Since Fall 2006, Teachers College has been adding impressive new faculty members across its three core fields of education, psychology, and health. These new hires represent more than 40 percent of the College's full-time tenure-track faculty. Joining TC this year are:
Brianna Avenia-Tapper, Assistant Professor of Teaching English as a Second LanguageBrianna Avenia-Tapper, Assistant Professor of TESOL and Applied Linguistics. Falling within the broad realm of investigations into power, language, and academic achievement, Dr. Avenia-Tapper’s work focuses on the grammatical constructions useful for content area discourse and the grammatical underpinnings of historically marginalized students’ academic experiences. Currently, she is investigating the use and interpretation of deictic terms and conditional constructions in science classroom discourse. Her related interests include systemic functional linguistics, home language use in content area instruction, and innovations in preparing content area teachers to effectively meet the content area language needs of linguistically diverse learners. Dr. Avenia-Tapper earned her Ph.D. in TESOL from New York University. She has taught courses on academic language teaching/learning and second language literacy at NYU and Hunter College. Before beginning her doctoral studies, she taught primary grade curriculum to young second language learners in the United States and Kazakhstan.
Alex Eble, Assistant Professor of Economics and EducationAlex Eble, Assistant Professor of Economics and Education. Dr. Eble’s research focuses on the microeconomics of education in developing countries and on how to raise learning levels in "pockets of poverty" in these countries. His related interests include research methodology, particularly sources of bias in randomized controlled trials, and the behavioral economics of education decisions made under duress. Dr. Eble has been a research and project manager at Effective Intervention, a research group in the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics, where he developed and coordinated randomized controlled trials and retrospective evaluations of primary education and health education interventions in India, Guinea Bissau, and The Gambia. He also has several years of professional and research experience working on development in China. Eble earned his Ph.D. in economics from Brown University, his M.Sc. in Development Studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science and his B.A. from Indiana University, Bloomington.
Sonya Douglass Horsford, Associate Professor of Education Leadership and Senior Research Associate at TC’s Institute for Urban and Minority Education (IUME)Sonya Douglass Horsford, Associate Professor of Education Leadership and Senior Research Associate at TC’s Institute for Urban and Minority Education (IUME). Dr. Horsford’s research focuses on the intersections of race, inequality, and the social context of education leadership, particularly at the district and state levels. Horsford is the editor or co-editor of three books and author of Learning in a Burning House: Educational Inequality, Ideology, and (Dis)Integration (Teachers College Press, 2011). Her latest book project, The Politics of Education Policy in an Era of Inequality: Possibilities Toward Democratic Schooling (with Janelle Scott and Gary Anderson, slated for publication in Fall 2017), is an education policy and politics text for practicing and aspiring education leaders. Dr. Horsford earned her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership in 2007 and Master of Public Administration in 2002 from University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Prior to joining Teachers College, she served as an Associate Professor of Education at George Mason University and Assistant Professor of Education Leadership at University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She also served as Senior Resident Scholar of Education at The Lincy Institute at UNLV, an applied research institute committed to building Southern Nevada’s civic capacity and infrastructure in the areas of health, education, and social services through community-based, research-practice partnerships.
Cindy Y. Huang, Assistant Professor of Counseling PsychologyCindy Y. Huang, Assistant Professor of Counseling Psychology. Dr. Huang's research focuses on understanding the cultural factors associated child development and psychopathology for ethnic minority and immigrant youth, and the prevention of psychopathology for these youth. She translates this research into culturally-informed, evidence-based child and family interventions to promote service engagement and utilization for undeserved communities. Dr. Huang earned her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Oregon and completed postdoctoral fellowships in the Division of Prevention and Community Research at Yale School of Medicine and the Asian American Center on Disparities Research at the University of California, Davis. She earned her M.A. and B.A. in Psychology from San Diego State University.
Jeffrey M. Young, Professor of Practice in Education LeadershipJeffrey M. Young, Professor of Practice in Education Leadership. Before joining the faculty at TC, Young served as Superintendent of Schools in Cambridge, Massachusetts from 2009 through 2016, following terms as Superintendent in the Massachusetts cities of Newton, Lexington and Lynnfield. He began his career in education as an English teacher, Department Chair, and Curriculum Coordinator in Brookline, Massachusetts. Dr. Young was a member of the Adjunct Faculty at the Boston University School of Education and has delivered talks at various institutions of higher learning as well as at the International Education Conference in Beijing. He has been recognized by the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents with the President’s Award; Brandeis University with the Levitan Award for Leadership; and the Cambridge NAACP with the Martin Luther King, Jr. Award for his work “to provide an effective, innovative education to ALL of Cambridge’s children regardless of race or class.” Dr. Young received his B.A. in English and American Literature from Brandeis University, his master’s degree in education from Tufts University, and his doctorate in education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. As a new member of the TC faculty, Dr. Young reports that he is struggling with his identity as a as a fan of the Boston Red Sox.
Martinque "Marti" Jones, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Counseling and Clinical PsychologyMartinque “Marti” Jones, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Counseling and Clinical Psychology. Dr. Jones’ research focuses on Black racial identity development, identity intersectionality, and culturally-responsive counseling with racial/ethnic minority college students. Currently, she is examining the intersection of race and gender among Black women. Her related interests include exploration of mental health concerns and help-seeking behavior among Black college women, as well as the development of culturally-informed interventions targeted at this population. Dr. Jones earned her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Houston, her M.Ed. in Counseling from the University of Houston and her B.A. in Psychology from the University of Texas.
Read about other faculty who have joined Teachers College in recent years.
