College of Education

Selcuk Acar, Ph.D., is an associate professor of educational psychology at the University of North Texas. He received his Ph.D. in Educational Psychology (with an emphasis in Gifted and Creative Education) from the University of Georgia. His primary area of research interest includes divergent thinking, assessment of creativity, and the education of the gifted and talented. Prior to UNT, Dr. Acar has worked at two different centers specialized in the field of creative education: Torrance Center for Creativity and Talent Development of University of Georgia, and the International Center for Studies in Creativity of SUNY Buffalo State. In addition to numerous book chapter and encyclopedia entries, Dr. Acar published over 50 peer-reviewed articles primarily on creativity. He has served as a PI in a 3-year grant by the Institute of Education Sciences to develop a new measure of original thinking called MOTES. He is currently serving as an Associate Editor at Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts and Journal of Creativity. He is also on the editorial board of Gifted Child Quarterly, Journal of Creative Behavior, Journal of Advanced Academics, and Creativity Research Journal. Dr. Acar is a recipient of APA Division 10’s 2022 Berlyne Award in recognition of outstanding research by an early career scholar and UNT College of Education’s 2021 Faculty Research Excellence Award. 

Chris Bailey PhD, CSCS*D, RSCC came to UNT in 2018 after spending 4 years at LaGrange College in GA where he served as an Assistant Professor, Strength and Conditioning Graduate Program Coordinator, and Sport Performance Lab Coordinator. He is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and a Registered Strength and Conditioning Coach through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).

He completed his PhD in Sport Physiology and Performance at East Tennessee State University in 2014, where he served as the baseball strength and conditioning coach and sport scientist. Prior to his time at ETSU he worked as a minor league strength and conditioning coach in the San Diego Padres baseball organization for two years. He has also worked in private sports performance training with clients ranging from college prep athletes to professional football players.

He is an active member in the NSCA, currently serving as the NSCA Texas State Director and is also on the NSCA Membership Committee. He previously served as State Director for Georgia and Tennessee when living in those states.

His research focuses on athlete monitoring, quantitative analysis in sports, applied strength and conditioning, and bilateral strength asymmetry. He has published and has presented on the previously mentioned topics at the national and international level. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Athlete Monitoring, Biomechanics, Quantitative Analysis, Quantitative Procedures in Exercise and Sport Sciences, and Strength and Conditioning.

Elba Barahona, Ph.D., is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Teacher Education and Administration. She joined the faculty at the University of North Texas in the Fall of 2016. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in bilingual and English as a second language. 

Barahona earned her B.A. in Economics from the Central University of Ecuador, an M.A. in Teaching and an M.B.A. from Louisiana Tech University. Her prior experience includes work as a bilingual teacher at the Dallas Independent School District.

Barahona’s research interest includes bilingual education, curriculum and assessment for English learners, and instructional strategies in classrooms and schools that serve culturally linguistically diverse students. She earned her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology, with specialization in Bilingual/ESL Education, from Texas A&M University at College Station.

Payton Birlew received her Master’s Degree in Educational Psychology with a concentration in Family Science from the University of North Texas in 2017. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Development and Family Studies with a concentration in Family and Community from the University of North Texas in 2015. Birlew is a Certified Family Life Educator and a certified facilitator of the Prepare/Enrich curriculum.

Birlew is the co-founder of Have & Hold Family Life Education where she provides secular, research-based premarital and relationship education to couples across the state of Texas. She is dedicated to modernizing relationship education by making it accessible and inclusive.

Her research interests include the experiences of nonreligious families (especially related to marriage and parenting), fostering inclusivity and accessibility in Family Life Education, and marriage and relationship education. Birlew has never met a HDFS course she didn’t love to teach and loves working with students as they discover all that HDFS has to offer.

Katherine Bomer is Professor of Practice in the Department of Teacher Education and Administration. Honored as the National Council of Teachers of English “Outstanding Elementary Educator” in 2017, she is the author of multiple books and articles about the teaching of writing and literacy for social justice. Her book, Hidden Gems: Naming and Teaching from the Brilliance in Every Student's Writing and accompanying DVD, “Starting with what Students Do Best” offer a transformative new approach to assessing and responding to student writing, even the most spare or difficult to understand. For a Better World: Reading and Writing for Social Action, co-authored with Randy Bomer, was built on research in her classrooms in New York City and Indiana of how young people take on projects to question equity in texts and use writing to advocate for fairness in their world.

Katherine taught graduate courses at Teachers College, Columbia University and at the University of Texas at Austin. Katherine began her career at Teachers College Reading and Writing Project with Lucy Calkins. For 10 years, she taught primary and intermediate grades, and her classrooms were featured in Annenberg video productions, and as demonstrations sites for many university programs. She consults nationally and internationally, presenting workshops in school districts as well as demonstrating and coaching inside K-12 classrooms about approaches to teaching reading and writing. As a frequent and popular keynote speaker, she combines a teacher's practical advice, a writer's love of language, and a powerful plea for social justice.

