Faculty | College of Education and Social Services | The University of Vermont(title)

Faculty in the College of Education and Social Services (CESS) are known throughout the world for their exemplary teaching, policy-relevant research, and professional service.

All CESS Faculty

Tracy Arámbula Turner

Associate Professor of Higher Education and Student Affairs Administration

Tracy.Turner@uvm.edu

  • Higher education
  • P-16 educational opportunity
  • Educational equity, access, and success
  • School discipline disparities
  • College counseling
  • Low-income, 1st generation, and students of color experiences

Kathleen Brinegar

Senior Lecturer of Middle Level Education • Program Coordinator, Middle Level Education • Program Coordinator, Curriculum and Instruction (MEd) • Program Coordinator, Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT)

kathleen.brinegar@uvm.edu

  • Young adolescent identity development
  • Equitable/culturally responsive curriculum design
  • Disciplinary literacy
  • Middle grades organization and pedagogy
  • Inclusive pedagogies

Tricia Brown

Senior Lecturer of Education

Tricia.Brown@uvm.edu

  • Curriculum and Instruction
  • Educational technology
  • Place-based education
  • Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education
  • Teacher education
  • Universal design

Alexia Buono

Lecturer of Early Childhood Education

Alexia.Buono@uvm.edu

  • Dance education
  • Early childhood education
  • Teacher education
  • Arts (re)integration
  • Arts-based educational research
  • Liberatory pedagogy and curriculum design

Rebecca Callahan

Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies • Program Coordinator, Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Doctoral Program • Program Coordinator, Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Master's Program

Rebecca.Callahan@uvm.edu

  • Educational Policy
  • English Learner (EL) Education
  • Immigrant Students' Civic Development 
  • STEM Pathways
  • K-12 High School to College Transitions

Cee Carter

Assistant Professor of Curriculum and Instruction

Cee.Carter@uvm.edu

  • Curriculum & Instruction
  • Teacher Education
  • Black Study
  • Educational Equity & Justice

Eliana Castro

Assistant Professor of Secondary Education and Curriculum and Instruction

eliana.castro@uvm.edu

  • Race and Racism
  • Teacher Education
  • Secondary Education
  • History/Social Studies Education
  • Curriculum and Instruction

Simon Chan

Associate Professor of Social Work

Simon.Chan@uvm.edu

  • Families of Children with Special Education Needs
  • Men-in-Trauma
  • Psychotherapy

Matt Chandler

Lecturer of Elementary Education • Program Coordinator, Elementary Education

matthew.chandler@uvm.edu

  • Classroom Management
  • STEM Education
  • Integrated Curriculum

Kelly Clark/Keefe

Professor of Education • Interim Associate Dean of Academic and Faculty Affairs

Kelly.ClarkKeefe@uvm.edu

  • Body studies in educational contexts
  • Epistemic injustice
  • Feminist, critical and arts-based qualitative methodologies

Susan Comerford

Associate Professor of Social Work

Susan.Comerford@uvm.edu

  • Adult learning
  • Diversity, access and equity
  • Human rights
  • Immigrant issues
  • Leadership
  • Organizational development

Nicole Conroy

Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Science

nicole.conroy@uvm.edu

  • Power, control, and intimate partner violence
  • Gender and intimate partner violence
  • Sexual coercion, violence, and consent
  • Human development and identity

Kate Cowles

Senior Lecturer of Early Childhood Education • Program Coordinator, Early Childhood Education

Katherine.Cowles@uvm.edu

  • Curriculum and Instruction
  • Critical pedagogy
  • Children’s participatory rights and civic engagement
  • Teacher education

Bryan Dague

Research Assistant Professor • Project Director, Think College Vermont • Project Director, Supported Employment

Bryan.Dague@uvm.edu

  • Inclusive employment for people with disabilities
  • Post-secondary education for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities
  • Sheltered workshop transformation to inclusive employment

Jessica DeMink-Carthew

Associate Professor of Middle Level Education

Jessica.DeMink-Carthew@uvm.edu

  • Social justice education
  • Middle grades education
  • Teacher advocacy
  • Teacher education

