Normandale Community College has announced the appointment of Mustafa Dualeh as the new program coordinator for Sirtify®, an initiative designed to support Black, African American, and African men pursuing careers in education.
Dualeh, a longtime higher education professional with nearly a decade of experience at Normandale, returns to the college after serving as a senior academic advisor at Northwestern University in Qatar. In his new role, he will lead recruitment for the program, build community partnerships, and provide culturally responsive mentoring and coaching for students as they pursue degrees and prepare for careers as licensed K–12 teachers.
“It is very meaningful to be back at Normandale,” said Dualeh. “I made the decision to return here because I truly believe in this program. It is not just preparing future educators… It is changing lives, families and communities.”
The Sirtify® program, launched at Normandale, offers academic, career and personal support to men of African descent at the start of their higher education journey. Its broader mission is to address persistent racial disparities in education by increasing the number of Black male educators in classrooms, a group that remains severely underrepresented across the country.
Nationally, Black men account for just 2% of the teaching workforce, and in Minnesota, that number drops to only 0.5%, according to data from the U.S. Department of Education. Research published in the American Economic Journal shows the positive impact representation can have: Black boys who had a Black male teacher in elementary school were 29% less likely to drop out. For those from very low-income families, the dropout rate decreased by 39%.
Dualeh is no stranger to this work. In 2017, while serving as co-chair of IMMOC (Indigenous Male and Male Students of Color), a coalition within the Minnesota State system, he played a pivotal role in organizing its annual conference at Normandale. With support from then-president Dr. Joyce Ester, Dualeh expanded these efforts beyond events, offering culturally tailored advising and leading enrichment trips that laid the groundwork for what would later become the Sirtify® program.
“His energy and commitment to the mission are already making a difference,” said Jeremy McNamara, director of Education Pathways at Normandale. “Mustafa’s passion for equity in education is exactly what this program needs as it continues to grow.”
In the 2024–25 academic year, five Sirtify® students graduated and transferred to four-year universities on their path to becoming teachers. In total, 13 students graduated from Normandale’s Education Pathways programs, which include Sirtify® and SpedUp, a program focused on special education careers.
Dualeh steps into the role following Marvis Kilgore, the program’s founding coordinator. Kilgore was recently named a 2025 Bush Fellow and now serves as executive director of Code Savvy, a Minnesota-based nonprofit promoting inclusive technology education.
Dualeh holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and American racial and multicultural studies from St. Olaf College, and two master’s degrees in sustainable international development and conflict resolution and coexistence from Brandeis University. His previous experience includes work with TRIO programs at Normandale, St. Olaf, Brandeis, and the University of Minnesota.
As he returns to lead the program he helped shape, Dualeh brings full-circle a journey rooted in service, mentorship, and educational equity.
About Normandale Community College: Founded in 1968, Normandale is Minnesota’s largest community college and the third largest institution in the Minnesota State system, serving more than 14,000 students. With over 70 programs and a strong emphasis on student success, the college prepares learners to transfer to four-year institutions or enter the workforce with confidence.
For more information about Normandale’s Sirtify program, visit https://www.normandale.edu/why-normandale/about/human-resources/equity/sirtify.
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