Dr. Rossana Boyd holds a B. A. in Educational Administration from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras, a M.Ed. in Educational Supervision from Southeastern Louisiana University, and a Ph D. in Curriculum and Instruction from Louisiana State University. Her experience as an educator spans more than 30 years. In Honduras, she worked as an elementary school teacher and as principal of a bilingual school. She also worked as coordinator of a master’s degree in curriculum for the Universidad Pedagógica Nacional Francisco Morazán and as a consultant for the Provost’s Office of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras.

In the United States she worked in Louisiana as a high school Spanish teacher for Tangipahoa Parish Public Schools, as the Louisiana Department of Education’s Title VII Director for ESL/Bilingual Education. At Southeastern Louisiana University she worked as coordinator of FIE and FIPSE federal grants for the preparation of alternative certification teachers, as director of two Title III National Professional Development federal grants for the preparation of English as a Second Language teachers and to provide as professional development for mainstream teachers with emergent bilinguals in Lafayette, Tangipahoa, Livingston, St. Tammany, and Jefferson school districts.

She worked for the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL) of Austin, Texas, as a program specialist in the field office of SECAC in New Orleans. In that role she provided technical assistance and professional development for language and mainstream teachers with emergent bilinguals and migrant students in AL, AR, LA, GA, and MS public schools. She is a lifetime member of the National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE) and has served on the executive board during several terms adding up to 12 years. She is a long-time member of the Teachers of English for Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), the Texas Association for Bilingual Education (TABE), and the Bilingual Education Association of the Metroplex (BEAM). 

Currently, Dr. Boyd is in her 16^th year at UNT as Principal Lecturer in the Department of Teacher Education and Administration.  She teaches courses for teacher preparation in English as a Second Language and Bilingual Education, and she is the director of the Title III National Professional Development Project SUCCESS in Language and Literacy Instruction.  She has awarded scholarships to numerous students with high financial need. Such aid has helped students complete their certifications and become gainfully employed in Texas classrooms and beyond.

Since coming to UNT in 1997, Dr. Bill Camp has contributed actively to the graduate programs in Educational Administration. His research interests include educational law and finance, and he teaches courses on various aspects of educational leadership. He also supervises interns in the public schools and directs doctoral dissertations. His bachelor's and master's degrees are both from Texas Tech University, and his doctorate is from Virginia Tech University. Prior to his work at UNT, he served as professor, chair, and acting associate dean at California State University. He also taught previously at Oklahoma State University and Texas Tech. Other educational experience includes serving as assistant superintendent of schools, high school principal, and high school science teacher.

Angie Cartwright earned a Bachelor of Arts in criminal justice, Master of Arts in counseling, and a Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision, all from Sam Houston State University. Upon graduation, she joined the counseling program faculty at Texas A&M University — Commerce as a tenure-track assistant professor, where she taught master’s and doctoral courses for three years. Dr. Cartwright’s research agenda addresses the success of children from absent-father homes, offender and addictions counseling issues, and mentorship in counselor education. She has published numerous peer-reviewed publications, international presentations/webinars, and a book chapter. Dr. Cartwright also brings several years of clinical experience as a Licensed Professional Counselor — Supervisor and a Licensed Sex Offender Treatment Provider in Texas. Dr. Cartwright’s clinical background includes work with incarcerated adults, civilly committed sexual offenders, and youth. She currently is the committee chair of the sex offender treatment and rehabilitation committee of the International Association of Addiction and Offender Counseling. In her free time, Dr. Cartwright enjoys reading and spending time with family and friends.

Cynthia K. Chandler, EdD, is a licensed professional counselor and a licensed marriage and family therapist in Texas and has been a professor in the counseling program, of the College of Education, at the University of North Texas since 1989. She has an international reputation for her work in animal-assisted interventions, which she began in 1999. For her work in the field of animal assisted therapy, Dr. Chandler received the 2016 Professional Development Award from the American Counseling Association, and received the 2009 Thelma Duffey Vision and Innovation Award from the Association for Creativity in Counseling. She is author of the award-winning book Animal-Assisted Therapy in Counseling, the 3^rd edition was published in 2017. She is also editor of the book published in 2018, Animal-Assisted Interventions for Emotional and Mental Health: Conversations with Pioneers of the Field. Dr. Chandler founded the ground-breaking model, human-animal relational theory, which serves as a guide for the practice of animal-assisted counseling. 

