Isabelle S. Headrick

Interests

Global modern education movement, including education for girls; the "global France"; Alliance Israélite Universelle Jewish schools in Iran.

Biography

I work on the global modern education movement and its intersection with Iranian, Jewish, French, and family histories. Specifically, my research focuses on a family of French-educated, Jewish school directors. Three generations of this family lived in Iran for seventy years (1908-1978) and worked during that time for the Alliance Israélite Universelle, a transnational Jewish educational organization. Through this family's documented experiences, I examine changes in Iranian society relating to Jewish Iranians, girls, and women.

Prior to entering the history program, I worked for fifteen years as an affordable housing non-profit director and developer in Austin with organizations that serve people with disabilities, people experiencing homelessness, seniors, and families with children. From 2015-2018 I served on the board of the National Low Income Housing Coalition. I graduated from Oberlin College with a B.A. in Soviet Studies and a minor in Black Studies and received a M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Texas at Austin.