Jillian Donnelly

Senior Lecturer of American Sign Language

Jillian.Donnelly@uvm.edu

  • American Sign Language
  • Deaf culture

Anna Elliott

Associate Professor

anna.h.elliott@uvm.edu

  • Rural Mental Health
  • Family Counseling
  • Trauma Healing
  • Clinical Supervision
  • Relational Cultural Counseling

Elizabeth Fincher

Lecturer of Early Childhood Education

efincher@uvm.edu

  • Early Childhood and Elementary Literacy
  • English Learner Education
  • Qualitative Research Methods
  • Teacher Education

Bernice Garnett

Adam and Abigail Burack Family Green and Gold Professor • Program Coordinator, Individually Designed Major in Education

Bernice.Garnett@uvm.edu

  • Bullying prevention
  • Community and social systems
  • Diversity, access and equity
  • Public health
  • Restorative justice
  • School climate
  • Social justice

Jason Garvey

Executive Director of the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment • Friedman-Hipps Green and Gold Associate Professor of Education

jcgarvey@uvm.edu

  • Queer and trans people in education
  • Survey design and quantitative methods
  • Higher education and student affairs administration

Justin D. Garwood

Associate Professor of Special Education • Program Coordinator of PhD in Social, Emotional and Behavioral Health and Inclusive Education (SHIE)

Justin.Garwood@uvm.edu

  • Classroom Management
  • Emotional and Behavioral Disorders
  • Quantitative Research Methodology
  • Single-Case Design Research
  • Teacher-Student Relationship Quality

Arby Ghemari

Lecturer of Education for Cultural and Linguistic Diversity

aghemari@uvm.edu

  • Educational leadership and policy
  • Educational technology
  • Plurilingual and multilingual education
  • ESL/ELL teacher training
  • Culturally and linguistically minoritized populations

Cassie Gillespie

Lecturer of Social Work

cassie.gillespie@uvm.edu

  • Organizational and Workforce Development
  • Trauma Informed Practices
  • Child Welfare

Shana Haines

Associate Professor of Special Education • Program Coordinator for PhD in Social, Emotional and Behavioral Health and Inclusive Education (SHIE)

shana.haines@uvm.edu

  • Family, school, and community collaboration
  • Inclusive practices in special education
  • Teacher preparation
  • Qualitative research

Juliet Halladay

Associate Professor of Education

Juliet.Halladay@uvm.edu

  • Assessment and evaluation
  • Curriculum and Instruction
  • English Language Learners
  • Reading education and literacy
  • Response to Intervention (RTI)
  • Teacher education

Robin Hausheer

Associate Professor of Counselor Education and Supervision

Robin.Hausheer@uvm.edu

  • Underage drinking prevention
  • Parent/Guardian underage drinking prevention programming
  • School counseling program evaluation
  • Impact of implicit bias in counseling and education

Brett J. Holt

Associate Professor • Program Coordinator, Coaching Minor

bjholt@uvm.edu

Jennifer Hurley

Associate Professor of Early Childhood Special Education

Jennifer.Hurley@uvm.edu

  • Cultural and linguistic diversity
  • Early Childhood Special Education
  • Early intervention
  • Homelessness and poverty

Sean Hurley

Associate Professor

Sean.Hurley@uvm.edu

  • Adult learning
  • Assessment and evaluation
  • Early childhood
  • Educational policy
  • Learning and cognition
  • Psychology
  • Research methods

Danielle Jatlow

Lecturer of Social Work • BSW Program Coordinator

Danielle.Jatlow@uvm.edu

  • Adolescents, Young Adults, and Families
  • Mental Health and Wellness
  • Anti-Oppressive Practice
  • Community Health Practice
  • Clinical Training and Consultation

Simon Jorgenson

Associate Professor of Elementary Education • Program Coordinator for Place-Based Education Undergraduate Certificate • Program Coordinator for Education for Sustainability Certificate of Graduate Studies

Simon.Jorgenson@uvm.edu

  • Curriculum and Instruction
  • Educational policy
  • History, philosophy and sociology of education
  • Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)