Andrew Colombo-Dougovito is an Assistant Professor of Sport Pedagogy and Motor Behavior in the Department of Kinesiology, Health Promotion, and Recreation at University of North Texas. He serves as the Director of the UNT Physical Activity and Motor Skill program and Faculty Liaison to the Kristin Farmer Autism Center at UNT. Colombo-Dougovito's research focuses on understanding the motor abilities and development characteristics of individuals on the autism spectrum and how the development motor skills impact social and adaptive skill development, as well as physical activity participation across the lifespan. Through this research, he strives to develop intervention, assessment and teaching strategies to better improve the quality of physical activity participation of autistic individuals.

Eric Dafoe, Ph.D., Certified School Counselor, NCC, is a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of North Texas. His counseling experience includes serving as a family therapist at a Medicaid-funded community counseling clinic and as a school counselor at a K-8  school. His publications, presentations, and research agenda focus on expressive arts, school counseling, school-based mental health services, play therapy, and counselor supervision.

Sarah Deemer earned her BS and MS degrees from the University of Texas at El Paso and her PhD from Texas Woman’s University. Sarah then completed three years of postdoctoral training at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Nutrition Obesity Research Center (NORC). Sarah joined the faculty at UNT in the Fall of 2020. Sarah’s research interests include understanding of the role of exercise and/or nutrition on weight loss and equally important, weight loss maintenance. Specifically, she is interested in the role of the adipocyte and the adipose tissue depot in regulation of insulin sensitivity and metabolic health. Sarah’s research will aim to address the following questions: What important physiological changes occur in the adipocyte as a result of obesity and how does this influence adipocyte remodeling and metabolism, the efficacy of exercise and nutrition interventions for reversing the adverse changes in an “obese” adipocyte, and the integrative mechanisms that mediate the adverse changes associated with obesity and how exercise and nutritional supplements or dietary changes may favorably influence adipocyte metabolism and promote weight loss. Sarah’s additional research interests include the influence of omega-3 fatty acids on insulin sensitivity and adipocytokine production, as well as other nutrition- or exercise-related interventions aimed at reducing the risk of development of Type 2 diabetes and metabolic disease, particularly in minority populations.

Colleen McLean Eddy, Ed.D., is an associate professor in the Department of Teacher Education and Administration for mathematics education and curriculum & instruction. Her degrees include Ed.D. from Baylor University, M.Ed. from Tarleton State University and B.S. from University of Texas at Austin. Her scholarship focuses on herself as a mathematics teacher educator, mathematics teacher educators, preservice teachers, and practicing teachers that incorporates the rehumanizing of mathematics (Gutiérrez, 2013,2018) and equitable pathways in STEM education. Lesson study is one of the professional development tools that has transcended her research and grants. Her research has been supported by grants totaling over $5 million, including the NSF Robert Noyce Scholarship Grant for which she was the Principal Investigator.

Alex Fernandez MS, MPH, CSCS, CPH joined the University of North Texas as a lecturer in the fall of 2022. He earned his BS and MS in Kinesiology from the University of North Texas and his MPH from the University of North Texas Health Science Center. He is board-certified in Public Health through the National Board of Public Health Examiners and a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Alex has work experience in clinical exercise physiology and research, public health programming, personal training, and fitness center management. He strives to bridge the gap between the classroom and practical application to best prepare students for their next steps professionally and academically. He has a passion for health and an innate drive to serve others in any way he can. He hopes to add value and serve as a resource to students and the UNT community. His interests are health and fitness, lifting weights, and learning new things.

After graduating from the University of North Texas, Dr. R. Jefferson George began his career in education as a media specialist for Vernon Community College.  His main focus was to support instruction in a college classroom through a growing use of the available technology.  As interest in video learning technologies increased, he moved to Austin and created his own video production company.  His company created documentary and historical videos for classroom instruction.  After moving to Houston, he began writing children’s books with Texas author Johara Harper and began his career in public education as an eighth-grade science teacher.  He completed his master’s degree in Counseling at the University of Houston and worked as school counselor, a college counselor and a hospital therapist in Houston ISD, Houston Community College and St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital. Dr. George eventually returned to public education as a school administrator, serving as a principal, interim-principal, assistant principal and director of an alternative program.  He then returned to the University of North Texas to complete his doctorate in Educational Leadership.  During this time, he became a mentor in the Graduate Student Teaching Excellence Program through the Center for Learning Enhancement and Redesign and worked with university teachers and leaders to create a classroom with high levels of student engagement and instructional rigor. Dr. George has returned to his interest in learning technologies and creating an engaging classroom with high levels of instructional rigor.  He is developing a series of online doctoral courses for the doctorate in Educational Leadership.  Dr. George is continuing his research into the development of an engaging instructional platform in a virtual environment and understanding the online experience of the native digital learner. Dr. George is a member of the Texas Counseling Association, the Texas Association of School Administrators and Kappa Delta Pi.

Ricardo González-Carriedo’s research interests include bilingual teacher preparation, the internationalization of teacher education programs, literacy development among second language learners, and the representation of Latino students in the media. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of León in Spain and a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction from Arizona State University. Prior to his service at UNT, he worked at the University of Paris, France, for two years and was a secondary teacher in North Carolina and Arizona for 11 years.

