Ajanique Dunlap is a student at California State University, Sacramento. Ajanique’s goal is to major in Criminal Justice. After graduation, Ajanique will be pursuing a career in the criminal justice field. Ajanique has experienced foster care and homelessness and has a passion to work for youth and on behalf of youth who have experienced the same.
Alisha Powell, Ph.D., LCSW graduated from Walden University with a doctoral degree in social psychology. She completed her graduate studies in social work, receiving her MSW at the University of Denver, and her undergraduate studies in social work, earning her BSW at Oakwood University. Alisha completed a post-graduate certificate in marriage and family therapy at Denver Family Institute. She has experience working in a variety of settings, including long-term care, hospitals, outpatient clinics, residential centers, and hospice. Alisha currently works as an outpatient therapist and adjunct professor.
Alyssa Kennedy received her bachelor's degree in Health & Societies: Health Policy from the University of Pennsylvania and is currently pursuing a Master of Public Health from the same school. She works full-time at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital’s Infectious Disease department as the HIV Ambulatory Outpatient & Ryan White Program Manager. She also works at Prevention Point Philadelphia as a case manager at their weekly Ladies’ Night event, in addition to being a harm reduction specialist in the mobile syringe exchange program. In both positions, Alyssa has served the homeless population facing either HIV/AIDS and/or substance abuse issues. In the near future, Alyssa is preparing to go to law school to pursue a career as a public health and interest lawyer.
Andrew Selepak, PhD is a professor in the department of telecommunication at the University of Florida, and Program Coordinator of the graduate program in social media.
Angela Medellin is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Registered Play Therapist. She is co-owner of Mind Works Clinical and Counseling Psychology, a private practice for children and families in San Antonio, Texas. She specializes in the treatment of mental health disorders in children ages three and up. She is passionate about helping children and families succeed and receive the best care and support possible. She actively engages others in the profession by providing supervision and mentorship. She is also a strong advocate in her profession and volunteers her time on her state board as the Secretary for The Texas Association for Play Therapy. She enjoys spending quality time with her family, beach getaways, and trying new food. For more information check out her website at www.mindworkstx.com.
A’nna Jurich, MS., LCPC., CRADC, is the Executive Director of the Gateway Foundation in Carbondale, Illinois.
April Preyar is a criminal defense and civil rights attorney. A graduate of Duke University and George Washington Law School, she has practiced for 21 years. She is a partner in her own boutique firm. She created JustUs Junkie, an educational platform that uses videos, workshops, and her original board game, Trials & Triumph, to teach law in simple terms. Preyar's most popular video garnered 1.2 million views in 24 hours! She has appeared on ABC News Chicago, NBC News Chicago, CBS News, Daily Mail TV, and the Oxygen Channel and in the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, AfroTech, the ABA Journal, Essence magazine, and many other outlets.
Arelis Benítez is a practical theologian and doctoral student at Vanderbilt University. She is a first-generation daughter of Mexican immigrant parents and a recipient of the Posse Foundation scholarship which facilitated her entrance to academic education.
Ben Barrett is a social worker who supports adults with mental illness. Ben has a dual bachelor degree in psychology and Spanish language and literature from North Carolina State University and a Master of Social Work from Western Michigan University. He gives back by contributing to his website The How to Social Worker (www.thehowtosocialworker.com).
Briana Hollis is a licensed social worker and self-care coach. She has a Master of Science in Social Administration from Case Western Reserve University and currently works in crisis intervention.
Bryan Hall is Academic Dean of the School for Professional Advancement and a Professor of Liberal Arts at Regis University in Denver, Colorado. He is a two-time Fulbright Scholar and the staff-author of three books: An Ethical Guidebook to the Zombie Apocalypse: How to Keep Your Brain without Losing Your Heart (Bloomsbury, 2020), The Post-Critical Kant (Routledge, 2014), and The Arguments of Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason (Lexington Books, 2010). Dr. Hall received his Ph.D. from the University of Colorado, Boulder and his BA from the University of Denver.
Carina Ramirez serves as a case manager for StarVista’s Foster Youth Education Enrichment Program. Prior to StarVista, she worked as a program coordinator for another Bay Area nonprofit. Originally from Brazil and raised in San Francisco, she attended California State East Bay University where she earned a degree in sociology with an emphasis in social services. She has a passion for helping others, and hopes this passion is carried on to her two children.
Chris Drew is an eLearning Advisor with Swinburne University and staff-author of the Helpful Professor blog. He has a Ph.D. in Education and has been teaching online for more than five years. He loves the flexibility online classes provide and believes they offer huge benefits for busy students. His online learning research can be found in the journals eLearning and Digital Media and the Australasian Journal of Educational Technology.
