinet as a community engagement partner volunteer. Faith is interested in the intersections of education, race, and identity, particularly for students from the Afro-Caribbean and African diaspora, and the ways in which systemic structures and socio-political contexts shape the educational landscapes for marginalized communities.
Faith is a first-generation doctoral student in the Sociology of Education program at NYU Steinhardt. She earned a B.A. in Biochemistry, Educational Studies, and History from Vassar College.