Donna Hickman is thrilled to be joining the UNT faculty as a Clinical Assistant Professor this fall. She was previously an Assistant Professor and coordinator of the school counseling program at Texas A&M University-Commerce. Donna is a Licensed Professional Counselor and certified school counselor in the state of Texas. She has 22 years of experience in Texas public schools as an elementary school teacher and counselor. She has also worked with children, adolescents, and adults in private practice. Donna is an active member of several professional counseling associations with presentations on topics such as research mentorship, sandtray therapy, and school counselor supervision. Her research interest areas include professional school counselor advocacy, graduate student mental health, and counselor self-care and wellness.

Jaret Hodges earned a master's degree at the University of Houston, doctorate at Purdue University, and was a postdoctoral researcher at Duke University. His research interests include underrepresented populations in gifted education, rural gifted education, and gifted education policy. He also has an interest in promoting open science practices and the use of computer programming in education research. 

Johnetta Hudson, Ph.D., is a visiting professor of education administration within the Department of Teacher Education and Administration at the University of North Texas. Her scholarship focuses on race, class, and gender issues in education. Within this broad area Hudson has published on women's leadership in a male-dominated culture and leadership for educating a diverse student population. A secondary area of interest is leadership development utilizing technology. Her degrees are from Kentucky State University (BA), University of Nebraska (MA) and Indiana State University (EdS and PhD).

As Vice Provost for Faculty Success, Holly M. Hutchins is responsible for providing strategic leadership to ensure transparent and equitable faulty-related academic policies, effective communication processes, diverse and inclusive learning opportunities, and prestigious faculty awards and recognition processes and events. Vice Provost Hutchins supports UNT’s diverse faculty resource groups, oversees faculty mentoring and developmental grants and initiatives, and leadership fellow programs within academic affairs. She coordinates with other academic affairs units to address faculty human resource issues and provides counsel on developing healthy, just, and sustainable workplace climates. Vice Provost Hutchins’ academic background is in human resource development where her focus has been on training transfer and faculty talent development. She is a proud UNT alumna and completed her Ph.D. in 2004.

Before returning to UNT as Vice Provost, she was professor and department chair at the University of Houston. Spanning her 17 years at UH, Vice Provost Hutchins garnered $4M in funded grants, published over 40 peer-reviewed articles in national and international journals, and has been featured in global media outlets such as NPR, the BBC, Psychology Today, and The Guardian for her work on imposter phenomenon among higher education faculty. Vice Provost Hutchins supports UNT’s HSI and MSI mission by leading and supporting efforts to attract, retain, and advance a thriving and diverse faculty community.

Leslie Jones is a Clinical Professor and Co-Director of the Center for Play Therapy at the University of North Texas. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor-Supervisor and a Registered Play Therapist. Leslie teaches courses in play therapy, child appraisal, and clinical courses. Leslie has over 25 years of play therapy experience including teaching masters level courses, supervising counselors in training, and working with families and children in both community agency and school settings.

Dr. M. Jean Keller is a professor in the University of North Texas Department of Kinesiology and Health Promotion and chair of the North Texas Regional P-16 Council. She recently served as the UNT interim vice president for community engagement and equity and diversity. She supported UNT Dallas as provost and vice chancellor as the institution transitioned to an independently accredited university in the UNT System. She served as dean of the College of Education at UNT for 15 years. Prior to her career at UNT, she was a department chair at the University of Georgia and a member of the faculty at Indiana University.

She has written or edited 11 books and 18 refereed chapters, and authored more than 100 articles. Dr. Keller has given more than 300 presentations in the United States and several countries. She was awarded more than $6 million of funding by external agencies for research and innovative projects. Dr. Keller is a fellow in the Academy of Leisure Sciences and the Academy of Park and Recreation Administration. She has received recognition for extensive work related to health disparities, persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and the North Texas Region P-16 Council, a regional, data-driven collaborative focused on education access and success for all students leading to meaningful employment and quality of life.

Nazia Khan is a senior lecturer in the department of Teacher Education and Administration. She earned her doctorate in science education and concentration in multicultural education from Hofstra University in New York in 2018. Her teaching experience includes Science education, STEM education, and best practices for underrepresented communities. She serves to coordinate optimal student experiences embedded in transformative education in social actions related to science and partnerships with community leaders. 

Khan's research focus is on understanding how to engage and support students and teachers of all communities in science and STEM education with an emphasis on growth mindset. Much of her interests in education are rooted in her experience teaching in New York City for 10 years in a NYC public schools and the City University of New York. Having taught students of all ages in ESL, Black and Latinx communities, Khan promotes and understands the importance of representation in STEM fields, which is a motivating factor of her teaching, research and scholarship.