Aishwarya P. Joshi

Assistant Professor of Counselor Education and Supervision

Aishwarya.Joshi@uvm.edu

  • Clinical Mental Health
  • Intersectionality
  • Multicultural, Social Justice and Equity Competencies
  • Crisis and Trauma

Maggie Kabbeko

Lecturer of Elementary Education

margaret.kabbeko@uvm.edu

  • Children's literature
  • Critical and multimodal pedagogy
  • Childhood studies
  • The historical role of psychoanalysis in fairy tales for children

Colby Kervick

Associate Professor of Special Education

Colby.Kervick@uvm.edu

  • Family-centered collaborative practice
  • Inclusive teaching practices
  • Restorative practices in schools

Kieran Killeen

Associate Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies • Associate Dean for Graduate, Non-Degree and Research Programming

Kieran.Killeen@uvm.edu

  • Education finance
  • Economics of education
  • Teacher labor markets
  • Student mobility

Tammy Kolbe

Associate Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

Tammy.Kolbe@uvm.edu

  • Assessment and evaluation
  • Educational finance
  • Educational policy
  • Higher education
  • Special education

Nicholas Lalanne

Senior Lecturer of American Sign Language • Program Coordinator, American Sign Language Minor

Nicholas.Lalanne@uvm.edu

  • American Sign Language Education
  • Deaf Studies
  • Linquistics

Leon Lifschutz

Lecturer of Education

llifschu@uvm.edu

  • Coaching
  • Student Development
  • Leadership
  • Curriculum

Winnie Looby

Lecturer of Special Education • Program Coordinator of Disability Studies Certificate of Graduate Study

Winnie.Looby@uvm.edu

  • Disability studies
  • Early Childhood Special Education
  • Interdisciplinary collaboration

Lauren MacKillop

Senior Lecturer of Early Childhood Education

Lauren.MacKillop@uvm.edu

  • Early Childhood Education
  • Special Education
  • Community-Engaged Learning (Service-Learning)

Camelia Măianu

Senior Lecturer and Program Coordinator of Human Development and Family Science

Camelia.Maianu@uvm.edu

  • Child Development
  • Lifespan Development Psychology
  • Psychology of Adolescence

Cris Mayo

Professor of Education • Program Coordinator, Interdisciplinary Studies in Education • Vice Chair, Department of Education

cris.mayo@uvm.edu

  • Philosophy of education
  • Gender and sexuality studies in education
  • Queer, transgender, and community-based pedagogies

Matthew S. McCluskey

Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

matthew.mccluskey@uvm.edu

  • Educational leadership
  • Charter schools and school choice
  • Teacher turnover and retention
  • Teacher working conditions
  • Critical policy analysis

Kelly Melekis

Associate Professor of Social Work • MSW Program Coordinator • Interim Chair, Department of Social Work

kelly.melekis@uvm.edu

  • Gerontology
  • Hospice and Palliative Care
  • Interprofessional Practice
  • Anti-Oppressive Practice
  • Transformative Research and Evaluation
  • Transformative Pedagogy

Lori Meyer

Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education

Lori.Meyer@uvm.edu

  • Curriculum and Instruction
  • Disability and Inclusion
  • Early Childhood Education
  • Special Education

Maureen Neumann

Professor of Education

Maureen.Neumann@uvm.edu

  • Curriculum and Instruction
  • Gender studies
  • Leadership
  • Literacy and numeracy
  • Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)
  • Social justice
  • Teacher education

Maureen Nevers

Augmentative Communication Consultant and Research Associate, Center on Disability and Community Inclusion (CDCI)

Maureen.D.Nevers@uvm.edu

  • Disability and inclusion
  • Speech-Language Pathology

Kaitlin Northey

Assistant Professor of Early Childhood Education

Kaitlin.Northey@uvm.edu

  • Early childhood workforce
  • Early education policy
  • Leadership in early childhood

Jane E. Okech

Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs • Professor of Counselor Education and Supervision

Jane.Okech@uvm.edu

  • Clinical supervision
  • Diversity, access and equity
  • Ethics
  • Group co-leadership
  • Group psychotherapy
  • Mental health
  • Multiculturalism
  • Social justice