Cooper Breeden is the Conservation Coordinator at the Southeastern Grasslands Initiative based out of Austin Peay State University. Also serving as the coordinator for the Tennessee Plant Conservation Alliance, he works directly on rare plant conservation projects throughout Tennessee and its neighboring states in collaboration with state and federal agencies, university researchers, and various other organizations. Cooper began his career with a bachelor's in international business. After a few years in the international development field, he decided to play a part in conserving our rapidly deteriorating landscapes. These experiences led him to earn an M.S. in Biology from Austin Peay, specializing in plant ecology, and to his career trajectory.
Crystal Yarbrough currently is a full-time student at the University of Wisconsin (UW) in the teacher education distance program, where she is working on a bachelor of science in elementary education with a minor in instruction. Upon completing her degree, Crystal’s goal is to teach in a classroom of her own.
David Ceron has been an educator for 14 years with experience in elementary, middle school, and high school. He normally has worked in areas where the ELL population is 50% or higher.
Dr. Angela Velez-Solic has been an educator for 22 years, beginning her career in the traditional classroom environment. She has spent the last 15 years in online learning as a designer, educator, faculty trainer and developer, training over a thousand teachers about how to teach online. Dr. Velez-Solic has recently created and directs a Center for Teaching Excellence and Innovation at Rush University in Chicago. You can find her book, Teaching Online Without Losing Your Mind on Amazon.
Dr. Deniece Dortch is committed to getting students into and through college successfully. Hailed as a graduate-school expert by NPR, she is the creator of the African American Doctoral Scholars Initiative and a Visiting Assistant Professor at George Washington University. She holds degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Teachers College at Columbia University, Vermont’s School for International Training Graduate Institute, and Eastern Michigan University. https://www.deniecedortch.com/
Froswa’ Booker-Drew is responsible for the development and implementation of the State Fair of Texas' philanthropic giving and the department’s community and educational programming as the Director of Community Affairs and Strategic Alliances. She is responsible for the creation of several State Fair signature programs and is the Co-Founder of HERitage Giving Circle, the first African American Women’s Giving Circle in Texas. She works closely with nonprofits throughout Dallas and has spoken on building strong relationships between donors and organizations.
Dr. Kaple is a writer and researcher with a Ph.D. in the humanities from Indiana University-Bloomington. He has worked as a private tutor and possesses over 15 years of experience as a teacher and student mentor.
Elizabeth Minei is an Associate Professor at Baruch College in New York City. She has taught online for four years and received training as a Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) Fellow and a Hybrid and Online Educational Instruction Fellow. In addition to teaching courses, Dr. Minei is the host of a podcast called Will This be on the Test? which specializes in tips and tactics to get ahead in online education.
Fred Amrein is a nationally recognized expert on college funding and student loan repayment.He has the most approved CFP courses covering these topics.Fred is the founder and CEO of PayForED.com, which provides software and training programs to solve the student debt crisis.
Dr. Gayle is the Assistant Vice President of Academic Affairs for Online Learning and Program Development and Dean of Graduate Education and Professional Studies at St. Francis College in Brooklyn, New York.
Hailey Reynolds comes from a family of educators. Her mother was a veteran Kindergarten teacher for close to 30 years, while she is currently in her fifth year as an educator. She teaches middle school social studies at a Title I school in Georgia. She holds a B.A. in Religious Studies from Belmont University and an M.A. in Elementary Education from Tennessee Technical University.
Hilary Russo is The HIListically Speaking™ Health Coach. In addition to being a college professor of communications at St. John's University in NYC, she’s also an award-winning health/wellness journalist, certified holistic health coach, and certified Havening Techniques practitioner. Hilary not only incorporates Havening, a neuroscience-based approach into her own daily life, but she also puts the power of emotional well-being in the hands of her clients and students to encourage them to be kind to their minds.
Holly Severson, LPC, is a therapist, coach, and writer who has a master’s degree in counseling psychology from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon, and has been a practicing licensed professional for over 20 years. She specializes in issues that are relationship-oriented. You can find her newest venture, Grace Untethered, at www.graceuntethered.com or on Facebook. Grace Untethered offers support to women in midlife going through a divorce, focusing on encouragement to grow with integrity, grace, and compassion.
Janet Philbin is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Certified Hypnotherapist and Certified Conscious Parenting Coach. Janet helps adults heal from the emotional pain and trauma of their past. She is the owner of Janet Philbin, ACSW a private psychotherapy and hypnotherapy practice. For 21 years Janet has been successfully helping people recover from their emotional wounds and change their lives with the power of transformational healing and hypnotherapy.
Jason C. McClaren is an Air Force Veteran, Firefighter, and founder of business continuity and disaster recovery consultancy, Jason McClaren & Associates. As a trusted business continuity advisor and practitioner, Jason regularly works with government, industrial, higher education, and healthcare organizations.
