about Heather

Heather Cunningham has been an educator for over thirty years. She loves structuring learning experiences that help people make sense of the social and cultural forces that shape our perceptions and our interactions with others — especially in the classroom. She excels at creating interactive learning that genuinely engages participants. Most requested topics include cultural and racial self-awareness, classroom culture and management, and restorative practices. Heather was proud to receive Chatham University's School of Arts and Sciences Excellence in Teaching award for 2023.

Heather offers training services because she knows educators can only thrive when they have all the skills and understandings needed to do their job well. Heather understands the needs of classroom teachers and school-based staff, as she was a public school classroom teacher herself for thirteen years. She can talk to educators in language they understand because she has been in their shoes. Heather's gift of making learning interactive comes from the many experiences she has had leading experiential education activities. As a professor of education, Heather also understands the curriculum of teacher education programs and knows which topics require more attention than university calendars typically allow. These are the topics she offers outside of the university setting, either in-person or virtually.

Heather earned her Ph.D. in Instruction and Learning from the University of Pittsburgh in 2015. She also holds an M.A. degree from American University in Washington, DC in International Training and Education and a B.A. degree in Economics and Sociology from Allegheny College in Meadville, PA. Heather is an Assistant Professor of Education at Chatham University in Pittsburgh. Before joining Chatham in 2017, Heather was a visiting faculty member at Pitt's Center for Urban Education. She has taught education courses at Pitt, Duquesne, and American University.

Heather is the author of several peer-reviewed journal articles that highlight effective K12 teaching practices to support students marginalized by race, culture, poverty, or language. Heather also co-authored the book These Kids are Out of Control: Why we Must Imagine Classroom Management for Equity, published by Corwin. This book has sold nearly 20,000 copies nationwide.

Before earning her Ph.D., Heather was a classroom teacher and education program leader. She has taught kindergarten, middle school, and high school students, and has served as a teacher mentor or coach many times. She was an ESL/Bilingual Social Studies teacher in Washington, DC Public Schools and a Social Studies teacher at City Charter High School in Pittsburgh. She has led multi-week experiential courses for U.S. youth in the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, and Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest in Washington state. Heather has also worked in education in Honduras and Malawi, and served as a US Agency for International Development (USAID) education contractor in Washington, DC.

Heather enjoys playing music in her free time and occasionally performs Americana music. A few years ago, Heather realized a longtime dream by fronting a Johnny Cash cover band for a sold-out crowd. She and her husband Paul are parents to twin elementary school students, Julie and Jackson.