Our officers
Frank Adamson
Co-Chair
I am currently an Associate Professor of Education Leadership and Policy Studies at California State University, Sacramento, have been a member of CIES for over 20 years, and previously co-chaired the Globalization in Education SIG. As a researcher, I study how different political and economic approaches, including education privatization, relate to education equity and opportunity, and have published 4 books and over 50 publications on these topics. As SIG co-chair, I would support the strong and growing presence of scholars working on SIG topics and continue our work with local education advocates in CIES conference locations. My education includes an MA in Sociology and a Ph.D. in International Comparative Education, both from Stanford University.
Alice Taylor
Co-Chair
I am Affiliate Faculty in the Josef Korbel School of Global & Public Affairs at the University of Denver, where I supervise an MA Capstone in Global Justice, a program I helped launch in 2023 as a postdoctoral scholar. I have taught across Education, Sociology, and Global Studies. I recently completed an appointment as Research Assistant Professor at Georgetown University’s Americas Institute. I hold a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley School of Education and an MA in International Affairs from the Fletcher School at Tufts University. Grounded in sociological theories and methods, I am an ethnographer and study youth political engagement including in social movements; inequalities from critical perspectives of race, class, and gender; and interconnections between local and global structures of oppression and resistance. My work is driven by commitments to social justice and the transformative possibilities of education and community engagement in and especially outside of schools. I began organizing through the 21st Century Educational Alternatives group--now TAP and the formal SIG--in 2018. Prior to my academic career, I was a researcher and consultant with NGOs, primarily Promundo (now Equimundo) and carried out research related to youth, gender, urban violence/ intimate partner relationships and violence. You can read more about me at aliceyt.net
Rolf Straubhaar
Outreach Director
I am an Associate Professor of Educational and Community Leadership at Texas State University and an education policy scholar trained in anthropology and comparative education. My research examines how dominant models of educational reform, including market-oriented accountability policies, privatization, and alternative teacher certification programs, are circulated and adapted across different contexts. I have conducted research in the United States, Brazil, and Mozambique, and have written extensively on Teach For America and Teach For All, teacher education, the pedagogy and theory of Paulo Freire, and the experiences of immigrant and multilingual students. More recently, my work has increasingly focused on building more democratic, equitable, and community-rooted approaches to teaching and educational leadership. I hold a Ph.D. in Social Science and Comparative Education from UCLA, an M.A. in Latin American Studies and Nonprofit Studies from the University of Texas at Austin, and a B.A. in Sociocultural Anthropology and International Development. Before my academic career, I worked as an adult educator and curriculum writer in Brazil and Mozambique, and a public school educator in New York City and on the Navajo Nation.
Virginia Gomes
Treasurer-Secretary
As an active volunteer of The Alternatives Project and the CIES track that officially evolved into this SIG at CIES 2024. Born in Brazil, I am currently pursuing a PhD at the University of Maryland, College Park. My academic journey has led me to specialize in transformative pedagogies that prioritize youth empowerment, cooperation, and solidarity. Additionally, I am passionate about contemplative and holistic education, as evidenced by my contributions to scholarly articles and book chapters on the subject. My ongoing research focuses on the impact of Cooperative and Solidarity pedagogy in rural areas of Brazil. I firmly believe that fostering genuine human-to-human and human-to-nature connections is paramount in steering our schools and societies away from competition and individualism towards more inclusive and dignified spaces. I am eager to leverage my Latin American background to enrich the discourse at CIES, and I welcome the opportunity to contribute to our collective pursuit of innovative educational alternatives.
Welcome Letter - 2026
September 2026
Dear All,
In 2024, 21st Century Educational Alternatives: Confronting Racial Capitalism, Patriarchy, Militarism, and the Climate Crisis became an official SIG at the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES). The SIG grew out of work and organizing since 2018 as the The Alternatives Project, and each year has grown in the plurality of its proposals and participants. TAP is a diverse, transnational collective of progressive academics, union members, civil society activists, and social movement participants concerned with building a global collective critical voice-oriented towards education and societal transformation. We felt CIES needed a place for progressive scholars seeking more fundamental changes to comparative and international education and related research, so we formed this SIG. In addition to traditional academic panels, we have introduced a number of formats to CIES, including symposia that encourage dialogue with participants, site visits, and teach-ins.
