Program

Presenter Bios & Contact Information

Angel Acosta For the last decade, Dr. Angel Acosta has worked to bridge the fields of leadership, social justice, and mindfulness. He holds a doctorate degree in Curriculum and Teaching from Teachers College, Columbia University. His dissertation explored healing-centered education as a promising framework for educational leadership development. Acosta has supported educational leaders and their students by facilitating leadership trainings, creating pathways to higher education, and designing healing-centered learning experiences. Visit him online at www.drangelacosta.com.

Dr. Sonja Cherry-Paul is the founder of Red Clay Educators, co-director of the Institute for Racial Equity in Literacy, co-director of the Teach Black History All Year Institute, and executive producer and host of The Black Creators Series. She is an educator with more than 20-years of classroom experience who has written several books that support reading and writing instruction including Antiracist Reading Revolution: A Framework for Teaching Beyond Representation Toward Liberation. Sonja has adapted the #1NYT Best Seller, Stamped (For Kids). Sonja leads professional development for schools and organizations in equity and antiracism. Visit her online at sonjacherrypaul.com.

Rebecca Clapp is the Assistant Director of Training and Professional Development for the Learning Centers at Rutgers University. She is in charge of running and organizing the training and professional development of the Peer Leaders at Rutgers. She also serves as a course coordinator and instructor for the Pedagogy of Peer-Led Learning course that the Rutgers Peer Leaders are required to take. Prior to this role, she was a literacy coach for the Middletown Public School District and an ELA teacher for many years.  rebecca.clapp@rutgers.edu

Dr. Jacqueline Cofield is an Assistant Adjunct Professor at Hunter College and a Joan Tisch Teaching Fellow at The Whitney Museum of Art.  jmc2413@tc.columbia.edu

Terion Cooper is a doctoral student at TC and a Graduate Assistant on the Black Educational Research Center’s Curriculum and Professional Learning Team.  

Dr. Jordan Corson is an Associate Professor of Education and affiliated faculty member of the M.A. in Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Stockton University. His scholarship has appeared in a number of anthropology and curriculum studies journals while his public scholarship includes creating and hosting the podcast Another Education Is Possible. Jordan’s work takes up ethnographic and historical methods to explore issues of unbordered movement and educational theory through anti-colonial and abolitionist praxis. jordan.corson@gmail.com

Suzanne Cort-Alburez holds a BS in Health Studies from Boston University and an MFA in Design & Technology from Parsons School of Design, The New School. She received her American Montessori Society (AMS) Early Childhood Credential in 2016 from the Northeast Montessori Institute. Her enrollment in the MA in Early Childhood Education at Teachers College is driven by her commitment to positively impacting educational environments. She is passionate about fostering healthier work environments, developing effective teacher training platforms, and designing engaging academic curricula. Suzanne.cort@gmail.com

Dennis Dias has been a special education teacher for New York Public Schools in the Bronx for over 11 years. He currently acts as the special education coordinator and intervention teacher at his community middle school work site. dennisdias7@gmail.com

Abby C. Emerson, Ed.D. is currently an Assistant Professor in Elementary Special Education at Providence College. Her research and teaching centers on antiracist and abolitionist teacher education, a critique of whiteness in education spaces, restorative justice, and arts-based research methodologies. As a NYC elementary school teacher she was named the 2018 National Association for Multicultural Education’s Critical Teacher of the Year. ace2119@tc.columbia.edu

Ashly Emerson is an alumnus of the Jaffe Peace Corps Fellowship at Teachers College. She graduated from the TESOL and Applied Linguistics Department and is a current Global History teacher in the International High School Network within New York City Public Schools.

Michelle Flemen-Tung, MSEd, is the program director for the Path Support Team at New York University. She leads a research / practice partnership that works to develop trauma informed practices for community schools. The main focus of her work is facilitating inclusive practices in NYCPS for students with emotional disabilities. She co-authored the Path program’s blueprint with Dorothy Siegel, founder of the Nest program. Michelle is a special educator and leader with over 20 years of experience in advocating for inclusive education practices. mft267@nyu.edu

Carolina Gomez is a 3rd year doctoral student in the Curriculum and Teaching department. Her current research interest includes how settler colonial logics contribute to the spatialized practices of disabled students in schools. cg3362@tc.columbia.edu

Heather M. Goukler EdS (she/her) has been a specialized instruction teacher in Forsyth County, GA for 11 years, teaching and learning with students with complex learning and medical needs. She focuses on daily learning and fierce advocacy for students and families. hgoukler@forsyth.k12.ga.us

Anthony Guzman is a second year student in the MA English Education and Applied Linguistics & TESOL program and dual certification track; and currently a middle school associate ELA and TESOL teacher in the Bronx, focusing on students with limited or interrupted formal education and synergism between artificial intelligence and second language acquisition in K-12 classroom. ag4800@tc.columbia.edu

Dr. Catherine Hagerman Pangan is a Professor of Education at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana. She is honored to work with college students and many community partners around the city. Her work focuses on science and social studies methods, teacher leadership and innovation, pre-service teaching, and lifelong learning. 

