Nader I. Twal serves as the Assistant to the Superintendent in Long Beach Unified School District -- the fourth largest district in CA. His work focuses on brining Vision 2035 (a comprehensive and aspirational reimagination of education in Long Beach, co-constructed with the community) to fruition alongside other systems leaders. Having served nine years as a classroom teacher, two years as a site-level program coordinator and teacher leader, five years as High School Central Office Linked Learning Coordinator, ten years as Program Administrator of Professional Learning and Curriculum Services, and one year as Program Administrator in the Office of the Deputy Superintendent, Nader brings a unique and comprehensive body of experience to K-12 systems-level change management. An experienced and published Design Thinker, Liberatory Designer, Milken National Educator, and CA Association of Teachers of English Excellence in Teaching Awardee, Nader bridges the gap between theory and action, with a body of work that demonstrates the power of listening first and designing second.
When Nader Imad Twal received his Milken Educator Award in 2003, he was a Bible as Literature and Philosophy teacher at Millikan High School in Long Beach, California. Along with a team of gifted teachers, he wrote a curriculum entitled Literacy Workshop for struggling readers, which was adopted by the district as the standard curriculum for the course. He also played a key role in creating the PEACE Academy (Personal success through Empowerment, Academic achievement, Conflict resolution and Ethics in action), a small learning community (secondary specialized program) for international studies that prepares college-bound, community-minded students for competition in a culturally diverse global economy.
Nader completed his doctorate in Educational Leadership from San Diego State University in December 2023, focusing his dissertation on the potential of Liberatory Design to build the transformative leadership capacity of central office administrators. He also serves as a Board Trustee for Learning Forward, an international professional association devoted exclusively to establishing and sustaining highly effective professional development for educators.
I hope to catalyze systemic change in education by listening to those most impacted by inequity and then co-designing solutions with them. Education remains one of the most powerful levers for liberation and I believe that it is every educator's responsibility to equip and inspire each student to unleash their potential in this liberatory work.
"The cadre of gifted teachers, administrators and community..." (read more)
2011 Adminisrative Services Credential
2006 Fuller Theological Seminary, M.A. Theology and Biblical Studies
1996 University of California - Davis, B.S.
2023 Doctor of Education, Educational Leadership PreK-12 School Leadership
2008 California Association for Teachers of English Excellence in Teaching Award
2008 Rachel's Challenge National Advisory Board
2017-2018 Redesign Professional Development Advisory Board, Learning Forward
