Michelle Ferguson, MSEd

Michelle serves as the Education Program Manager at HIAS Pennsylvania. In this role, she oversees the Education programming at HIAS PA, including a PreK-8 newcomer afterschool program, a Young Adult Mentoring post-secondary planning program, the Adult English education program, and advocacy efforts. Michelle also chairs the Philadelphia Immigrant Education Collaborative, which brings together a group of community-based organizations and School District of Philadelphia staff to bolster family integration into the school district. Michelle also conducts professional development for teachers and other school district staff, and she and her team provide ongoing educational support and advocacy as clients navigate new and complex educational systems.

Michelle holds a Master’s of Education with a concentration in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages and a Bachelor’s degree in Linguistics from Temple University in Philadelphia. Previously, she taught English in Croatia and China. Michelle is passionate about creating a more accessible path to education for English learner, newcomer, immigrant students. She is grateful to be able to serve at HIAS PA and be a voice for immigrant and refugee students and families throughout Philadelphia.