The Collaborative for Educational Services (CES) welcomes Mariah Lapiroff as a new Social Justice and Equity in Schools Specialist. Mariah, originally from Berkeley, CA, joins our team as a social justice educator and facilitator committed to culturally sustaining, community-centered, equitable and transformative practices.
Raised in a Chinese and Jewish family by public school teachers, Mariah has experience working at both K-12 and university levels. After working in education on the West Coast, Mariah relocated to Western MA to attend UMass Amherst and complete her M.A.T. She then taught Latin in East Longmeadow before moving on to working at UMass Amherst in new teacher education. She is currently working on her Education Specialist degree in Social Justice Education at UMass Amherst.
“I’ve worked in several different educational contexts,” said Mariah, “including assisting with a youth choir, interning at the elementary level, teaching high school, and working with undergraduate and MAT students. At every level I’ve found relationships-building, critical reflection and deep listening to be the foundational ingredients in creating inclusive and thriving learning communities.”
Mariah has facilitated courses, workshops and dialogues on the topics of identity, race, social justice and education for students and educators.
Mariah reflected on joining CES, “I come to this work hoping to support and sustain transformation, equity, and social justice in schools. I am grateful to have found such a community of support, connection and shared values at the Collaborative and am immensely excited to collaborate with my colleagues and our educational partners in this work!”