Alyssa Bivins is a scholar of history and education. She holds a PhD in History from The George Washington University. Her research specializes in the history of education in the Middle East, with a focus on Palestinian East Jerusalem and education under settler colonialism. Her dissertation research was supported by the Institute for Middle East Studies at GWU, a Fulbright-Hays Fellowship, and a Foreign Language and Area Studies fellowship. Her dissertation writing was funded by the National Academy of Education Spencer Dissertation Fellowship. She is currently working on a manuscript entitled "Contested Classrooms: Secondary Education in East Jerusalem, 1967 - Present." She received her BA in History and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations from the University of Chicago.

She currently holds the following roles:

• Senior Graduate Professional Development Coordinator at George Mason University (Full Time)

• Professorial Lecturer of History at George Washington University (Adjunct)

• Chair of the Education Taskforce of the Arlington Sister City Association; Co-President of the Reims, France Committee (Volunteer)