Now is the time to renew your CIES membership and sign up for our SIG if you have not yet. Applications are also open for travel grants.
CIES 2027 will be in Madison this year. The theme of the conference,“Reimagining Life: Education for Planetary Justice,” directly engages with the work of our SIG and invites inquiries, critiques, and experiments in remaking education to meet the challenges of democratic life and the survival of our planet. We are thrilled by the submissions we have begun to receive, and to be joined at CIES by distinguished speakers such as Kneller lecturer Arundhati Roy, Gloria Ladson-Billings, and Michael Apple. Preparation for an engaging conference is already underway.
We welcome people who would like to support in the following areas, and/ would like to get involved in other ways!
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Collaborate on site visits with experiential and place-based learning grounded in local movements and organizations (Madison, WI in 2027). Each year, we have organized visits at the CIES conferences (a visit to the George Floyd Memorial and meeting with MN activists in 2023, several webinars and a march with the Miami Dade Teachers Union in 2024, teach-ins and dialogue with local organizations in Chicago in 2025, and walking tours with the Black Panthers and South Asian radical historians in the Bay Area 2026). We'd like to continue building relationships with activists and local communities where the conferences are held. If you are interested and/or have contacts with educator groups or movements, feel free to get in touch.
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Logistics during CIES. We plan to provide safe spaces for spontaneous conversation and other meetups during the conference. We need help organizing logistics on-site.
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Website and social media support. Play an important role in helping us with comms in sharing and growing our work!
We look forward to a productive year and want to hear from you! Please come get to know us at a TAP meeting, and don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions: CIES21CenAltSIG@gmail.com.
In addition to CIES preparation, we have several exciting events planned virtually before we gather in Madison in April. One of these is a special event with Tostan which you can find out about here!
We extend our thanks to outgoing CIES co-chair, Carol Anne Spreen, who continues to be active in TAP and the SIG!
Cordially,
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Frank Adamson, California State University, USA: Co-Chair, Unit Planner. adamson@csus.edu
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Alice Taylor, University of Denver, USA: Co-Chair, Unit Planner. alice.taylor@du.edu
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Virginia Gomes, University of Maryland, USA: Secretary/Treasurer. vigomes@umd.edu
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Rolf Straubhaar, Texas State University, Outreach Director. straubhaar@txstate.edu
SIG Officers, 21st Century Educational Alternatives: Confronting Racial Capitalism, Patriarchy, Militarism, and the Climate Crisis
The Alternatives Project www.thealternativesproject.org
Introductory Letter - 2025
October 2025
Dear All,
Our SIG, 21st Century Educational Alternatives: Confronting Racial Capitalism, Patriarchy, Militarism, and the Climate Crisis is now official at the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES). It was formed by us, The Alternatives Project. TAP is a diverse, transnational collective of progressive academics, union members, civil society activists, and social movement participants concerned with building a global collective critical voice-oriented towards education and societal transformation. We felt CIES needed a place and home for progressive scholars who are seeking more fundamental changes to comparative and international education and related research, so we formed this SIG.
Now is the time to renew your CIES membership and sign up for our SIG if you have not yet.
While CIES 2026 might seem a way off, preparation for an engaging conference is already underway. We had 24 individual papers and 13 panel sessions submitted this year. Eighteen reviewers helped us carefully review the submissions. We hope to continue with proposals for exciting KEYNOTES, topical debates, and opportunities to shed light on the critical issues we want to address in education.