Hudson Pangan is a student at Indiana University studying Human Biology and Pre-medicine. Recently he traveled to Los Huevitos supporting healthcare and education efforts in the community. cpangan@butler.edu

Deirdre Lynn Hollman is the Senior Curriculum Specialist at the Black Educational Research Center (BERC) at Teachers College and led the team that developed Black Studies as the Study of the World: A PK-12 Black Studies Curriculum for NYCPS. 

Victoria Hunt is the current and founding Principal of Dos Puentes Elementary School. She holds a doctorate in leadership and bilingual education and received dissertation awards from the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Bilingual Education Research SIG and the National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE). vhunt@dospuentes.org

 Hannah Ingram is a 4th grade teacher at the Center for Early Education in Los Angeles. Hannah has brought her commitment to develop, workshop and document innovative curricula with a particular interest in integrated and emergent curricular frameworks to her work in public and independent schools in New York, Washington, D.C. and California. Hannah is committed to teaching, learning, and organizing collaboratively to further social justice. hannah.ingram@cee-school.org

Alcira Jaar is Assistant Principal and founding staff member of Dos Puentes Elementary School. Alcira holds a doctorate from Teachers College, Columbia University, and has been an educator in New York City Public Schools for over 20 years. ajaar@dospuentes.org

 Michelle Jaconette was a 4th grade teacher at High Tech Elementary, a Project Based Learning school in San Diego, for nine years. Throughout her time in the classroom she designed student-centered, interdisciplinary projects that aligned with High Tech's design principles of: equity, personalization, authentic work and collaborative design. Currently, Michelle works in new teacher preparation. She is the Program Manager for High Tech High's Teacher Credentialing Program and Teacher Residency Program, as well as a course instructor in both programs, and a new teacher supervisor.  mjaconette@hightechhigh.org

Ellin Kim is a PhD candidate in her fourth year of the English Education program at Teachers College whose research focuses on the construction of identities of East Asian American students. Kim earned her MA in TESOL, EdM in Applied Linguistics, and MPhil in English Education, all at Teachers College. Additionally, she serves as the founder and program director of THINK & WRITE, a private educational center in Hicksville, New York, specializing in customizing learning experiences for students of all ages. eek2107@tc.columbia.edu

Jennifer Ku is a doctoral student specializing in music and music education, with a focus on exploring the impact of teacher-student-parent relationships on student learning outcomes in remote settings. Previously, I worked in NYC schools, where I developed music curricula and initiated a strings program. My research aims to enhance educational practices and foster meaningful connections within the music learning community. jbk2169@tc.columbia.edu

Todd Lavine is a special education teacher for the NYCDOE. tlavine@bankstreet.edu

Shiela Lee is currently the Head of Education and an Associate Software Engineer at Chibitronics where she continues to bring art and circuitry to schools and teachers. She loves coding tools for educators and students while tinkering with paper circuits. Have an idea for a collaboration? Reach out! leeshiela@gmail.com

Jessica Light is a K-5 Discovery Lab teacher in New Haven. Her focus is on using STEAM to bring joy and curiosity into her students’ academic lives. Jessicalight@hotmail.com

Rebeca Madrigal is a founding bilingual teacher of Dos Puentes Elementary School. She earned an MA from Teachers College, Columbia University and has over 20 years of experience in New York City Public Schools.  She received the Bilingual Teacher of the Year Award from the New York State Association for Bilingual Education (NYSABE). rmadrigal@dospuentes.org

Christopher McAfee is a 4-6 instrumental music teacher in Northern New York's Ogdensburg City Schools where he focuses on traditional band, instrumental music technology, and informal music ensembles as diverse forms of the beginning band process. As an active member of the music education community, Christopher has spent time as a voting member of the NYSSMA Executive Council and Collegiate President, including time spent advocating for the preservation of music in our schools to the NY State Legislature as well as the creation of annual efforts to connect collegiate and first-year music educators with the NYSSMA Executive Council to voice their concerns within our community. Christopher is a graduate of the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam and current Masters student at Teachers College at Columbia University. cwm2149@tc.columbia.edu

Dr. Seth A. McCall is assistant professor at Lake Superior State University, where he teaches courses in Secondary Education and focuses on social studies, curriculum integration, and community partnerships. smccall@lssu.edu

