Dr. Helen Lee is a senior researcher at the Seattle-based education research organization, foundry10. She is an interdisciplinary researcher, educator, and community organizer committed to developing and sustaining humanizing school systems and out-of-school spaces for young people. She earned her doctorate from the Department of Comparative Human Development at The University of Chicago in 2022. Her dissertation examined the critical racial consciousness development of Asian American adolescents in Chicago and pays special attention to the ways in which schools, youth and online spaces, and ethnic-racial communities shape and are shaped by youth’s critical social analysis and political engagement. Her previous research focused on the sociopolitical conditions of teachers in Detroit and Chicago. Helen’s research is informed by her work with schools, non-profits, and policymakers in Detroit and Chicago, as well as her experiences as the daughter of a refugee and an immigrant. She holds a MA in Educational Leadership and Policy and a BA in English and Political Science from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.