Kyoung Jin Kim, Ph. D., is a clinical associate professor in the Department of Teacher Education and Administration. She received a Ph. D. in Curriculum & Instruction from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Prior to joining UNT, she was an assistant professor at Arkansas State University, Ball State University, and Wheelock College. In addition, she was a Clinical Assistant Professor at Boston University. Her teaching in higher education has a wide range of both undergraduate and graduate courses including child development, principles of early childhood education, foundations in communication and collaboration with families, professionals, and communities, teaching, and curriculum in diverse early childhood settings, practicum courses, action research, nurturing children’s social competence, environmental processes, and assessment, learning with/from children, advanced studies in early childhood education, and documenting young children’s learning and development.  

All of her teaching experiences inspired her research. Providing a high-quality program for young children is her central interest. She researched program quality in education, teacher evaluation, teacher efficacy in working with diverse families, and professional development to assess teacher quality. Curriculum-wise, she examined many effective programs on different instructional approaches on diverse subject matters such as math, science, art, and critical literacy. Lastly, as diversity is another streamline of her research, she examined racial diversity through role-playing as well as reflected on her own experience as an immigrant mother and teacher educator focusing on diversity and working with immigrant children and families. Her scholarly works have been published in journals such as the International Journal of Early Childhood, Journal of Research in Early Childhood, Journal of Research in Early Childhood, Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, Early Childhood Development and Care, and Early Childhood Education.

Daniel G. Krutka, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Social Studies Education in the Department of Teacher Education and Administration. A former high school social studies teacher in Oklahoma City, his research interests concerns intersections of technology, education, and democracy. Dr. Krutka has authored over 50 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. He was awarded the 2016 Early Career Award by the Technology as an Agent of Change in Teaching and Learning special interest group (SIG) of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and the 2017 Outstanding Research Paper Award from the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). He is past chair of the Social Studies Research SIG of AERA and a past board member for the College and University Faculty Assembly (CUFA) of the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS). He also hosts the Visions of Education podcast (VisionsOfEd.com) and founded the Civics of Technology project (CivicsOfTechnology.org). He earned his doctorate from the University of Oklahoma.

Hyanghee Lee is an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of North Texas. She earned her Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Connecticut in 2018, following completion of her B.A. and M.A. in Child Development and Family Studies at Seoul National University in Seoul, South Korea. Prior to joining UNT, she completed two postdoctoral trainings, working with Dr. Kimberly Henry at Colorado State University (2018-2021), and then working with Drs. Greg Fosco and Mark Feinberg at the Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center at Pennsylvania State University (2021-2022). Her research program focuses on the impact of family dynamics on individual and family development trajectories. 

Matthew Lemberger-Truelove is a Professor of Counseling and Higher Education at the University of North Texas. Dr. Lemberger-Truelove is the Editor of the Journal of Counseling and Development and the past Editor of the Journal of Humanistic Counseling. Also, he served as President of the Association for Humanistic Counseling and as the Senior Associate Editor for the Journal of Child and Adolescent Counseling. Dr. Lemberger-Truelove’s scholarship includes empirical and theoretical writing. His empirical work pertains to counseling practice with children and adolescents, especially in economically challenged K12 schools. His theoretical writings cover a number of areas such as the development of a unique school counseling theory, social justice philosophy, research design, and humanistic counseling. His empirical and theoretical work adhere to the basic supposition that counseling is optimal when counselors help cultivate various internal capacities of clients while simultaneously improving the social opportunities that affect their lives. 

Natalya A. Lindo, PhD, LPC is a Professor and Department Chair at the University of North Texas with 15 years of experience as a researcher and clinician with specialized training in working with children and families, diverse and at-risk populations. Dr. Lindo’s primary research areas are School-based Play Therapy, Child Parent Relationship Therapy, Teacher Child Relationship Building and Career Development across the lifespan. Consistent with this research agenda, Dr. Lindo regularly conducts action-research projects in the public schools related to Child Parent Relationship Therapy and Teacher Child Relationship Building. Most recently Dr. Lindo developed the Child and Adolescent Career Construction Interview aimed at improving self-concept, occupational identity and career adaptability. With a focus on capacity building, Dr. Lindo collaborates with administrators and school counselors to develop school-wide mental health initiatives targeting children who are at risk for school failure.

Ruth McKoy Lowery, Ph.D., is Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Faculty Affairs in the College of Education. She is also  a professor in the Department of Teacher Education and Administration. Dr. Lowery’s research focuses on children’s literature, immigrant and multicultural literature, and the adaptation of immigrant and minority students at-risk of school failure, West Indian immigrants’ adjustment in American, Canadian, and British schools; and preparing teachers to teach diverse student populations. The definitive outcome of her research is to prepare preservice and in-service teachers to create a culturally responsive learning space for all children they will ultimately teach through diverse literature integration in their curriculum. Children’s literature is an important mode of communication and when utilized, stories have the power to break down walls as readers make cross-cultural connections. Her motto “Just read” encapsulates her love of books and belief in sharing great literature with readers of all ages. Dr. Lowery has more than 100 publications including seven books. She is vice-president of the Children's Literature Assembly of the National Council of Teachers of English. Prior to coming to UNT, Dr. Lowery served as Interim Chair and Associate Chair for the Department of Teaching and Learning in the College of Education and Human Ecology at the Ohio State University.

