Shaffiq Welji is a doctoral student in mathematics education at the University of Georgia where he teaches prospective mathematics teachers and conducts research. His research is focused on teacher learning within professional learning communities and instructional practice. He is also interested in the development of teacher leadership. In addition to mathematics education, he also has research interests in low-dimensional topology. Prior to pursuing his degree at UGA, he taught mathematics and engineering for 12 years at the middle school and high school levels in the Atlanta area and in Kenya. As a teacher, he served on boards for the Georgia Department of Education and for various community-based organizations focusing on the educational needs of their constituent communities. He also has a doctorate in mathematics from Columbia University where his research focused on low-dimension topology and Heegaard Floer homology.