Saily Aloni, CTC Research Assistant, Cleveland State University
Saily Aloni is a graduate student at Cleveland State University seeking a Master’s degree in Accounting with a specialization in Financial Accounting and Audit. Saily has worked as a Graduate Assistant at the CSU Writing Center helping students to write and edit papers.
Elena Andrei, Ed.D., TESOL Program Coordinator, Cleveland State University
Elena Andrei, Ed.D. is an assistant professor of TESOL and TESOL Program Coordinator at Cleveland State University. Her research is classroom-based focused on second language literacy, multilingual learners and multiliteracies, teacher education, and “non-native” English speaking teachers.
Her previous professional experience includes being an English as a second language teacher (ESL) and ESL school coordinator in Charlotte, NC and English as a foreign language teacher in her native Romania. Previously to coming to CSU, she was an Assistant Professor of Literacy and Coordinator of the TESOL Graduate Certificate at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, SC.
Patrick Basista, Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin
Patrick Basista, Social Studies teacher at Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin, is a graduate of Cleveland State University and an avid proponent of Stanford History Education Group’s Historical Thinking Skills. Aided by the features found in Blackboard, he challenged himself to provide history instruction that supplied up-to-date feedback to his students on their assignments and learning. Here, he details some of his challenges and successes in this unique period of online teaching and learning.
Chad Berry, Saint Martin de Porres High School
Chad Berry is a 4th year high school teacher at Saint Martin de Porres High School. He has a B.B.A in Business Management from Kent State University and an M.E. in Curriculum and Instruction from Cleveland State University. He has taught ESL, World History, Entrepreneurship, and Government.
Molly Buckley-Marudas, Cleveland State University
Molly Buckley-Marudas is an Associate Professor of Adolescent & Young Adult English Education at Cleveland State University and Faculty-in-Residence at Campus International High School. Buckley-Marudas teaches courses including Inquiry-Based Methods for English Language Arts, Young Adult Literature, and Content Area Literacy. Her research and professional activities focus on the topics of youth-led research, digital literacies, English education and teacher action research. She has published articles in the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, English Journal, International Journal of Multicultural Education, and The ALAN Review. Buckley-Marudas is currently leading The City Is Our Campus, an Educator Innovator Challenge Grant funded by the National Writing Project and John Legend’s Show Me Campaign, and is a creator of the Cleveland Teaching Collaborative with Shelley Rose.
Andrea Corbett, Cleveland State University
Andrea Corbett has been an Assistant College Lecturer in the Department of Biological, Geological & Environmental Sciences since 2018, and was a part-time adjunct at CSU for 20 years before that. She has taught a variety of courses in Biology, including the Plant Biology lecture & lab every year since 1998.
Grant Coultrup, Food For Change co-op
Grant Coultrup is a technologist co-founder of the Food for Change co-op. Hailing from a liberal arts background, Grant studied accounting and administration while competing in collegiate rowing. After college, work in private accounting and athletic coaching set the foundation for current entrepreneurial exploits. Now Grant performs research for an additive manufacturing startup while serving as media officer for an athletics video production organization. Outside of 3D printing and media production, he enjoys painting, running, and maintaining a collection of miniature bonsai trees.
Katharine Delavan, Lake Erie College
Katharine Delavan is the Dean of the School of Education and Professor of Early Childhood Education at Lake Erie College in Painesville, Ohio. She has an M.Ed. and Ph.D. in Early Childhood from Oakland University in Rochester Hills, Michigan, and a BA in History/Psychology from the University of Michigan.
John Dutton, Campus International High School
John Dutton started his own business in high school teaching adults how to use their computers, then entered the tech industry as a web designer and programmer. Since deciding education was his best contribution to the world around him, Mr. Dutton has taught science and a variety of other subjects for 15 years in Mozambique, East Cleveland, and Cleveland. At Campus International High School, he is actively researching the impact of both G Suite for Education and storytelling on his and other classrooms.
Charles Ellenbogen, Campus International High School
Charles Ellenbogen recently completed his 27th year of teaching. This includes 9 years of working with the International Baccalaureate program. He recently published a teaching memoir called This Isn’t the Movies. . He taught at Baltimore City College High School from 2002-2005. From 2002-2004, he and Jason were in the English Department together. He is a self-proclaimed Luddite.
