Ann Nielsen
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SkySong Building 5, Suite 190 Scottsdale, AZ 85287
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Mail code: 9308Campus: Scottsdale
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Ann Nielsen, Ed.D., serves as a Director in the University Design Institute (UDI) at Arizona State University, where she leads the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program e-Learning Initiative Phase II. In this role, Dr. Nielsen works with African universities to co-design sustainable digital transformation strategies, build institutional capacity, and align learning systems with the needs of youth across the continent. Her work emphasizes inclusive design, local ownership, and the strategic use of technology to expand access to quality higher education. Within her role at UDI, Dr. Nielsen also supports executive leadership development, international development, and cross-university collaborations. She has led immersive design workshops, developed global research-practice frameworks, and served as a principal investigator and evaluator for multi-million-dollar initiatives funded by USAID, the U.S. Department of State, and international foundations.
Before joining UDI, Dr. Nielsen served as Director of Global Engagement and Associate Director at the Center for Advanced Studies in Global Education at ASU's Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College. There, she co-designed and implemented international education programs with educators across Brazil, Argentina, Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia, and the West Bank/Gaza, supporting educator workforce development, climate education, and transnational leadership. She has presented internationally and published on global education, teacher identity, and climate literacies.
Dr. Nielsen holds a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership and Supervision from Arizona State University, where her research focused on teacher professional subjectivities. She also holds a Master’s in Elementary Education from ASU and a B.A. in Anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley. She has received multiple leadership awards from ASU and served as President of the Arizona Educational Research Organization. Her scholarly work has appeared in Comparative Education Review, International Journal of Education Through Art, and Journal of Childhood Studies, among others. She was a contributing researcher to the Education Commission’s global workforce redesign reports and co-authored Turn It Around!, a youth-centered climate education guide.
University of California at Berkeley, B.A.
Arizona State University, M.A.
Arizona State University, Ed.D.
Teacher Subjectivities, International Education, Climate Education and Sustainability, International Education
Karsgaard, C., Coats, C., Basu, M., Nielsen, A., Jenik, A., Silova, I. (2025). Making art at the end of the world: (Un)learning in the Schoolhouse of Modernity. International Journal of Education Through Art, https://doi.org/10.1386/eta_00185_1.
Jiang, J., Pretti, E., Tsotniashvili, K., Anayatova, D., Nielsen, A., Silova, I. (2024). Re-membering ceremonies: Childhood memories of our relationships with plants. In ZIN, M., (An)Archive: Childhood memory, and Cold War pgs. 371 – 397. Cambridge, UK: Open Book Publishers.
Iyengar, R., Song, S., Sridhar, D., Purcell, W., Nielsen, A., Silova, I., Wittenstein, M., Tung, W. (2023). Re-thinking education for sustainable development: Key learning insights from the SDSN USA Transformative Education Summit 2023. (under review)
Karsgaard, C., Silova, I., Anayatova, D. Nielsen, A. (2023). Storying new worlds: Educating to counter violence and activate alternatives in the Anthropocene. Comparative Education Review, https://doi.org/10.1086/725634.
Karsgaard, C., Nielsen, A., Anayatova, D., & Silova, I. (2023). Review of Teaching in the Anthropocene: Education in the face of the environmental crisis. Education Review, 30
Anayatova, D., Basu, M., Darira, S., Freiband, A., Glanz, D., Halkiyo, A., Hovsepian, S., Jenik, A., Jiang, J., Komatsu, H., Kwarase, P., Law, L., Nielsen, A., Oneill, J., Palandjian, G., Pretti, E., Rappleye, J., Sanchez, B., Silova, I., Tsotniashvili, K., & CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS (2022, May). Turn it around! An education guide to climate futures. Arizona State University and Artists’ Literacies Institute. https://doi.org/10.14507/OGE-TiA
do Lago e Pretti, E., Jieyiu, J., Nielsen, A., Goebel, J. & Silova, I. (2021). Speculative common worldings: Memories of a girl between worlds, Journal of Childhood Studies. https://doi.org/10.18357/jcs202219957
Khan, R., Enriquez-Gates, A., Grijalva, R., & Nielsen, A. (2021). Teaching action research to international educators: Transitioning professional development online. In A. Slapac, P. Balcerzak, & K.G. O’Brien (Eds.), Action Research and the Global Empowerment of Educators and Student Learning: Premier Reference Source (pp. ). IGI Global. http://doi:10.4018/978-1-7998-6922
Mlambo, Y., Nielsen, A., and Silova, I. with input from Freda Wolfenden (Open University), Tal Rafaeli and Charlotte Jones (Education Development Trust), 2019. “Redesigning the Education Workforce: A Design Thinking Approach.” Background Paper for Transforming the Education Workforce: Learning Teams for a Learning Generation. New York: Education Commission.
Mlambo, Y., Nielsen, A., Silova, I., 2019. Primary Research on the Design of the Education Workforce in Ghana. Background paper for Transforming the Education Workforce: Learning Teams for a Learning Generation. New York: Education Commission.
Nielsen, A., Mlambo, Y., & Duong, H., 2019. Primary Research on the Design of the Education Workforce in Vietnam. Background paper for Transforming the Education Workforce: Learning Teams for a Learning Generation. New York: Education Commission.
Holloway-Libell, J., Nielsen, A., & Saltmarsh, S, 2016. Prescribed Distributed Leadership in the Era of Accountability: The Experiences of Mentor Teachers. Educational Management Administration and Leadership Journal.
Nielsen, A., 2016. Second career teachers and (Mis)Recognitions of Professional Identities, School Leadership Management Journal.
Courses
2023 Summer
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| BLE 408 | Structured Eng Immersion (SEI) |
2023 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| EED 532 | Lit Method Instr Asses Div Lrn |