Summer Pennell

Lecturer of Education • Program Coordinator, Secondary Education Master of Arts in Teaching

summer.pennell@uvm.edu

  • Critical literacies
  • Young adult literature
  • Social justice education
  • Queer theory and pedagogy
  • Experiences of academic mothers

John S. Pirone

Assistant Professor of American Sign Language

jspirone@uvm.edu

  • American Sign Language
  • American Sign Language Education
  • Deaf Studies
  • Disability and Inclusion
  • Access and equity

Christine Proulx

Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Science • Chair, Department of Counseling and Human Development and Family Science

christine.proulx@uvm.edu

  • Intimate relationships
  • Caregiving
  • Aging
  • Health
  • Dyadic methodologies

Jennifer Prue

Senior Lecturer of Secondary Education • Program Coordinator, Secondary Education

Jennifer.Prue@uvm.edu

  • Adolescent development
  • Psychology
  • Teacher education

Jennifer Putney

Associate Professor of Social Work

Jennifer.Putney@uvm.edu

  • Substance use and social work practice
  • Harm reduction
  • Interprofessional practice
  • Qualitative research methods
  • Social work education

Cynthia Reyes

Professor of Education • Associate Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs

Cynthia.Reyes@uvm.edu

  • English learner (EL) Education
  • Immigrant Families and Literacy
  • Qualitative Research Methods
  • Teacher Education

Elsa Richter

Lecturer of Education for Cultural and Linguistic Diversity • Program Coordinator, Education for Cultural and Linguistic Diversity Minor • Grossman School of Business Lecturer (Part-Time)

Elsa.Richter@uvm.edu

  • TESOL
  • Intercultural communication
  • Second language acquisition
  • Educational policy

Melissa L. Rocco

Senior Lecturer of Higher Education and Student Affairs Administration • Program Coordinator, Higher Education and Student Affairs Administration

melissa.rocco@uvm.edu

  • Leadership Education and Development
  • Critical Perspectives of Leadership
  • Transformative Pedagogy and Curriculum Design
  • College Student Development
  • Organizational Assessment and Change

Jaz Routon

Lecturer of Human Development and Family Science

Jaz.Routon@uvm.edu

  • Health and wellbeing of queer populations
  • LGBTQ policy
  • Social inequities

Katharine Shepherd

Dean, College of Education and Social Services • Levitt Family Green and Gold Professor

Katharine.Shepherd@uvm.edu

  • Collaboration and teaming
  • Families of children and adults with disabilities
  • Special education

Stacie Shields

Lecturer of Elementary Education Literacy/Reading

Stacie.Shields@uvm.edu

  • Curriculum and Instruction
  • Teacher education
  • Classroom management
  • Literacy and reading education

Jean Sienkewicz

Field Education Coordinator and Lecturer of Social Work

jsienkew@uvm.edu

  • Generalist social work practice
  • Social work field education
  • LGBTQHIA+ inclusivity

MaryEllen Simmons

Lecturer and Student Teaching Supervisor of Early Childhood, Elementary, and Middle Level Education

msimmons@uvm.edu

  • Literacy Education
  • Mathematics Education
  • Teacher Education
  • Trauma-Informed Practices in Teaching and Learning

Carmen Petrick Smith

Associate Professor of Mathematics Education

Carmen.Smith@uvm.edu

  • Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Learning
  • Teacher Education
  • Learning and Cognition
  • Technology and Learning

Lance Smith

Associate Professor of Counselor Education and Supervision

Lance.Smith@uvm.edu

  • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
  • Critical Consciousness
  • Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR)
  • Restorative Practices

Sherwood Smith

Senior Executive Director of Inclusive Excellence and Faculty Engagement • Lecturer of Human Development and Family Science

Sherwood.Smith@uvm.edu

  • Multicultural Education
  • Development of Prejudice
  • Cross Cultural / Intercultural Development
  • White Identity Development
  • Intersections of domestic and international issues of ethnicity, race and gender