Andrew Menfi is an alumnus of Teachers College at Columbia University, class of 2013. He has spent the entirety of his career as a high school social studies teacher in the Bronx. He has a particular focus in many of his lessons on using elements of game design to achieve learning goals. amenfi3@gmail.com

Kass Minor is an inclusive educator, author, and doctoral student who is deeply involved in local, inquiry-based teacher research and school community development. Along with her partner and husband, Cornelius Minor, she established The Minor Collective, a community-based movement designed to foster humane education for all. Teacherhood, paired with motherhood, has driven her love of information sharing, redefining who gets to be a knower in the fiery world we live in today. mskassminor@gmail.com

Heather Mohamed is a classroom teacher at a Brooklyn independent school. hmohamed@packer.edu

Mary Anne Mollica has been a science teacher in NYC for 11 years. Outside of the classroom, she serves as a science pedagogy specialist for the INSPIRE program, an NSF-funded partnership between Columbia University and New York City College of Technology aimed at increasing diversity in the geosciences. She is also in her third year in Hunter College's EdD program, where she plans to study the intersection of accessible pedagogies and metacognition in problem solving. mtwoody49@gmail.com

Amanda Najib is a radical educator, activist, author, and PhD student in Social Studies, History, and Global Education at New York University. Her work centers on issues of race, politics, and education in Palestinian communities in the diaspora. She is currently exploring the structural, institutional, and systemic discrimination Palestinian Americans face in an attempt to theorize a Palestinian Critical Race Theory. An2295@nyu.edu

Maureen A. Nisch, M.A., is a 2008 and 2012 graduate of Teachers College, having studied in both the English Education and the Reading Specialist programs. Maureen is currently an AmeriCorps VISTA member working for a non-profit educational center in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia. Maureen helps design and support the center's literacy curriculum for homeschooled students in the area. In addition, Maureen is an active consultant for edTech companies, helping them develop literacy programs and apps, a college advisor to graduate students at WGU, and does private tutoring outside of her home for the local community of homeschooled students. maureen.nisch@gmail.com

Dr. Curtis Palmore currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of United Charter High Schools (formally known as New Visions Charter High Schools), which is the largest charter high school network in New York City. Dr. Palmore holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Morgan State University. He has completed graduate studies at Fordham University and attained an Educational Leadership Master’s Degree from Teachers College, Columbia University. He also received his doctorate in Education Leadership at the University of Pennsylvania.  cpalmore16@unitedcharter.org

Dr. Catherine Hagerman Pangan is a Professor of Education at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana. She is honored to work with college students and many community partners around the city. Her work focuses on science and social studies methods, teacher leadership and innovation, pre-service teaching, and lifelong learning. cpangan@butler.edu

Hudson Pangan is a student at Indiana University studying Human Biology and Pre-medicine. Recently he traveled to Los Huevitos supporting healthcare and education efforts in the community. 

Karin Patterson is a New York City public school teacher whose 6th grade English language learners from PS 126 in Chinatown won NPR's Student Podcast Challenge 2020. Currently teaching English as a New Language at PS 163 on the UWS, she has started a new podcast with 3rd-5th graders. In the past two years, her 5th grade students have earned honorable mentions in NPR's Student Podcast Challenge. kpatterson@schools.nyc.gov

Dane Peters is a doctoral student at TC and a Graduate Assistant on the Black Educational Research Center’s Curriculum and Professional Learning Team. 

Briony Price (she/they) is an artist and educator in New York City, serving as the Musical Theater faculty at Gramercy Arts High School. She is passionate about creating joyful and inclusive spaces in music and arts education. As a 2025 Grammy Award Quarterfinalist, she leads VOICES ON - New York, a music initiative focused on amplifying young talent across NYC. Her artistic journey began at The Arts Educational School in London and has taken her worldwide, including Italy, New York, Sri Lanka and South Korea where she established a music program for resettled North Korean refugees in Seoul. Her recent credits include Carnegie Hall, Google Arts and Culture, and HBO, and you can follow her work at https://linktr.ee/brionyprice.  She is a Teachers College graduate (Class of ‘23).   briony.price.gev@gmail.com

Dr. Laurie Rabinowitz is an Assistant Professor of Education Studies at Skidmore College. LRabinowitz@skidmore.edu

Dr. Shamari Reid is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning at New York University. As a scholar he is committed to transforming schools into sites of equitable opportunities for Black LGBTQ+ youth. In addition, his work examines radical love as a moral imperative in social justice education and as a path toward culturally sustaining school communities, which he explores in his recent book, Humans who Teach: A Guide to Centering Love, Justice, and Liberation in Schools. skr329@nyu.edu