Yassin Essaid, Campus International School
Yassin Essaid has been teaching English as a foreign language in Morocco since 2004. In the school year 2019/2020, he has been teaching Arabic in Campus International High school as a visiting teacher. He holds a master’s degree in Translation Sciences and Linguistics. In 2005, He conducted a research project on the Communicative Approach in Moroccan Classrooms as part of his BA program. He is currently the secretary general of the regional branch of the Moroccan Association of Teachers of English.
Will Fistek, Food For Change co-op
Will Fistek is a first year teacher and co-founder of the Food for Change co-op. Born and raised in Cleveland, Will studied English Literature with a concentration in text, image, and design while competing in collegiate rowing. Will is currently attending Cleveland State University’s Master’s of Urban Secondary Teaching (MUST) program, where he is projected to graduate in June 2021. Will is also a rowing coach, a freelance photographer, and an athlete. He is also a Graduate Assistant for the Cleveland Teaching Collaborative since Spring semester 2021.
Sean Gadus, St. Hilary School
Sean Gadus is a graduate of Cleveland State University. This is his fourth year as a teacher and his third year at St. Hilary School in Fairlawn, Ohio. In his free time, he also writes about popular culture as a volunteer writer at Zelda Dungeon and The Artifice.
Melanie Gagich, Cleveland State University
Melanie Gagich earned her doctorate in Composition and Applied Linguistics from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in June 2020 and has been teaching college writing since 2009. She has published her work in the Interactive Journal of Technology and Pedagogy and Writing Spaces. Her research interests include multimodal composition, digital literacy, and open access pedagogy. She served as convener of the DigitalCSU working group from 2018-2020.
Tatiana Gracyk, Cleveland State University
Dr. Gracyk is an assistant college lecturer at Cleveland State University. Her primary research interest is in biomedical ethics, focusing on evaluating frameworks for decision-making in healthcare. Her teaching is similarly focused on biomedical ethics, frequently utilizing the instructional design principles of Team-Based Learning to prepare her students for working in the healthcare field. She also serves as a member of the University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center ethics committee.
Sam Hayest, Constellation Schools- Parma Community
Samuel Hayest is a fifth year educator with Constellation Schools, teaching Social Studies. He is a graduate of Cleveland State University and holds degrees in Social Studies and History. He uses an eclectic teaching style combining primary and secondary sources with hands-on activities to meet the learning needs of all students. He believes that a student’s learning potential can be maximized through routine, rapport, and open communication.
Sophia Higginbottom, Campus International High School
With a background in International Studies, the Arts, and nonprofit sector work, Sophia Higginbottom brings real world experience and vision into classrooms where young people learn to deeply respect and embrace cultural differences while creating change in their communities. Higginbottom was born and raised in Cleveland, OH, and graduated from Cleveland public school. She holds a degree in Liberal Arts from Cuyahoga Community College and a degree in International Studies from Denison University. She has previously served as a City Year Corps Member at East Technical High School, a Teach For America educator, an Intervention Specialist at Davis Aerospace and Maritime High School, and a World Literature instructor at Campus International High School.
Jeneen Hobby, Cleveland State University
Dr. Hobby has been teaching Political Science at Cleveland State University for 21 years. She has taught at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York; and in Northeast Ohio at Baldwin Wallace University and Case Western Reserve University. She completed her Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, specializing in the work of German-Jewish theorist and author Walter Benjamin. She undertook research at the Benjamin Archiv at the Akademie der Künste in Berlin, and in the Georges Bataille collection of Benjamin’s work at the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, on a fellowship from the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD).
Dana J. Hubbard, Cleveland State University
Dana Hubbard is an associate professor in the Department of Criminology, Anthropology, and Sociology at Cleveland State University. Her research areas are women, race, and criminal justice. She currently teaches, Race, Class and Crime, Women and Crime and the Criminology Capstone course.
John Jirik, Cleveland State University
John Jirik, Ph.D. is an Assistant College Lecturer in the School of Communication at Cleveland State University. He worked internationally in television and social, digital and online news. His employers include Reuters, NBC, CCTV, and TRT World. He did his Ph.D. at The University of Texas at Austin.
Selma Koç, Cleveland State University
Dr. Selma Koç is a professor of educational technology in the College of Education and Human Services at Cleveland State University. Her research interests focus on online learning and assessment, immersive learning, STEM education, and technology integration in K-12 and higher education instruction.
