Webster Faculty, Students, Alumni Highlight Global Voices at CPED Convening

Dr. Yin Lam Lee-Johnson, left, and Dr. Andrea Jackson at CPED Convening 2025.

Webster University faculty, alumni and doctoral students presented their research at the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED) Annual Convening 2025 in Philadelphia. Their contributions highlighted global perspectives, a commitment to inclusivity and the elevation of historically marginalized voices in higher education.

One of the Webster presentations, a roundtable titled “Unmuting Global Ontologies: International Students’ Counterstories for Reclaiming Epistemic Justice,” centered on the experiences of BIPOC international students as essential contributors to global knowledge. The Webster team included:

• Yin Lam Lee-Johnson, PhD, Associate Professor, Department Chair, and Director of the EdD in Transformative Learning in the Global Community, Webster University
• Shakhnoza Khamidova, EdD Student, Webster University
• Nelly Zhang, EdD, Webster University alum
• Rokhatoy Boltaeva, EdD, Webster University alum
• Evgeniya Khegay, EdD Student, Webster University

Due to travel constraints and other factors, the co-presenters could not attend in person. Their contributions were integrated via quotes and video recording, ensuring their perspectives were fully represented. Anchored in epistemic justice and counterstorytelling, the roundtable engaged attendees in interactive Counterstorytelling Circles, fostering reflection on how EdD programs and academia can become more inclusive.

“Our goal is to challenge whose knowledge counts in academia,” said Lee-Johnson. “By unmuting global voices, we honor the epistemological diversity that enriches both scholarship and professional practice.”

In addition, Webster alum Andrea Jackson, EdD, contributed her scholarship and creativity to CPED 2025 through two interactive sessions exploring Black identity, authenticity and counterstorytelling:

• “The Stories We Don’t Tell: A Visual Exploration of Racial Performance” — a learning exchange workshop using artistic expression to examine Black identity management in institutional spaces.
• “From the Margins to the Academy: Counter-Storytelling as Praxis in Black Doctoral Scholarship” — a panel presentation highlighting the experiences of Black professionals, Black women principals and Black queer teachers through counterstorytelling.

Jackson’s work complemented the broader Webster team’s focus on global epistemologies, underscoring the University’s commitment to equity, justice and diverse perspectives within the education doctorate.

For more information about Webster University’s Doctor of Education (EdD) program and its focus on transformative learning in global contexts, visit EdD in Transformative Learning in the Global Community

References:

• Lee-Johnson, Y. L., Khamidova, S., Zhang, J., Boltaeva, R., & Khegay, E. (2025, October 22–24). Unmuting global ontologies: International students' counterstories for reclaiming epistemic justice [Roundtable]. CPED Annual Convening, Philadelphia, PA.
• Jackson, A.D. (2025, October 22–24). The stories we don’t tell: A visual exploration of racial performance [Learning exchange workshop]. CPED Annual Convening, Philadelphia, PA.
• Ogden, J., Jackson, A.D., & Carr, T. (2025, October 22–24). From the margins to the academy: Counter-storytelling as praxis in Black doctoral scholarship [Learning exchange workshop]. CPED Annual Convening, Philadelphia, PA.
  
  

By Yupa Saisanan, EdD