Agencies
Services
A CDHC Learning Series Event:
Schools Without Hate - Strategies for Keeping Students Safe
Schools Without Hate: Strategies for Keeping Students Safe
Meet Our Speakers & Moderator
Pasha Dashtgard
Senior Scientist for Research Translation for the Polarization & Extremism Research & Innovation Lab (PERIL) at American University
Pasha Dashtgard is Senior Scientist for Research Translation for the Polarization & Extremism Research & Innovation Lab (PERIL) at American University, Pasha Dashtgard is co-author of “Schools Without Hate,” which will be released in January 2027 by Harvard Education Press.
Dashtgard has a Ph.D. in Social Psychology from the Department of Psychological Science at the University of California, Irvine, and was formerly a postdoctoral Fellow at Loyola Marymount University’s Psychology Applied Research Center (PARC). He attended Columbia University, Teacher's College for his M.A. in Mental Health Counseling and an Ed.M in Education.
Pasha’s current role focuses on translating PERIL research findings into meaningful policy and practitioner-focused insights for the violence prevention field writ large. Pasha’s research interests include masculinities, online radicalization, applied interventions, PTSD, and large-scale mental health policy/service delivery. Projects include analysis using his Male Supremacy Scale (Dashtgard, 2022) and its intersections with online behavior, and various projects intervening with populations beset by misinformation, conspiratorial thinking, and political polarization.
Dr. Tiffany Burnett
Executive Director for Safe and Healthy Climate, Illinois State Board of Education
Dr. Tiffany Burnett is Executive Director for Safe and Healthy Climate at the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), a role she has held since July 2024. In this position, she leads ISBE’s efforts to promote safe and healthy school environments, focusing on resilience, nutrition, social and emotional learning, as well as health and wellness initiatives and projects designed to improve the educational experience for all public-school students across the state of Illinois.
Before joining ISBE, Dr. Burnett served as Assistant Superintendent of Schools at Prairie Hills School District 144 from 2021 to 2023, and as principal within the same district from 2005 to 2021. Her career in education spans over three decades, with a strong focus on school leadership, community engagement, and policy implementation.
Dr. Burnett received her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership and Administration from Concordia University in River Forest. She received her M.B.A. in Business Management/Educational Leadership from Keller Graduate School of Management. Dr. Burnett received her B.A. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
In Conversation With:
Jenan Mohajir
Vice President of External Affairs at Interfaith America (IA)
Jenan Mohajir is an educator, a storyteller, a mother, and a believer in building relationships across the lines that separate us. Jenan currently serves as Vice President of External Affairs at Interfaith America (IA), where she has developed & implemented long term strategic plans, created innovative programs, and forged collaborative partnerships with philanthropic leaders and foundations. In her 20 years of leadership at IA, Jenan has trained hundreds of young leaders from diverse backgrounds to foster a vision and practice of civically engaged leadership. Jenan is deeply inspired by the stories from her family and her faith to create change at the intersections of gender, sexuality, race, and religion. As a natural storyteller, she performs with 2nd Story, Chicago's premier storytelling company.
Accommodation Requests:
If an accommodation is needed to participate in a Commission/Committee meeting, please contact the IDHR Attorney of the Day at least 48 hours in advance by dialing (312) 814-6262 or email IDHR.CDHC@illinois.gov.