Normandale Community College is pleased to announce it has appointed Mustafa Dualeh as its Sirtify® Program Coordinator.
Dualeh will continue to build on the great foundation of the Sirtify® Program. In this role, he will recruit prospective students for the program, build community partnerships that foster academic and professional opportunities for Sirtify® students, and provide coaching and mentoring to help ensure students’ success at Normandale and beyond.
Sirtify® offers academic, career, and personal support to Black, African-American, and African men starting their higher education journeys with a goal of becoming licensed K-12 teachers.
Dualeh has nearly a decade of experience at Normandale, supporting students through advising and outreach. In 2017, while serving as co-chair of IMMOC (Indigenous Male and Males Students of Color)—a coalition of men of color across the Minnesota State system with a shared commitment to uplifting BIPOC male students—Dualeh helped bring the annual conference to Normandale. With the support of former Normandale President Joyce Ester, he expanded his impact beyond the event, leading cultural enrichment trips and offering intrusive, culturally focused advising to a small group of Black male and male students of color. These early efforts planted the seeds for what would later grow into Sirtify®.
“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. I am excited to be part of a program that addresses a critical need, and builds a pathway for future educators who reflect the brilliance and diversity of our communities.”
According to a study published in the American Economic Journal, Black boys with a Black male elementary school teacher were 29% less likely to drop out of school years later, and those from very low-income families were 39% less likely to drop out of school if they had a Black male teacher. Statistics from Department of Education, also indicated that only 2% of teachers in the country are Black men. In Minnesota, just 0.5% of teachers are Black males.
The Sirtify® program envisions a world where all elementary and secondary students have a level playing field by having teachers who share their backgrounds and experience.
"I am thrilled to welcome Mustafa (Dualeh) back to Normandale,” said Normandale Education Pathways Program Director Jeremy McNamara. “His energy and commitment to the mission of the program are already making a difference, and his passion for equity in education is exactly what this program needs as it continues to grow.”
This past academic year, five students graduated from Sirtify® and successfully transferred to four-year universities as part of their journey to the classroom. Collectively, 13 students graduated from the two Education Pathways programs (Sirtify® and SpedUp) in 2025.
Previous to returning to Normandale to be the Sirtify® program coordinator, he worked as a senior academic advisor at Northwestern University in Qatar. Dualeh has also worked for TRIO programs at Normandale, St. Olaf College, Brandeis University and the University of Minnesota.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in political science, American Racial and Multicultural Studies at St. Olaf College, and received his master’s degrees in Sustainable International Development and Conflict Resolution and Coexistence at Brandeis University.
Dualeh takes over the role from the first Sirtify® Program Coordinator Marvis Kilgore, who accepted as position as the Executive Director of Code Savvy in November 2024 and was recently named a 2025 Bush Fellow.
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