Sathish A.P. Kumar, Cleveland State University
Dr. Sathish A.P. Kumar is an Associate Professor of Computer Science in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the Cleveland State University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA. He earned his Ph.D. degree in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Louisville, Kentucky, USA in 2007. He is a Senior Member of IEEE. His current research and teaching interests are in cybersecurity, machine learning, big data analytics, and secure distributed systems and their applications. He has published more than 50 technical papers in international journals and conference proceedings.
Amanda Lamadanie, Campus International High School
Amanda Lamadanie teaches 9th and 11th grade language and literature and 12th grade psychology at Campus International High School in Cleveland OH. Additionally, she advises Model UN. She started Campus Connects Book Club in an effort to create space for community and foster reading both for pleasure and critical thinking and social engagement during the quarantine period.
Helena Mitchell, Horizon Science Academy Cleveland High School
Helena Mitchell is a 4th year teacher at Horizon Science Academy Cleveland High School. She received her B.S. degree in Adolescent to Young Adult Integrated Language Arts (AYA ILA) from Bowling Green State University and is currently working towards her M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction Post-Secondary English and an endorsement for a college credit plus certificate from Cleveland State University.
Lana Mobydeen, Cleveland State University
Professor Lana Mobydeen is currently a Ph.D. candidate at Kent State University. She also holds a Juris Doctor degree from Cleveland Marshall College of Law. Her current focus areas are transnational and comparative politics and conflict analysis and conflict management. Her current research primarily focuses on comparative immigration policy and political development. She recently published a book review of Peaceland: Conflict Resolution and the Everyday Politics of International Intervention in Peace Review.
Marcy Perry, Campus International School
Marcy Perry has been teaching 6th and 7th grade Language and Literature at Campus International School in Cleveland, Ohio for 4 years.
Keli Pontikos Paragios, Cleveland State University
Keli Pontikos Paragios holds a Bachelor’s in Communication from Bowling Green State University and a Masters in Teaching from the University of Tampa. She has taught in multiple learning environments, from elementary to college, since 2008. Currently, she is an educator and learner at Cleveland State University. She has completed her Ph.D. courses and comprehensive exams in the Adult, Continuing, and Higher Education program, and is currently working on her dissertation research. Her favorite thing to do is travel to Athens, Greece annually for the Athens Institute of Research Education Conference. In her spare time, she answers emails from students.
Jasmine Prezenkowski, CTC Research Assistant, Cleveland State University
Jasmine Prezenkowski is a graduate student at Cleveland State University seeking a Master’s degree in History with a specialization in Museum Studies.
Naomi A. Randt, Rootstown Local School District
Naomi Randt graduated from Cleveland State University in May 2017 with a double major in History and Social Studies. Since then she has worked as an integrated social studies teacher at Rootstown High School. She teaches Modern World History, Psychology, Sociology, and has written her own courses on African American History and History through Sports (using athletics as a lens to view geopolitical topics). During her time at CSU, Naomi worked under Drs. Rose and Souther in the Department of History in conjunction with the Center for Public History + Digital Humanities to create a number of resources for potential classroom use. She also presented her contributions during a panel discussion at the Muted Voices Peace History Conference in October 2017. As a transgender woman, she is an advocate for diversity and inclusion within the public education system and is a strong proponent of elevating the voices of LGBTQ+ educators and students.
Christopher Rennison, Cleveland State University
Chris Rennison is a Interim Senior Manager of the Center for Instructional Technology and Distance Learning. He is the Technical Director of the Cleveland Teaching Collaborative.
Ben Richards, Cleveland State University
Ben Richards is the Business & Communication Librarian at Cleveland State University. He is also a current co-convener for Digital CSU. He has been with the Michael Schwartz Library since 2015 and holds an MLIS from Kent State University.
Marnie Rodriguez, Cleveland State University
Marnie Rodriguez is a Senior College Lecturer at Cleveland State University. She teaches a variety of courses in Sociology, ranging from introductory-level general education courses to upper-division electives and required courses.
Shelley Rose, Cleveland State University
Shelley E. Rose is Associate Professor of History and Director of Social Studies at Cleveland State University. Rose teaches a range of topics from geography to world history, gender studies to European history. Her research and professional activities focus on the topics of digital humanities, protest history, and gender history. She has published articles in Peace & Change and the Journal of Urban History, leads the Protest Spaces Research Network, Gender Studies Resources database project, and is a creator of the Cleveland Teaching Collaborative with Molly Buckley-Marudas.