As a literacy educator at UNT since 1997, Janelle Mathis focuses her teaching and research on children’s and adolescent literature, especially works that are multicultural and international. She teaches both undergraduate and courses in children’s and adolescent literature, qualitative research, and literacy topics including multimodality and sociocultural issues. Her research interests, often focused on response to literature and critical content analysis of words and images, are also found in the areas of the transactional theory of reader response, socio-cultural contexts for literacy teaching and learning, critical literacy, and literacy through the arts. She received her doctorate at the University of Arizona in the Department of Language, Reading, and Culture in 1994. She was a teaching assistant and adjunct at the University of Arizona, and she also taught at Northern Illinois University prior to coming to UNT. Published in national and international journals, she is most recently a co-editor and author of "Critical Content Analysis of children’s and Young Adult Literature: Reframing Perspective" (Routledge, 2016) and "Critical Content Analysis of Visual Images in Books for Young People: Reading Images" (Routledge, 2019). Currently serving as co-editor of "Bookbird, An International Journal of Children’s Literature," her professional life outside UNT revolves around and within LRA, NCTE, IBBY/USBBY, and ALA. Her personal life involves traveling, hiking, and learning about “the Blues.”

Dr. Wendy Middlemiss is a Professor in Educational Psychology at the University of North Texas. She earned her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology at Syracuse University in 1992. In her role at the University of North Texas, Dr. Middlemiss is principal investigator for the Home Instruction of Parents of Preschool Youngsters (Texas HIPPY), editor of Family Relations and graduate faculty with a concentration in Human Development and Family Sciences.

Rachel U. Mun is an Associate Professor at the University of North Texas in Educational Psychology. She received her Ph.D. in Education, Learning Sciences and Human Development from the University of Washington. She was also a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Connecticut with the National Center for Research on Gifted Education conducting research on identifying and serving underrepresented gifted learners. Her research interests are two tiered and best described as an intersection between culture, gifted education, and socioemotional well-being. At the micro-level, she explores socioemotional development and decision-making for high-ability students (emphasis on immigrants) within family, peer and academic contexts with the goal to promote well-being. At the macro-level, she examines ways to improve equitable identification and services for K-12 high-ability learners from diverse populations. She has published in Gifted Child Quarterly, Journal for the Education of the Gifted, Journal of Advanced Academics, Roeper Review and Parenting for High Potential.

Ryan Olson joined the University of North Texas as an Assistant Professor in fall 2016. He received his B.S. in Kinesiology and Health Promotion from the University of Wyoming prior to completing his Ph.D. in Nutritional Sciences at Rutgers University. His research interests center on the fields of Sport and Exercise Psychology, with an emphasis on implementing psychophysiological techniques, including electrocardiography and electroencephalography, to identify neural biomarkers of disease. Specifically, Olson focuses on the effects of acute and chronic exercise for improving neurocognitive function and mental health and examining neurocognitive deficits and autonomic function in at-risk populations, especially in concussed and obese individuals.

Pamela Peak earned her Ph.D. in Special Education from the University of North Texas. Dr. Peak has spent more than 30 years working in various capacities in area school districts, but all with students with special needs. Her research focuses on the development and use of educational assessments to reduce the disproportionality of culturally and linguistically diverse students in special education and pre-/in-service teacher preparation. She has developed widely used assessment instruments including the Test of Early Written Language, Third Edition (TEWL-3) and Young Children’s Achievement Test, Second Edition (YCAT-2).

Kelly Perez earned her M.Ed. from Northern Arizona University and worked as a teacher in a K-12 setting in her early career. Her passion for health and fitness led her to obtain her personal training, health coaching, and group exercise instructor certifications. She has taught various formats of fitness such as Pilates, HIIT, step, and indoor cycling for over two decades and worked with a variety of clients. Kelly earned her Master’s in Public Health (MPH) from the University of Arizona and worked in the Department of Health Sciences at Northern Arizona University for twelve years as a teacher and program coordinator. She developed course such as Healthy Lifestyles and Worksite Wellness and coordinated the FIT program which served over 6000 students annually.

Dr. Rachel Ranschaert centers both her teaching and research around justice-oriented teacher education. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degree from the University of Notre Dame and began her career as a middle school teacher in Arizona and Texas. She then went on to the University of Georgia, where she earned her Ph.D. in Educational Theory and Practice and her certificate in Interdisciplinary Qualitative Research. At the University of Georgia, she worked as a teacher educator in the Middle Grades Program.