NOW WE ARE IN NEED OF VOLUNTEERS TO:
a) ORGANIZE SITE VISITS AND FOLLOW-ON EVENTS WITH EDUCATOR ORGS AND CSOs IN SAN FRANCISCO. Each year, we have also organized off-site visits at the CIES conferences (a visit to the George Floyd Memorial and meeting with MN activists in 2023, several webinars and a march with the Miami Dade Teachers Union in 2024, and organized teach-ins and dialogue with local organizations in Chicago in 2025) and we'd like to continue building relationships with activists and local communities where the conferences are held. If you are interested and/or have contacts with educator groups or civil society organizations in San Francisco, please let us know HERE. A committee will be created based on this form.
b) LOGISTICS DURING CIES. We plan to provide safe spaces for spontaneous conversation and other meetups during the conference. We need help organizing logistics on-site.
We will have a very productive year with your participation! Please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.
Frank Adamson, California State University, USA: Co-Chair. adamson@csus.ed
Carol Anne Spreen, New York University, USA: Co-Chair. spreen@nyu.edu
Virginia Gomes, University of Maryland, USA: Secretary/Treasurer. vigomes@umd.edu
21st Century Educational Alternatives: Confronting Racial Capitalism, Patriarchy, Militarism, and the Climate Crisis SIG officers.
Cordially,
The Alternatives Project
Education Justice for Societal Transformation
www.thealternativesproject.org
Welcome Letter
July 2024
Dear All,
Our new SIG, 21st Century Educational Alternatives: Confronting Racial Capitalism, Patriarchy, Militarism, and the Climate Crisis is now official at the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES). It was formed by us, The Alternatives Project. TAP is a diverse, transnational collective of progressive academics, union members, civil society activists, and social movement participants concerned with building a global collective critical voice-oriented towards education and societal transformation. We felt CIES needed a place and home for progressive scholars who are seeking more fundamental changes to comparative and international education and related research, so we formed this SIG.
This year was a busy year. We held our first elections, appointed Co-Chairs (Carol Anne and Frank) and Secretary (Virginia), officially launched the SIG, created our website (please login here to join and pay SIG dues), and welcomed new CIES members! During the CIES meeting in Miami we also held a successful march/protest/rally in solidarity with the Miami-Dade Teachers Union, sponsored a wonderful set of panels, and several keynote panels about the attacks on public education and academic freedom (thanks to all who organized and participated in these events). (See the list of our panels/presentations from 2024).
While CIES 2025 might seem a way off, there are several things we'd like to get everyone started on:
1) CIES 2026 CALL FOR PROPOSALS: This is our 4th year of soliciting proposals for our 21C Ed Alternatives Track, and each year, we've had a great turnout with wonderful and well-attended panels. We hope to continue with proposals for exciting KEYNOTES, topical debates, and opportunities to shed light on the critical issues we want to address in education. See our call for papers/panel proposals here and please share widely with your CIES networks. The deadline for submissions is September 10th.
Volunteers Needed!!
We need your participation to make sure our SIG will thrive during CIES.So please consider signing up for these two important committees:
2) VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR CIES PROPOSAL REVIEWS: After the proposal submission deadline, we will be looking for several volunteers to review and organize papers into panels. You can sign up here.
3) VOLUNTEERS NEEDED TO ORGANIZE SITE VISITS AND FOLLOW-ON EVENTS WITH EDUCATOR ORGS AND CSOs IN CHICAGO. Each year, we have also organized off-site visits at the CIES conferences (a visit to the George Floyd Memorial and meeting with MN activists, several webinars and a march with the Miami Dade Teachers Union, etc) and we'd like to continue building relationships with activists and local communities where the conferences are held. If you are interested and/or have contacts with educator groups or civil society organizations in Chicago, please let us know HERE. A committee will be created based on this form.
We will have a very productive year with all your participation! Please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.
Frank Adamson, California State University, USA: Co-Chair. adamson@csus.ed
Carol Anne Spreen, New York University, USA: Co-Chair. spreen@nyu.edu
Virginia Gomes, University of Maryland, USA: Secretary/Treasurer. vigomes@umd.edu
21st Century Educational Alternatives: Confronting Racial Capitalism, Patriarchy, Militarism, and the Climate Crisis SIG officers.
Cordially,
The Alternatives Project
Education Justice for Societal Transformation
www.thealternativesproject.org