Marwa Hassanien: Literacy education doctoral student selected for 2024 Maryann Hartman Award

Marwa Hassanien, an alumna and current doctoral student at the University of Maine College of Education and Human Development, is one of two recipients of the university’s 2024 Maryann Hartman Award this year.

The honor recognizes distinguished women in Maine and their accomplishments in the arts, politics, business, education and community service.

Hassanien, who earned her Master of Education in curriculum, assessment and instruction at UMaine in 2019, is vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) at Northern Light Health. She is also an adjunct faculty member at Eastern Maine Community College, where she teaches English to international students, and is working toward a doctorate in education with a concentration in literacy at the College of Education and Human Development.

In 2019, she was elected to the Bangor School Committee, which she currently chairs. Her community work also includes serving on the board of directors for the Bangor Region YMCA, Maine Multicultural Center and Good Shepherd Food Bank, as well as volunteering with Literacy Volunteers of Bangor.

At Northern Light, Hassanien helped create an educational training series in DEI to share with the system’s healthcare network and partner organizations.

“There is a common misconception that diversity is just about race, which is visible,” says Hassanien, who is Muslim. “This misconception needs to be debunked because it makes my work seem unimportant or unnecessary for predominantly white states like Maine.”

The Maryann Hartman Awards will be presented along with inductions into the Maine Women’s Hall of Fame at an event to be held at Buchanan Alumni House on International Women’s Day, March 8. More information is available on UMaine News, along with a longer profile of Hassanien.