April  23,  2015  

   To  Whom  It  May  Concern,  

It  is  my  pleasure  to  recommend  Mr.  Zeeshan  Shah  for  the  applied  position.  I  have  known  Mr.  Shah  for  over  2.5  years  in  the  capacity  of  outdoor  playground  initiatives  and  early  childhood  education.  We  were  also  attendees  and  presenters  at  the  International  Play  Association  Conference  in  Istanbul,  Turkey  last  May.    He  is  an  active  organizer  and  ECD  trainer    in  the  city  of  Karachi;  Pakistan  and  I  had  the  pleasure  to  collaborate  with  him  on  several  key  areas  of  mutual  advocacy:  Children’s  Play,  Environmental  Training,  and  Education  Diplomacy.    I  actively  recruited  him  as  a  member  in  an  international  organization  based  on  his  articulate  advocacy  and  well-­‐grounded  presentations  on  Children’s  Rights  and  children’s  need  for  environmental  play  opportunities.  We  are  both  keenly  interested  in  community  collaboration,  high  quality  standards  in  early  childhood  education.        This  past  year,  I  consulted  with  Mr.  Shah  on  a  number  of  early  childhood  issues  on  the  status  of  children  in  Pakistan,  safety,  and  the  right  to  home  language  and  play.    I  also  collaborated  with  him  through  advocacy  programs  sponsored  on  Karachi  radio  stations,  and  community  initiatives  involving  Ministry  of  Education  and  NGOS.    As  an  advocate  in  early  childhood  education,  Zeeshan  is  well  grounded  in  his  pedagogy  as  a  constructivist,  is  a  team  player,  and  professional  in  his  diverse  interactions.      It  is  my  hope  that  he  will  collaborate  with  other  researchers  in  Association  of  Child  Education  International  for  a  few  writing  projects.    I  have  read  and  used  many  of  his  publications  and  research  from  Pakistan.  I  also  regularly  listen  to  his  radio  programs  across  the  region.        Recently,  we  met  in  Dubai  for  some  shared  ideas  in  nature-­‐based  curriculum,  and  it  is  my  hope  to  work  with  him  in  the  upcoming  months  for  a  possible  project  including  professionals  from  India,  Russia,  and  Nepal.  He  works  with  nature  based  Children’s  Nature  Network  through  Child  Care  Exchange  and  the  World  Forum  in  Early  Care  and  Education.      On  a  personal  level,  I  have  sincerely  appreciated  the  professionalism  and  commitment  of  Zeeshan  Shah.  He  is  an  open,  flexible  and  an  intensely  committed  individual  who  has  creative  and  tenacious  work  habits.  I  consider  him  an  incredibly  collaborative  professional  who  possesses  strong  organizational  skills  and  is  very  knowledgeable.    I  sincerely  support  this  individual  for  consideration  for  a  prestigious  position  and  I  wish  him  the  best.  

 Respectfully,  

  Georgianna Duarte Georgianna  Duarte  Professor-­‐Early  Childhood  Education  

Department  of  Teaching,  Learning  and  Innovation  College  of  Education  The  University  of  Texas  at  Brownsville