Skip to content
<<< Back to Our Think Tank Members
Zainab Jabak (she/her) is a Lebanese-American educator, speaker, and literacy advocate committed to creating culturally affirming spaces for students and teachers. Currently in her sixth year of teaching English at Alief Taylor High School in Houston, Texas, she fosters a love for reading while meeting state standards with intentionality and joy. Zainab leads her school’s first Project LIT chapter, collaborates with the district’s professional development team on culturally responsive teaching, and regularly facilitates workshops for fellow educators. She has received multiple recognitions for her work, including the 2023 Promising Young Educator Award by Abydos Learning International, the Book Love Foundation Grant, and the We Need Diverse Books Educators Making a Difference Award.
A former High School Section Chair for the Texas Council of Teachers of English Language Arts (TCTELA), Zainab has served in varied educational roles across the U.S. and abroad. Her national involvement includes working with NCTE’s Build Your Stack Committee and the ALAN Walden Book Award Committee, where she uplifts diverse voices in young adult literature. She believes in the transformative power of stories to build community, ignite change, and help students see themselves in the pages they read. Zainab is passionate about equity, literacy, collective leadership, and lifelong learning.