Ahdija Donatto earned her B.S. from Dillard University. She has earned a M.A.T – Elementary Education and M.A in Educational Leadership from Xavier University of Louisiana. She taught middle school mathematics in New Orleans Public Schools and Prince George’s County Public Schools. Since her return to New Orleans in 2007, she has worked at Xavier in the Division of Education and Counseling as the Clinical Field Coordinator for the Master of Arts in Teaching program.  

As the Clinical Field Coordinator, Ahdija supports novice teachers in their classroom providing effective use of content knowledge and pedagogy in the field. She also had the opportunity to work as the program director for two NSF grants, Robert Noyce and STEM STARS to support and retain STEM teachers in high-needs schools. Currently, she teaches undergraduate education courses while supervising Teacher Residents in the field. She is also working with The Center for Equity, Justice, and the Human Spirit as the program coordinator for Black Male Institute (BMI)Scholars. BMI Scholars is funded by W. K. Kellogg Foundation to increase teacher of color diversity within the parish and statewide school systems to impact student of color educational attainment outcomes with a particular focus on increasing Black males within the pipeline.