Ferial Pearson is an instructional coach at the University of Nebraska Omaha. Born in Nairobi, Kenya, Pearson earned her bachelor’s degree in communication arts from Gustavus Adolphus College in Saint Peter, Minnesota. She moved to Omaha and worked at Omaha South High School, then in Ralston High School as talent advisor for Avenue Scholars Foundation. There, Pearson created the Secret Kindness Agents project and subsequently wrote the book, The Secret Kindness Agents: How Small Acts of Kindness Really Can Change The World.
She has received national awards for her work with students and in the community, including National Education Association’s Virginia Uribe Award for Creative Leadership in Human Rights. Pearson earned a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction with a graduate certificate in urban instruction from the University of Nebraska Omaha in 2009.