Ammar Zia is an instructional leader and educator with over a decade of combined experience spanning classroom teaching, curriculum management, educator development, and school leadership. He is committed to building inclusive, high-performing school communities that center academic joy, creative expression, and culturally grounded leadership. His work focuses on designing transformative learning environments that foster rigor, belonging, and meaningful student engagement.

Ammar currently serves as a faculty member at Providence College, where he teaches graduate coursework on family and community engagement and supports the preparation of equity-minded school leaders through research-based, practice-rooted training. He also serves as Regional Development Manager at Open Up Resources, partnering with districts across New England to ensure access to high-quality instructional materials aligned to local priorities and community voice.

Earlier in his career, Ammar led the implementation of a nationally recognized secondary school redesign effort, managing all milestones of a $500,000 award from the XQ Institute and helping to drive record-setting gains in literacy and college readiness. He has supported hundreds of educators across roles in coaching, curriculum management, and program leadership—including as Manager of Teacher Leadership Development with Teach For America—and has taught in diverse educational contexts, including at Ramallah Friends School in Palestine.

Ammar earned a B.A. in English Literature and Educational Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles; an I.M.Ed. in Multicultural Education and Literacy from Rhode Island College; and a Master’s in School Leadership from Providence College. He is certified as a Superintendent of Schools and Building Level Administrator by the Rhode Island Department of Education.

A proud 1.5-generation immigrant and member of the LGBTQIA+ and AAPI communities, Ammar brings imagination, integrity, and an unwavering commitment to reimagining schools as spaces where academic joy, critical consciousness, and cultural competence are not only present—but essential to advancing equitable outcomes for all students.