Jonathan Roberts is the co-founder and director of the Ancient Language Institute, an online language school and think tank dedicated to changing the way ancient languages are taught. He and his colleagues have taught Latin and Ancient Greek to hundreds of students. Jonathan graduated from The King’s College in New York City with a degree in politics, philosophy, and economics and received a master of arts in philosophy from the University of Missouri in 2017.
Judi Alperin King is the founder and director of The Wily Network. Wily Scholars are promising students who are experiencing life challenges such as homelessness or foster care, or whose parents may be deceased, dealing with addiction, mental health issues, or incarceration. The Wily Network provides a critical safety net for these Scholars as they navigate college on their own. The Wily program offers weekly clinical coaching, financial assistance, community-building support, and networking opportunities to help them move from surviving to thriving.
Karen Blumberg, MA, LCMHC holds a Master’s degree in counseling psychology and is licensed as a psychotherapist. She has an extensive background working with children, teenagers and trauma. Karen is trained in several clinical modalities including couples counseling, family systems counseling, Emotionally Focused Therapy, Internal Family Systems, Hypnotherapy, and Narrative therapy.
Dr. Kris Boksman, Ph.D., C.Psych. is a clinical psychologist in Kingston, Ontario. She has been providing psychological treatment and consultation for over ten years, with specific expertise in the treatment of depression, trauma, and narcissistic abuse. She is a Certified Brainspotting Therapist. Dr. Boksman owns and directs a mental health clinic called Limestone Clinic.
Kristen Hall is an elementary music teacher in a small town in rural Ohio. She teaches general music and choir to approximately 650 students in grades K-5. She holds a master's degree in music education from Heidelberg University.
Lindsey Richard is a visual arts educator in the Somerville (Massachusetts) Public Schools, where she helps students become thoughtful and creative problem-solvers. She resides in nearby Medford, Massachusetts, with her fiancé, their cat Poppy, and lots of houseplants. She holds a degree in art and is completing a graduate program in arts education at Framingham State University. In her classroom, Lindsey cultivates an inclusive community that engages students as individuals, prepares them for professional success, and connects their learning to real-world themes.
Marion Taylor is accredited by the Gap Year Association and a current board member. She has been working for 10 years as a gap year counselor combining her social work background (MSW), her parenting perspective (all four of her children participated in gap experiences), and her own gap year experiences pre- and post-college and throughout the course of her adult life, both as a gapper and as an advisor vetting gap program with visits in the field. She serves as keynote speaker at high schools, colleges, and gap year fairs and enjoys working with students of all ages from all economic backgrounds and orientations.
Mary Stephens is the founder of PrepForward, a leading provider of self-paced, online courses for K-12 teacher licensure preparation. PrepForward has helped thousands of teachers pass their certification exams and partners with institutions including MA Department of Education, Teach for America, universities, and school districts. Mary has BS and MEng degrees from MIT and has taught all levels from K-12 to higher education.
Matt Hylland is a partner and financial planner at Arnold and Mote Wealth Management in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, a fiduciary, fee-only investment advisor. Matt specializes in comprehensive, holistic financial planning that incorporates not only investments, but estate, tax, and education planning as well. Matt has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Kiplinger, and other nationally recognized finance publications.
McKenna Reitz's life forever changed when she lost all her hair due to the autoimmune disease alopecia. Instead of allowing alopecia to define her, McKenna decided to define it. When most would believe that losing your hair would take away your identity, alopecia actually gave McKenna her identity and true purpose in life. As an AP Psychology teacher and varsity volleyball coach at Springfield High School in Ohio, McKenna uses her strength to inspire others to change their perspective on life and others, while understanding that we are all battling something and must support one another unconditionally. A mother of two beautiful little girls and the wife of the most loving, supportive husband, McKenna is heavily involved in many philanthropic projects that have raised thousands of dollars for the National Alopecia Areata Foundation and donated almost forty thousand toys to the Toledo Children’s Hospital over the past five years.
Meghan Sacks, Ph.D, is an Associate Professor and Criminology Program Director at Fairleigh Dickinson University. She teaches classes on Women and Crime, Serial Killers, and Crime Policy. She also serves as the co-host of the Women & Crime Podcast. Her research interests include bail reform, plea bargaining, sentencing policy and corrections. Prior to her academic career, Meghan served as a United States Probation Officer in the Southern District of New York.
Meredith Essalat has been an educator for over 17 years, supporting secondary and elementary school students as a teacher and now Principal in San Francisco, California. While her journey to become an academic leader may be considered unconventional, it continues to be filled with passion and purpose. Meredith is the staff-author of The Overly Honest Teacher and an active teaching blogger. She uses her love of writing to advocate for students and empower teachers everywhere.