Neida Rodriguez is a Kitchen and Garden Teacher with Edible Schoolyard NYC at Brooklyn Gardens Elementary School in East New York. She has been a teacher there for three years, and it was in her first year that she realized there that the school lacked a culturally relevant land-based curriculum.  She has since worked to address this gap! nr@esynyc.org

Sarah Schlessinger, EdD is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning at NYU. Her research and teaching focus on social justice as it is enacted through inclusive classroom practices, specifically referring to notions of normalcy, marginalization, and exclusion and the intersections of race, class, and ability. This research interest lies predominantly in the field of teacher education. You can buy her book, The Resilient Teacher: Creating Positive Change through Inclusive Classrooms, here: https://livedplacespublishing.com/book/isbn/9781915734457. ss5933@nyu.edu

Dara Shapiro is currently an AP Literature and 12th grade English teacher in Los Angeles. She taught bilingual students in the Bronx for 3 years. <Dss506@nyu.edu

Eric Shieh is a School Designer and Coach at New York City Outward Bound Schools, and serves as an adjunct professor in the Education Policy program at Teachers College, Columbia University. His practice and research center the work of teachers and schools in education policy, and social justice in the arts and in school change efforts. He was previously a founding teacher and leader at the Metropolitan Expeditionary Learning School in New York City, and the founder of four prison arts programs in Detroit and St. Louis. eshieh@nycoutwardbound.org

Haley Siegel is a Senior Program Manager at Teaching Lab where she leads a team of 6-12th grade math coaches, supporting their work with educators and students to implement high-quality, curiosity-driven math curricula that centers conceptual understanding. Haley began her career as a middle school math teacher in Chicago, after graduating from Michigan State University with a degree in Special Education-Learning Disabilities, K-12. She later moved to New York, expanding her focus to coaching, facilitation, and project management. Passionate about youth-centered work, Haley strives to shift narratives, integrate diverse cultural experiences into learning, and champion inclusive education. haleysiegel3@gmail.com

Pavita Singh is a doctoral student in Health Promotion & Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. In addition to being a student, she is also a faculty member and teaching assistant in her department and a writing fellow at the Graduate Writing Center. Her dissertation work takes a narrative approach to exploring the envisioned reproductive futures of Sikh young women in the United States. Pavita is the award-winning, international bestselling author of two poetry books: To All the Magic in Me and Psyche. ps3359@tc.columbia.edu

Dr. Rachel Talbert is a Lecturer in the Curriculum and Teaching Department at Teachers College, Columbia University.  She is also a Postdoctoral Fellow of the Spencer National Academy of Education. rlt2138@tc.columbia.edu

Carlie Tietjen, Katharine Todd, and Tania Wickes are three colleagues who graduated from the Applied Educational Psychology, Reading Specialist program at Teachers College. They draw upon their diverse backgrounds and experiences to work with students of all ages and assist teachers in refining their practice. They are excited about the current shifts in the reading world. taniawickes@gmail.com

Dr. Amy Tondreau is an Assistant Professor of Literacy at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. atondrea@umbc.edu

Consuelo Villegas was the founding Parent Coordinator at Dos Puentes Elementary School and worked there for eleven years. She held numerous positions in NYC public schools during her  23 years of service. She was honored for her Civil Service work and was awarded NYSABE Bilingual Support Personnel of the Year.  She was born in Columbia, South America.  

David Vining is a doctoral candidate in Curriculum and Teaching at Teachers College. He has been a head teacher at Columbia Greenhouse Nursery School for twelve years. He is also an Adjunct Lecturer in the School of Education at Hunter College. dwv2103@tc.columbia.edu

Heather L Walter, Ed.D, is an Assistant Professor of Special Education, a Senior Scholar for the Center for the Advancement of Wellbeing, and an Educational Consultant. Her expertise builds upon over 15 years in diverse education settings cultivating the unique strengths of individuals and communities by partnering and providing support in the recruitment and retention of highly qualified educators and the wellbeing and sustainability of educational systems. Dr. Walter has been recognized for the 2021 Dissertation Award in Mixed Methods for the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and her contributions to policy research through the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD). heather@heatherwalterconsulting.com

Dr. Xiaoyi Wei is a dedicated constructivist researcher and educator focused on advancing multilingualism, multiculturalism, and antiracism. Grounded in an interdisciplinary and critical framework, her teaching and research emphasize translanguaging and multimodality. xw2569@tc.columbia.edu

Shari Wejsa-Stewart is a PhD student in the Teaching of Social Studies program at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her research explores the intersections of citizenship, belonging, and racial and ethnic identity for Spanish and Portuguese-speaking immigrant-origin youth. She taught high school Spanish and social studies in New Jersey and Latin American migration history at Emory University based on her research in Brazil about the experiences of refugees from Angola who fled during the decolonization of Portuguese Africa. sw2661@tc.columbia.edu