Her research focuses on the intersection of justice-oriented teacher education and sociopolitical discourses surrounding schools as they manifest in policy, news media, and curriculum. She has also done work related to both middle grades education, school-university partnerships, and qualitative methodologies. Her work has been presented at numerous national and international conferences and  published in Educational Studies, School-University Partnerships, Middle School Journal, The Middle Grades Review, Journal of Media Literacy Education, and several books, most recently Progressive Neoliberalism in Education. Outside of teaching and research, she enjoys cooking, yoga, and reading fiction and poetry.

Anne N. Rinn, Ph.D. is Chair of the Department of Educational Psychology and Professor of Educational Psychology and Gifted Education at the University of North Texas, where she also serves as Director of the Office for Giftedness, Talent Development, and Creativity. She has an undergraduate degree in Psychology from the University of Houston and a doctorate in Educational Psychology from Indiana University. Her research is related to the social and emotional experiences of gifted individuals and the psychosocial skills necessary for the development of academic talent. She has published around 100 journal articles and book chapters, as well as two textbooks: Social, Emotional, and Psychosocial Development of Gifted and Talented Individuals (Rinn, 2020) and From Giftedness to Gifted Education: Reflecting Theory in Practice (Plucker et al., 2017). She was co-editor of the Journal of Advanced Academics from 2017-2022.

Dr. Kevin Rogers recently retired as Superintendent of Lewisville ISD where he worked for 36 years – as classroom teacher, campus principal, assistant superintendent, Chief Operations Officer to Superintendent.  His goal was to provide new opportunities for students and teachers. Examples include new Elementary and Middle School STEM academies, PreK Discovery Academies, a Collegiate Academy at The Colony High School, and the creation of new Student Assistance Counselors.

Dr. Rogers believes school districts benefit from utilizing voices across the district, internal and external, to develop the district’s vision. He developed numerous community, staff, and student advisory groups to seek input and feedback. Under his leadership, the district launched its Four Cornerstones - Student Learning, Student Experience, Community Engagement, and Resource Stewardship which underscored his commitment to real innovation and limitless opportunity for students. His passion has always been to serve – especially students. 

He earned his Bachelor’s degree from North Texas State University (UNT), Master’s degree from TWU and doctorate from UNT.  In 2010, UNT named Rogers the Outstanding Doctoral Student in Educational Administration. Additional awards include Texas Computer Education Association’s State Administrator of the Year, as well as National PTA Lifetime Achievement Award (2015), Town of Flower Mound’s Citizen of the Year (2016), and Lewisville Citizen of the Year (2021). 

Dr. Rogers remains a strong voice for public education with local and regional superintendents.  He participated in important networks such as Future Ready Superintendent Learning Network and North Texas Visioning Consortium while also belonging to state-wide organizations like Fast Growth Schools and Texas Association of School Administrators.

Dr. Brenda Rubio’s research and policy agenda focuses on the development of critically conscious educational leadership and community-district-university partnerships. Among her current research, she examines learning spaces that promote the curricular recognition of alternative epistemologies and the development of pedagogies that foster students’ culture, language, and funds of knowledge. Her research explores the impact of community-anchored, ethnic studies curriculum on the educators themselves, their classroom practices, and their leadership development.

Her experience in educational research and program evaluation is primarily focused on K-12 but extends into higher education. She has conducted research with schools and providers that serve diverse student populations, including schools located in rural border towns and Indigenous pueblos as well as urban, Title 1 schools that primarily serve immigrant and refugee student populations. An essential part of her work as a participatory action researcher focuses on establishing collaborative partnerships across institutions and disciplines to leverage the existing knowledge and expertise found within these communities. Dr. Rubio is a first-generation immigrant and college graduate who proudly continues to serve diverse communities.

Nicole Sankofa is an Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of North Texas. She graduated from Spelman College with a double major in Psychology and Women's Studies and earned a PhD in Educational Psychology from The Ohio State University. She uses a transformativist paradigm and qualitative methodologies to examine the role of self-determination on adolescent/adult development, psychological well-being, and academic outcomes across school, work, and juvenile detention settings. Dr. Sankofa is the course steward for the sequence of qualitative doctoral courses in the Department of Educational Psychology.

Stephanie Silveira joined the University of North Texas as an Assistant Professor in Spring 2021. She received her B.S. in Psychology at Northeastern University prior to completing her Ph.D. in Kinesiology with a concentration in Obesity Studies at the University of Houston. Dr. Silveira subsequently completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Exercise Neuroscience Research Lab at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Her research interests center on the fields of Sport and Exercise Psychology, with an emphasis on health behavior change among persons with chronic disabling conditions. Dr. Silveira’s research includes mixed-methods approaches in order to engage communities in her research creating tailored health promotion programs and examining outcomes such as psychosocial factors, body composition, fitness, diet, and physical activity.

