Dr. Jera Niewoehner-Green

Dr. Jera Niewoehner-Green (Dr. N-G) is a leadership educator who has engaged students in experiential learning at the high school and post-secondary level for over 15 years. She spent nine and a half years as a public-school educator for Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) teaching Spanish and Leadership Development courses, as well as working outside the classroom as a Career and Technical Education (CTE) academy coach for the Academies of Nashville. During her tenure at MNPS she completed her M.Ed. in Community Development and Action at Vanderbilt University with research focused on high school service-learning to address community issues. In order to further her study of community development and leadership, she began a doctorate program in leadership development at the University of Florida. Jera completed courses in leadership, extension, communication as well as earned a graduate certificate in Latin American Studies. Her research interests include the engagement of marginalized groups in leadership development and community change. Specifically, she examines women’s participation in leadership roles and community groups as well as youth empowerment through social capital building and leadership development. She is also heavily invested in developing and evaluating outcomes related to undergraduate study abroad programs to Latin America and the Caribbean in order to contextualize how systems thinking and cultural intelligence can aid in addressing complex issues in communities.