Julie Saternus, Cleveland State University
Julie Saternus specializes in multimodal and multilingual composition practices. She has been a college lecturer at Cleveland State University since 2019 and graduated with a Ph.D. from Kent State University’s Literacy, Rhetoric, and Social Practice program. She has also taught writing at The University of Akron, Kent State University, and Stark State College. Dr. Saternus now teaches first-year writing and aims to infuse her classroom with critical language pedagogy, direct instruction, and tools for the digital workplace.
Lauren Schneider
Lauren Schneider is currently pursuing a Master’s in Urban Secondary Teaching and a teaching license in 7-12 Integrated Social Studies. She completed her student teaching practicum experience in April 2021 at Cleveland Metropolitan School District. Lauren is transitioning into teaching after several years of working in community programming and nonprofit administration. She has a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from Northwestern University, with minors in Political Science and Music.
Sarah Schwab, Campus International High School
Sarah Schwab is a 19-year veteran of the Spanish classroom and has taught at both private and public schools in Illinois and Ohio. She has taught at Campus International for the past three years. She keeps her career interesting by never quite being satisfied with her work in the classroom and consistently trying new things – some which work and some which don’t, the 2020 shutdown was not an exception.
Mark Souther, Cleveland State University
J. Mark Souther is a professor of history and the director of the Center for Public History + Digital Humanities at Cleveland State University. His areas of research and teaching interest include modern U.S. history, urban history, southern history, and public history. In addition to leading the Cleveland Historical and Cleveland Voices projects, he has co-directed two NEH digital humanities grants that involved digital platform development, collaborative teaching, and digital storytelling with a partner university in Kenya.
Timothy Square, Cleveland State University
Timothy Square is the Superintendent of Grounds in the Office of Facilities Management.
Elizabeth Thomas, Cleveland State University
Elizabeth Thomas, Ph.D. is an Assistant College Lecturer in the School of Communication at Cleveland State University and teaches promotional communication courses and serves as the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) chapter advisor. She worked in the public relations field for more than 18 years in the non-profit and higher education sectors.
Jeremy Tugeau, Campus International High School
Jeremy Tugeau is an artist and teacher based in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. He is a graduate of Syracuse University (BFA 1995) and Case Western Reserve University (MA 2015). A professional Fine Artist and Illustrator, Tugeau has illustrated 23 picture books including “WhoWere the Beatles” (Penguin/Random House2003) and “The Buddy Files” ( Albert Whitman2010). His fine art is represented by Robert Foster Fine Art in Nantucket, MA, and Heights ArtsGallery in Cleveland Heights Ohio. After connecting with young people by visiting schools to share his books, Tugeau began teaching art at the Cleveland Museum of Art. This is his 6thyear with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District.
Candice Vander Weert, Cleveland State University
Candice Vander Weerdt is an Assistant College Lecturer in the Monte Ahuja College of Business at Cleveland State University. She is the primary instructor of the Principles of Management course, with an annual enrollment of approximately 300 students. She has taught fully online courses for over 10 years at multiple institutions. Her research interests include LMS usage, course performance, open education resources, and Assurance of Learning measures.
Beth Walsh-Moorman, Lake Erie College
Beth Walsh-Moorman is the assistant professor of literacy at Lake Erie College in Painesville OH, where she coordinates the reading endorsement and M.Ed. literacy programs. After teaching secondary ELA for 22 years, Beth earned her Ph.D. from Kent State University. Her research interests include adolescent literacy, multimodal composing, digital literacies. Beth also edits the Ohio Journal of English Language Arts and was named Ohio Teacher of Excellence (College Division) by the Ohio Council of Teachers of English Language Arts in 2020.
Allison Welch, Campus International High School
Allison Welch is an Intervention Specialist at Campus International High School in Cleveland. She has a Master’s Degree from Cleveland State University and a Bachelor of Arts from Hiram College. Allison has worked in many different educational settings for 12 years. She was an English teacher trainer in the Peace Corps in Nicaragua, an Educational Interpreter for Spanish-speaking students with disabilities, and an Instructional Coach before working for Campus International.
