BA, Rhetoric, University of California, Berkeley
MA, Humanities, Dominican University of California

Prior to teaching, Laila worked as a producer, director, and reporter for NPR in Washington DC and at KQED here in San Francisco. Consequently, she has mastered the art of storytelling on deadline and with superior project management skills. Her fire for the humanities was lit in college, when she got into rhetorical theory and textual analysis; she enjoys engaging students in discussion of academic theories and figuring out how those theories help us understand our own experiences. An influential book for Laila is Sister Outsider. “One of my favorite quotes from Lorde is, ‘It is not difference that immobilizes us, but silence. And there are so many silences to be broken.’”

Precept affinity: We value living with kindness and honesty; we are careful truth-tellers. “Imagine the world we could have if everyone started from a place of kindness and was willing to lean into the difficult but important conversations that require honesty and authenticity in order to move forward.”

Favorite Acre lunch: The salads

Currently teaching: Middle Eastern Studies, Banned Books (Honors)