Michael J. Provitera, DBA, MBA, is an associate professor of organizational behavior at the Adrian Dominican School of Education at Barry University in Miami Shores, Florida. He has been teaching using hybrid learning for many years. Here’s his advice on how to get the most from hybrid classes.
Patrick Dwyer is an autistic PhD student at UC Davis whose research focuses on autism. His research uses methods like electrophysiology, eye-tracking and questionnaires, and he is particularly interested in sensory processing and attention in autism. Patrick also facilitates a peer-support group for autistic students at his university. If you are interested in more of Patrick’s thoughts on all things autism and neurodiversity, check out his blog at autisticscholar.com.
Rebecca Newman, LCSW, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 14 years of experience in social work and clinical practice. She currently serves as the lead clinician in an academic medical practice. Her expertise spans case management, psychotherapy, clinical supervision, and practice operations. Since 2019, Rebecca has integrated writing into her professional activities, authoring more than 45 articles on topics including mental health, social work, healthcare education, and higher education. Additionally, she has contributed expert advice to over 30 articles in publications such as Prevention, Bustle, Cosmopolitan, and Shape. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing from Oberlin College in 2010 and a Master of Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania in 2012, practicing social work continuously since that time.
Ron Kness retired in November 2007 as a Senior Noncommissioned Officer after serving 36 years with the Minnesota Army National Guard. For three years, Mr. Kness served as the 34th “Red Bull” Infantry Division Command Sergeant Major, traveling to operational theaters, active duty and National Guard posts, and military medical facilities to help soldiers and their families. Mr. Kness also served on the Senior Leadership Team that developed and implemented Minnesota’s “Beyond the Yellow Ribbon” program. He holds a BA in Business Administration from Metropolitan State University, Saint Paul, MN, and is a graduate of the United States Army Sergeants Major Academy located in El Paso, TX.
Ruth Wilson is a certified principal and a board-certified educational therapist with over 25 years of experience in multiple education-related positions, including teacher, education consultant, advocate, public speaker, and school administrator. She has helped thousands of students experience academic success, earn diplomas, improve grade point averages, enter the workforce, and achieve personal goals.
Samantha Abbinanti is a third-year Public Health and Data Analysis student at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, MI. She is originally from a small town north of Chicago, IL, where she found her desire to study infectious diseases while watching Outbreak in her freshman year health class. She is planning to attend graduate school to get her master’s degree in epidemiology and wants to work at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. After that, she plans on going back to school to g
As a teenager, Sean Walsh was often in trouble with the law. Entrenched in alcoholism, substance abuse, and depression, Sean needed a change. He found it through his faith and his knowledge of construction. Opening Walcraft Cabinetry served not only as his saving grace, but as a beacon to others with a history of incarceration. Today Sean is the leader of Walsh Built Homes and Walcraft Cabinetry, two companies that are now known for providing much-needed second chances to those who seek out a better life.
Tara Houston is a nonprofit professional and public servant in Nashville, TN. In her current role, Tara works with patient advocacy groups seeking therapies and cures for the rare, genetic disorders they represent.
Thomas Grant Richardson, Ph.D., is a freelance traditional arts consultant, fieldworker, anddocumentarian based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He has worked for state traditional artsprograms, universities, and various nonprofits across the country. He has also served as agrant panelist (several times over) on the state and federal level.
Tori Ford is the founder and CEO of Medical Herstory, an international, youth-led nonprofit eliminating sexism, shame, and stigma from health experiences through medical education, patient advocacy, and undoing stigma. She holds a Master of Philosophy in Health, Medicine, and Society from the University of Cambridge and a Bachelor of Arts in Gender, Sexuality, Feminist, and Social Justice Studies from McGill University. She is an outspoken sexual health advocate who is passionate about empowering and educating others. Her work has been recognized by the University of Cambridge Vice Chancellor’s Social Impact Award and the McGill Scarlet Key award for her enduring gender health advocacy.
Tyler Sainato is a school librarian in Nashville, TN. This is her first year in the library after six years of teaching English. She has a Master's in Education from Lipscomb University and is finishing up her Master's in Library Science from Middle Tennessee State University. She currently works at a high school in Antioch, TN where she is also the Project LIT chapter leader and co-advisor for the GSA Club
Victoria Turner is the founder and president of Turner Educational Advising, LLC, an educational consulting firm specializing in college and law school admissions and professional development. She served as the Senior Manager of Pre-Law and Professional Development Programs at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, for almost a decade. She is also a member of the Higher Education Consultants Association, the Potomac & Chesapeake Association for College Admission Counseling, and the Independent Educational Consultants Association.