Brenda Solomon

Associate Professor of Social Work

bsolomon@uvm.edu

  • Child welfare
  • Qualitative research methods
  • Social work education

Tiffanie Spencer

Assistant Dean for Strategic Initiatives, Diversity and Engagement

Tiffanie.Spencer@uvm.edu

Brittney Janelle Staffieri

Lecturer of American Sign Language

Brittney.staffieri@uvm.edu

  • American Sign Language Education
  • Deaf Culture and History
  • Multicultural Education

Kristabel Stark

Assistant Professor of Special Education

Kristabel.Stark@uvm.edu

  • Teacher affect and emotion
  • Special educator working conditions
  • School leadership for special education

Jessica Strolin-Goltzman

Professor • Program Coordinator, Resiliency-Based Approaches Certificate of Graduate Study

Jessica.Strolin@uvm.edu

  • Addictions/substance abuse
  • Child and family welfare
  • Implementation research
  • Organizational development
  • Research methods
  • Social work practice
  • Trauma and resilience

Jesse Suter

Research Associate Professor and Director, Center on Disability and Community Inclusion (CDCI)

Jesse.Suter@uvm.edu

  • Wraparound process
  • Special education service delivery
  • Disability and inclusion
  • Interdisciplinary coordination
  • Mental health

Daniella Hall Sutherland

Associate Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

daniella.sutherland@uvm.edu

  • Educational leadership
  • Education policy
  • Educational in/equity
  • Rural schools and communities
  • District leadership, school boards, and local control

Kelly Swindlehurst

Lecturer of Special Education • Program Coordinator of Special Education M.Ed. • Program Coordinator of Special Education Minor

kelly.swindlehurst@uvm.edu

  • Special Education
  • Teacher Education

Nancy Thacker Darrow

Assistant Professor of Counselor Education and Supervision • Program Coordinator of PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision

nancy.thacker@uvm.edu

  • Culturally-informed grief theory and counseling, non-death losses
  • LGBTQ+ mental health and development
  • Social justice and equity in education and counseling
  • Qualitative research and critical methodologies

Regina Toolin

Associate Professor of STEM Education • Program Coordinator, Computer Science Education Minor

Regina.Toolin@uvm.edu

  • STEM Education
  • Environmental Education
  • Project-based learning
  • Place-based Education
  • Teacher Professional Learning
  • Computer Science Education

Kimberly Vannest

Professor and University Scholar • Chair, Department of Education

Kimberly.Vannest@uvm.edu

  • Reliable measurement of treatment effects and effect size indices in single case research
  • Prevention and treatment of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders (EBD)
  • Supports for student and educator social, emotional and behavioral health

Christine Marie Velez

Assistant Professor of Social Work

cvelez@uvm.edu

Social work education and curriculum

  • Social work research methods
  • Sexuality, reproductive & environmental justice, racial equity
  • Health equity
  • Underrepresented and underserved populations
  • Critical and feminist theories

Leon Walls

Associate Professor of Education

Leon.Walls@uvm.edu

  • Curriculum and Instruction
  • Multiculturalism
  • Race and Racism
  • Science Education
  • Science of Sustainability
  • Teacher Education

Jacqueline Weinstock

Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Science

Jacqueline.Weinstock@uvm.edu

  • Adult development and aging
  • Friendships
  • Sexual and gender identities

Julie Ann Welkowitz

Senior Lecturer of Counselor Education and Supervision • Program Coordinator of Counseling M.Ed.

Julie.Welkowitz@uvm.edu

  • Clinical and systems consultation
  • Model development within schools to support youth with emotional and behavioral challenges
  • Narrative practices clinical supervision systems change initiatives

Brittany "Brit" M. Williams

Assistant Professor of Higher Education and Student Affairs Administration

brittany.williams@uvm.edu

  • Black Women and Girls
  • Career, Supervision, and Workplace Issues
  • Education and Health
  • Social Class
  • Student and Identity Development Theory
  • Qualitative Research

Haley Woodside-Jiron

Associate Professor of Education

Haley.Woodside-Jiron@uvm.edu

  • Neuroscience of education
  • Resilience
  • Trauma-informed instruction