meet the team
Abby MacPhail
Abby MacPhail is an educator, curriculum designer, and founder of A Global Classroom. She specializes in Social Studies, Global Politics, Peace and Conflict, Development and Human Rights education.
Abby has over 20 years of teaching experience in Canada, the United States, Italy, Croatia, France, South Africa and Kenya.​ She is currently in Indonesia, where she is collaborating with local environmentalists, activists and artists to co-develop curriculum that centers climate justice, indigenous knowledge, and community-based climate adaptation strategies.
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Abby holds a Master of Education with Distinction from the University of Cape Town, a Master of Arts in Conflict Transformation from SIT Graduate Institute, a Bachelor of Education from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto, and a Bachelor of Arts with Honors in French from Dalhousie University.
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She has received major grants from the Pulitzer Center and Learning for Justice/the Southern Poverty Law Center for her work in human rights education, including for an innovative program she founded that empowers students through experiential education, participatory action research, photojournalism, and advocacy for social justice. Her teaching and programming push students beyond "bake sale activism" to critically examine and address the systemic roots of injustice. Her lessons and teaching stories have been featured in Rethinking Schools and the Zinn Education Project publications and she has presented her work at international conferences on human rights and experiential education.
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Abby’s approach to lesson design and teaching blends academic rigor with creativity and relevance, encouraging students to connect global issues with their own lives and communities.​ Through A Global Classroom, she shares interdisciplinary, inquiry-driven resources that help students think critically and act compassionately in a complex world.
Naila Madina
Naila Madina is a communications strategist and sustainability advocate based in Indonesia. With a background in communications and a passion for environmental and cultural preservation, she brings a unique perspective to educational content development.
Naila has worked with organizations promoting Indonesia’s natural heritage and traditional knowledge that highlight grassroots sustainability efforts.
Her expertise in digital storytelling, community engagement, and cross-cultural communication enhances A Global Classroom's mission to provide globally relevant and culturally grounded educational resources. She plays a key role in shaping the project’s brand, voice, outreach strategy, and local collaborations in Indonesia.
