András Kocsis PhD, ABD, joined SSWS in 2014 to engage with the community`s uplifting scenes of humanity, brother and sisterhood, love, hope and social vision. András, an experienced Board member and now Chair, is, at core, a Waldorf teacher who has devoted his career educating children, youth and adults for openings and meaning making in the context of mainstream vs. alternative/margins. He is passionate about human rights advocacy, mentorship, shelter learning, inclusive social development, holistic pedagogy, and releasing imagination through arts and craft. A critical student of anthroposophy, András finds some of Steiner’s works, such as The Philosophy of Freedom or How to Know Higher Worlds, stir a deep vocation in him for the Spirit.

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The transformative alchemy of growth and self-discovery led András to academia where he currently plugs the gap in intellectual “market” by providing additional knowledge to the field of adult education and lifelong learning. Furthermore, at the Department of Education and ECE, he manages multiple programs and strategies on equitable and inclusive learning environments.

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Informed by critical theory his work advances interdisciplinary insight, original research, and intellectual exchange on issues related to critical thinking pedagogy, philosophy of education, populism and educational leadership, administration and policy, and conflict-based immigration. He combines worldwide academic scholarship with various local professional development centered projects. The forced migration of a multiracial family from Ukraine, up against Russia`s invasion, is the topic of his presently concluding doctoral dissertation and upcoming book.

When he is not troubled by the state of public education or the unforeseen consequences of generative artificial intelligence, he worries instead about the Arsenal soccer club. However, with his two ex-Waldorf children now off to university, András is challenging himself to stay committed to a particular symptom of empty-nester syndrome: nonstop smiling.