Valerie Stevenson began her education at the University of Memphis, where she started to develop a passion for sports science, Kinesiology and sports medicine. She continued her Master’s education at the University of Arkansas and received a terminal clinical doctorate from the University of Idaho.

As a practicing athletic trainer for more than 10 years, she developed a clinical practice philosophy that involves collecting patient specific outcomes of each patient interaction and basing my clinical decision making on evidence and individual patient needs. As a result of her personal clinical philosophy, she utilized the same approach in teaching both athletic training and pre-occupational therapy students.

Scholarly dissemination of her patient care outcomes has been a priority in her career, as her evidenced-based action research peer-reviewed published manuscripts will show. Using that knowledge and proficiency in research and manuscript composition has also allowed for mentorship opportunities with athletic training doctoral candidates as well as serving as an expert committee member for masters level student research. Her experience using several advanced practice manual therapy techniques in her patient care and her strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS) certification both contribute to her clinical expertise in therapeutic intervention, rehabilitation and differential diagnosis.

Karthigeyan Subramaniam, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Science Education in the Department of Teacher Education and Administration at the University of North Texas where he teaches graduate and undergraduate courses focused on science teacher education. His scholarship focuses on preparation of elementary and secondary science teachers. Before coming to UNT in 2009, he was on the faculty of Penn State University-Harrisburg, where his position was in Elementary Teacher Education and Teaching and in the Curriculum Master’s Graduate Program. He has also been on the faculty of Adelphi University. His bachelor's degree is from the National University of Singapore, Republic of Singapore, his master's degree is from University of Florida, at Gainesville, and his doctoral degree is from the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.

James Uanhoro is an assistant professor in the Research, Measurement and Statistics program in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of North Texas. He received his Ph.D. in 2021 in the Quantitative, Research, Evaluation and Measurement program in the Department of Educational Studies at Ohio State University.

Uanhoro's work focuses on the similarities between multilevel regression models and commonplace measurement models — structural equation models, classical test theory and item response models. Specifically, he attempts to leverage insights from both groups of models to better understand patterns in complex data analysis contexts. Underlying much of this work is Bayesian data analysis, which he also applies in research collaborations with social scientists. Finally, James has an interest in building easy-to-use statistical tools that allow researchers better understand patterns in their data, and better communicate insights from their studies.

Amanda E. Vickery is an Assistant Professor of Social Studies Education/Race in Education at the University of North Texas. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in elementary social studies methods. Her research focuses on how Black women teachers utilize experiential and community knowledge to reconceptualize the construct of citizenship. Additionally, she explores Black women as critical citizens within the U.S. civic narrative. Her scholarship has been published in Theory and Research in Social Education, Urban Education, Race, Ethnicity and Education, Curriculum Inquiry, Journal of Social Studies Research, Multicultural Perspectives, Gender and Education, The High School Journal, Social Studies Research and Practice, and The International Journal of Multicultural Education. Dr. Vickery is active in the social studies community serving on the Executive Board of the College and University Faculty Assembly (CUFA) of the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) as the Social Justice Chair and board liaison to the Scholars of Color Faculty Forum of CUFA. She is also an Affiliate Faculty Board Member for the K-12 Black History Research Consortium for the Carter Center for K-12 Black History Education. Dr. Vickery is a former middle school social studies teacher.

Dr. Robert H. Voelkel, Jr. is an assistant professor in the Department of Teacher Education and Administration. He earned his Ed.D. in Educational Leadership with a focus in social justice from the University of California, San Diego and California State University, San Marcos. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts with an emphasis in Education and a Master of Arts in Education with an emphasis in Curriculum and Instruction from San Diego State University. He is National Board Certified in English Language Arts (6th-10th grades). He is a scholar with over 20 years of experience as a practitioner, serving as an elementary and middle school teacher, middle school assistant principal, and middle school principal. His research interests include school reform, professional learning communities, teacher collective efficacy, school and district level leadership, and social justice. He is also interested in immersive simulations and their role in effective PLC teams and leadership development. Prior to his appointment at UNT, he was an assistant professor in northern Georgia. He also served in the United State Marine Corps for eight years.

Joseph Thomas Walker

Dr. Lok-Sze Wong studies system reform policies as attempts to address systemic inequities. Drawing on education, sociocultural, and organization theories and mixed methods, her research unpacks how systems (re)produce inequities and how to humanely reform schools and districts as complex social systems. She focuses on professional learning opportunities that support teachers and administrators as they shift their practices while redesigning the very organizations in which they work. Dr. Wong began her career in education as an elementary school teacher in Los Angeles. Wong has a Ph.D. in Educational Administration and Policy from the University of Michigan.