Nathern Okilwa, Ph.D.

Dr. Nathern Okilwa is an associate professor in the Department of Educational Leadership at Baylor University. Dr. Okilwa earned his Ph.D. in Educational Policy and Planning from the University of Texas at Austin. Before joining Baylor, Okilwa was a faculty member, since 2013, in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). Prior to joining the ranks of higher education, Dr. Okilwa's experience and commitment to education spanned 13 years of general and special education teaching in K12 settings across a variety of sociocultural contexts. Dr. Okilwa taught for six years in a rural farming community school in western Kenya. After his master's degree in special education from the University of Wyoming, Okilwa taught K12 special education in two different school districts in Wyoming. While pursuing his doctorate, Okilwa taught middle school special education students in an alternative school setting — students on suspension from their home schools for a variety of infractions. These professional and personal experiences have shaped Dr. Okilwa's scholarly interests and commitment to educational outcomes for disadvantaged or marginalized students.

Dr. Okilwa’s areas of scholarly interest include educational access and equity for underserved students, educational policy, sociocultural influences on educational outcomes, school leadership, and international organization of schooling. His work is published in a variety of outlets — peer-reviewed journals, a book and book chapters, and blogs. His co-edited book entitled, The school to prison pipeline: The role of culture & discipline in school, was spurred by fours years of working with students at the Alternative School. His scholarship is published in major journals such as Leadership and Policy in Schools, Journal of Educational Administration, Education and Urban Society, International Journal of Leadership in Education, International Studies in Educational Administration, among others. Furthermore, Dr. Okilwa has presented his work at professional conferences nationally and internationally, including in the United Kingdom, Greece, and Hungary. To continue advancing his international scholarship, Dr. Okilwa belongs to the International School Leadership Development Consortium (ISLDN), a consortium of international researchers. 

Dr. Okilwa is an active member of the University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA), where he served as the Plenary Session Representative (PSRs) for UTSA and currently serves as the Barbara Jackson Scholar mentor. Additionally, he is an active member of the British Educational Leadership, Management, and Administration Society (BELMAS) and the American Educational Research Association (AERA). These organizations provide a space and network of scholars for Okilwa to continue advancing his research agenda.

While at UTSA, Okilwa engaged and served the local community in a number of ways. He serves as a member of the Board of Advisors for Refugee Resettlement Services, Catholic Charities; he is a member of the Council of Advisors for Westover Hills Church; and he served as a board member for the Academy at Morgan Wonderland. Dr. Okilwa is committed to engaging with and contributing to the community in which he lives.