Presenter: Liz Barber
Liz Barber is an experienced teacher, literacy studies professor, and ethnographic researcher. She teaches and conducts participatory action research projects in both Greensboro, North Carolina, and Domasi, Malawi. Her research focuses on literacy and leadership as these develop within cultures or communities of practice.
Presenter: Yvette Brideau
Yvette Brideau has created many programs and events in the school community and the larger community. Several of her projects were created to bridge the school and community. She continues to creative unique educational and community programs and events. She has the tenacity and organizational skills to implement her ideas. All done in an effort to enrich children’s lives and promote community. / A list of some of the events and programs she is part of or has created will demonstrate her dedication and accomplishments. Yvette Brideau is part of 100 Black Woman of Suffolk County. She created an annual African American event in the school in Central Islip to celebrate the contributions and accomplishments of African Americans. She is part of a Literacy Team, in which among other thing she created, I am the Voice. An afterschool enrichment program that promotes literacy. It gives at risk children a voice through literacy and character educated. An integral part of the program brings in community member as authentic role models for success. She working on implementing this program the Central Islip community at the public library to reach the larger community. She is part of Council for Unity created as an anti violence campaign in the school and the community. Part of which she co-create Rock the Mike, which gives student a public venue to perform and dialogue about antiviolence. She part of a Human Rights Day Event, collaboration between Central Islip School District and Touro Law Center. It is a yearlong program culminating in an event at Touro Law Center, where student of several school district meet community members, who are survivors of human rights abuses and then work with a variety of community associations in pull out workshops for the young people. All in an effort to give the young people the skills and knowledge to proactively prevent human rights abuses. Yvette Brideau creativity and tireless dedication to important programs and events enriches the lives of young people who need much, and continues to have a positive effect in our community.
Presenter: Jean Coppola
Jean F. Coppola is an associate professor of Information Technology in the Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems at Pace University, New York. Her research interests include service-learning in higher education computing programs, gerontechnology, and intergenerational computing. Her studies focus on how technology helps improve the quality of life in older adults, enhance cognitive functioning, as well as how intergenerational computing programs change student attitudes towards the elderly. Research efforts have led to awards including: American Society of Aging MetLife MindAlert Award for Mental Fitness Program; Isabel Brabazon Award for Evaluation and Research in Intergenerational Programs; Women: Builders of Communities and Dreams; and the Jefferson Award for Public Service.
Presenter: Lin Drury
Lin J. Drury, PhD, RN is an associate professor of community health nursing with more than thirty years of classroom and clinical teaching experience focused on vulnerable populations and older adults in underserved areas.
Presenter: Megan Grimsley-Smith
Megan Smith has served on the North Carolina Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service since February 2006. In this capacity, Megan has lead interest meetings between community partners to implement a new AmeriCorps program, presented information about AmeriCorps and other state programs to college groups, and designed a community service website for the employees of Metrics, Inc. Megan worked for Metrics, Inc, a contract pharmaceutical company, for two years as a lab analyst. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Chemistry and Biology from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke and is currently pursuing a doctorate of pharmacy degree at UNC. She lives with her husband, Chris, in Chapel Hill, NC.
Presenter: Abha Gupta
Dr. Abha Gupta, currently an Associate Professor of Language and Literacy Education at Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia, has been the past director of ODU’s Reading Center and the federally funded America Reads Program. Her main research interests center on language and literacy development. Dr. Gupta received a doctorate degree from the University of Arizona in Tucson. She has numerous publications in literacy education and has made many presentations at international, national, state and local conferences. She is an educational consultant with Educational Testing Service (ETS) and has received research grants at corporate, federal and state levels. She is the Principal Investigator for a Title II, No Child Left Behind grant on Teacher Quality Improvement that is funded by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV). Dr. Gupta is a member of the International Reading Association’s Learning and Diversity Committee.
Presenter: Alicia Hartsfield
Alicia Hartsfield is a former AmeriCorps member and now works for the NC Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service as the Deputy Executive Director, AmeriCorps Program Management Officer. While serving in the position for over 12 years, she has supported AmeriCorps programs in ensuring full compliance with federal regulations. She has also worked to identify organizations with capacity to manage an AmeriCorps grant. Alicia is a graduate of Appalachian State University and enjoys exercising, reading and listening to Reggae music.
Presenter: Sharon Jacobs
Sharon Jacobs is principal of Washington Montessori and a founding and sustaining partner in SMART PATH. She plays a central role in the ongoing development of the program, and writes and conducts research on program outcomes.
Erica Wright, Blayre Penn, Bethany Penn, Markus Webb and Markus Gibson are senior members of the SMART PATH Student Leadership Team, and have served as tutors, site directors and/or research assistants for the program for their entire 4 years at the university. As senior program leaders they plan, develop, carry out, assess outcomes and present at conferences and publish their findings.
Brianna Cooke, Destenie Nock, Samantha Bauguess, Brianna Griswold, Carl Redd, Candace Graves, Stephen Chestnut, Brittany McLean andTranea Jones are experienced SMART PATH tutors who are new to the Student Leadership Team this fall.
