John Weinert received his bachelor's degree from Bard College and went on to complete his master's degree in Arabic language and literature at the University of Texas at Austin. He has worked as director of program operations at the Subul Assalam Centre for the Arabic Language in Fez, Morocco, and in 2010, he was awarded a yearlong fellowship from the Center for Arabic Study Abroad for advanced studies in Damascus, Syria.

Before joining Smith College, Weinert taught at the University of Texas at Austin, the University of New Haven and the United States Naval Academy.

His research interests include Arabic language pedagogy, dialects, code switching and shifting patterns of language use in Arabic-language media.