Board of Trustees

Houman Harouni

Houman Harouni is a Lecturer on leadership and social change at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a practice-based theorist of culture and education. His interdisciplinary work integrates psychology, philosophy, political economy, and pedagogy to explore the role of institutions in shaping social relations and power dynamics. His insights are widely applicable to education, leadership, organizational studies, and social theory.

Houman is the founding faculty director of the Harvard Equity and Inclusion Fellowship, a program that merges social justice initiatives with leadership and movement-building skills. He is also the co-founder of Leadership Lab International, a consulting firm that specializes in addressing complex and volatile contexts. He has held prestigious fellowships, including as a Spencer Fellow at the National Academy of Education, a postdoctoral fellow at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a Presidential Fellow of Harvard University. His advisory roles span various governments, non-profits, and organizations such as the World Bank, UNICEF, and the various ministries of education.

With a commitment to education and advocacy, Houman has contributed to the training of teachers, journalists, and policymakers working with refugee populations in the Middle East. His scholarly articles have been published in respected journals, including the Harvard Educational Review and the Berkeley Review of Education, while his cultural criticism has appeared in popular outlets such as The Guardian, Salon, and The American Reader.

Houman’s work continues to influence fields at the intersection of education, culture, and social transformation.