Presenter: Abby Kiesa
As Youth Coordinator & Researcher at CIRCLE, Abby serves as liaison to practitioner organizations across the country. She communicates research findings and tracks recommendations from young people, youth-serving organizations, and educators for future research. Abby also coordinates CIRCLE’s qualitative research and selected evaluation projects. She is coordinating CIRCLE’s ongoing research focused on young people who do not have college experience. Through this project and others she has moderated many focus groups and interviews. Previous to CIRCLE, Abby organized students around the country as part of a national campaign of Campus Compact to increase youth involvement in public life. She has contributed to several publications and co-edited ‘Raise Your Voice: A Student Guide to Making Positive Social Change’. In 2007 Abby was named an Emerging Leader in Service-Learning, “a two-year intensive experience designed to elevate and prepare a new, culturally diverse generation of service-learning leaders committed to working with traditionally under-served populations, schools, and communities.” In addition to working at CIRCLE, she is a graduate student in American Studies at the University of Maryland College Park.
Presenter: Erin Lee
Erin Lee, MLIS, is the public services librarian for National Service Resources and Training, the home of both the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse and the Resource Center. She provides reference and referral services and literature searches, and is responsible for ensuring an up-to-date and comprehensive service-learning resource collection. Erin provides both in-person and virtual training sessions on locating service-learning resources. Prior to joining NSRT, Erin worked as an academic reference librarian and taught classes on information literacy.
Presenter: Beth Ponder
Beth Ponder is Associate Director of the Center for Literacy Studies, University of Tennessee, Knoville. Beth is the project director for the LINCS Region 2 Professional Development Center and has been providing professional development for adult educators for more than ten years.
Presenter: Tom Smith
Tom Smith teaches courses in educational foundations, service learning, ethics and educational psychology. He is coauthor of a recent book on classroom dynamics and cognition, and has an abiding interest in social justice, critical literacy, and other empowering pedagogies of hope.
Presenter: Barbara Thomas
Barbara A. Thomas is an Assistant Professor of Nursing at Westchester Community College, Valhalla, New York. Barbara Thomas holds an RN, a M.A. in Nursing, M.S. in Nursing, and a Family Nurse Practitioner Advanced Degree with 30+ years of teaching nursing in Nursing Degree programs. Professor Thomas has 30+ publications in the areas of smart e-classrooms, critical thinking, hand-held computers, and nursing informatics. Her current research focuses on gerontechnology.
Presenter: Davonna Thomas
Davonna Thomas is a second-year student in the Literacy Studies PhD program at Middle Tennessee State University. She has taught first-year composition at the College of Lake County (Grayslake, IL) and developmental reading at MTSU (Murfreesboro, TN).
Presenter: Joseph Walker
In 1984, Joseph Walker graduated from the University of Liberia, Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting. Amongst several subjects studied, he became an HR Block Tax Specialist - 2004 - 2010. He currently serves as Treasurer on the Board of Directors of Immigrant Teens Empowered for Stewardship in Africa, Inc. (ITESA) - a non-profit group which counsels African immigrant teens in personal health practices, principles and practices of healthy self-concept and good self-esteem, and sound cultural awareness. His organization mentors them in personal responsibility, engaging and participating in local communities, and how they may continue to contribute to the well-being of the continent of Africa.
Since September, 2010 he has served as Coordinator, AMERICORPS Federal Work-Study program, NC Literacy Corp. This offers the responsibility of Managing the America Reads Work-study (Community Service) program which employs NCCU Students as Tutors to teach in several elementary schools with the goal of improving literacy programs in those schools. The program supports several elementary schools in the City of Durham, assessing their needs and providing volunteer tutors to assist PreK-3rd grade. He creates spreadsheets and other tools to collect vital data regarding impact of tutors on the students the engage/teach as well as create publicity documents/flyers, informing the NCCU community of the America Reads program.
Presenter: Barbara Wasik
Babara Hanna Wasik, PhD, is a clinical/school psychologist who holds a William R. Kenan, Jr. Distinguished Professorship in the School of Education at UNC. She is also a Fellow of the FPG Child Development Institute at UNC. She serves as a consultant to national organizations and has held office in state and national organizations, including the American Psychological Association. She was an invited participant to the White House Conference on Child Care and served as a member of the Committee on Early Childhood Pedagogy of the National Academy of Sciences. Her research focuses on early childhood interventions, family literacy, social and cognitive development, problem solving, home visiting, and the observational study of children. She is the author or co-author of several books including the Handbook of Family Literacy, the Handbook of Child Development & Early Education, and Home Visiting, Procedures for Helping Families.
Presenter: Sharon Wexler
Sharon Stahl Wexler, PhD, RN, BC is Assistant Professor of Nursing at Lienhard School of Nursing, Pace University, New York, NY, teaching in the undergraduate program. Dr. Wexler has a BS in Nursing from Simmons College, Boston, MA, an MA in Nursing and a PhD in Nursing Research and Theory Development from New York University College of Nursing. Dr. Wexler is a certified Gerontological Clinical Nurse Specialist. Dr. Wexler’s area of research is acute care of older adults and specifically the maintenance of functional status in older adults.
