Meet the board AY 2022-2023
Updated November, 2022
This is a forum of the American Journal of Education. It is a space for readers of the journal—researchers, students, and policy makers—to engage in dialogue on both of-the-moment issues enduring themes in education from pre-K through university. The forum is led by a Student Board and is mentored by the Journal’s senior editorial staff.
The members of the Student Board are:
Joshua S. Almes is a Ph.D. student in the Educational Leadership program at Penn State University. He holds a M.Ed. from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a B.S. in Secondary Education – Social Studies from Clarion University of Pennsylvania. Having served as a social studies teacher for ten years in rural Pennsylvania, his primary research interests focus around systems that create and reinforce poverty in rural areas, encouraging democratic classrooms, school funding, and teacher education. Josh is currently involved in projects looking at the political power of schools, the geometry of school district boundaries in Pennsylvania, and the building of research-practitioner partnerships between universities and schools.
Ghadir Al Saghir is a first year PhD student in the Educational Theory and Policy program at the Pennsylvania State University. Her research interests focus on policy reform and development of more equitable policies for less represented communities. Having worked with non-native and underprivileged student populations for more than four years, her goal is to propose educational reform policies that serve equitable environments and contribute to the realization of social cohesion. Ghadir is also a Teach for Lebanon Alumna in 2019, and a Foreign Language Teaching Assistantship (FLTA) Fulbright Alumna at the Pennsylvania State University for the academic year 2020-2021.
James Bridgeforth is a National Academy of Education/Spencer Foundation Dissertation Fellow and PhD candidate in the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California. He is also a research associate at the USC Race and Equity Center and USC Center on Education Policy, Equity, and Governance. Prior to joining Rossier, he earned a masters degree in educational administration and policy from the University of Georgia and bachelors degrees in political science and sociology from Georgia College & State University. James began his professional experience in education as a college admissions officer, later transitioning to a career in K-12 education as an elementary school teacher. His critical research examines issues of racism, politics, policy, and governance in K-12 educational spaces.
Ari Castonguay works full-time as the Data Accreditation Analyst at the George Washington University Law School, and is a part-time Ed.D. Higher Education Administration student at GWU as well. She has her M.S. and B.S. in economics from the University of Maine. Ari is primarily interested in conducting research on higher education access, attainment, and postgraduate outcomes. Her ultimate goal is to do higher education policy analysis work in Washington, DC.
Joseph Elefante is a PhD student in Educational Leadership Policy at Texas Tech University. He holds an M.A. in Educational Leadership from Montclair State University and a B.M.. in Music Performance from New Jersey City University. His research interests primarily center on arts and whole child education advocacy and holistic methods of measuring student success, teacher evaluations, and school quality. In addition to his doctoral studies, Joe is currently the Supervisor of Fine & Performing Arts, Family & Consumer Science, and Business Education for a mid-size suburban school district in northeastern NJ.
Kathryn Mattingly Flynn is a PhD candidate in the Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation program at the University of Kentucky. She holds a M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction and a B.A. in Secondary English Education from the University of Kentucky. Prior to pursuing a PhD, Kathryn was an English teacher for middle and high school students. Her scholarly focus takes a philosophical approach to the question of equitable representation within higher education. She concentrates on the moral imperative to encourage and include more women in leadership positions within American institutions of higher education. In this work, she does not solely focus on gender, but evaluates the underrepresentation of women through the lens of intersectionality.
Nick Gardner is an Ed.D candidate in the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies program at the University of Kansas. He holds one undergraduate degree, and two master’s degrees in special education and educational administration, all awarded from Emporia State University. He is currently a principal at Ross Elementary in the Topeka Public Schools district, in Topeka, Kansas His current focus is to complete his doctoral work, become an author and work toward providing equitable opportunities for all students. He hopes to be able to bridge the gap between theory and practice to offer opportunities and help students to find their passion through educational experiences. He views himself as an advocate for all students, knowing the significant impact mentorship can have on student success and outcomes.
Andrea (Andii) Layton is a PhD student in K-12 Educational Administration at Michigan State University. Her research interest is in pre-service teacher training and preparation and racial equity in K-12 schools. Andii has worked with students in K-12 in both traditional and non-traditional academic settings. She holds a master’s degree in social service administration and community schools from the University of Chicago. Her professional portfolio includes being a former middle school teacher, Community Schools Director, working with top researchers from the University of Michigan, and creating programming to increase college entry and college graduation for low-income, first-generation students.
Jingjing Liu (she/her) is a Ph.D. candidate in the Educational Policy, Planning & Leadership Program concentrating in Higher Education Administration at William & Mary. She is a Holmes Scholar and a Social Justice & Diversity Graduate Research Fellow at William & Mary, where she also teaches an English Language Course for international students. Her research interests include college access and success, college transition, and STEM education.
Martha Kakooza is a PhD student in Higher Education Administration at Morgan State University. She is also the Program Coordinator for the Women and Gender Resource Office at Johns Hopkins University and an instructor of International Perspectives of Women at Towson University. Currently, she is learning to become a scholar-practitioner whose work (both in scholarship and practice) is focused on the intersection of gender, immigration, and race. Her practice and programming are rooted in Africana womanism with the hopes of documenting lived and felt experiences through narrative inquiry. She holds both a BSc and MSc in Women and Gender Studies from Towson University.
Lauren McGuire (she/her) is a second-year Ph.D. student in the Educational Leadership, Policy and Human Development program at North Carolina State University She also serves as a Research Associate at the Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research. Her research interests include community college transfer, teaching and learning in postsecondaryi education, civic engagement, and how place affects education. Lauren has previously worked in higher education policy, research administration, and the student affairs fields. She earned her Master of Public Policy in Education Policy from Peabody College at Vanderbilt University. Her Bachelor’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning was earned from Michigan State University.
Trang Pham-Shouse earned her PhD in Educational Leadership at Penn State, USA (January 2023). Besides being a former English teacher at Foreign Language Specialized School, ULIS-VNU, she’s also the president, a co-founder and guest speaker of some community organizations/ projects for Vietnamese youth such as Water Wise Vietnam, CozyVil and MediaME. She got an MA in English Linguistics from Vietnam National University and M.Ed. in Educational Leadership from Penn State. Her research interests are pre-service teachers’ motivations and attrition; teacher education policy and professional development; service-learning and youth empowerment; teacher leadership and principalship in international contexts. Her current projects with colleagues are Vietnamese teachers’ intention to teach, and teacher leadership and well-being.
Nora Reikosky (she/her) is a joint PhD Candidate at the University of Pennsylvania in the Education, Culture, and Society division of the Graduate School of Education, and in the political science department, where she specializes in political theory and American Political Development. Her research critically explores the impact and stakes of private philanthropic actors in the democratic institution of public education, particularly where these actors intersect with and influence workforce and career readiness efforts—such as computer science for all—to educate students for future economic participation. Nora is the Program Co-Chair for the AERA Philanthropy & Education SIG. Prior to pursuing a PhD, Nora worked in the Google, Inc. legal department and at a national charter management organization implementing personalized and blended learning.
Becky Rock is a 2nd year Ph.D student in Educational Theory and Policy at Penn State University. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English education from BYU-Idaho and a M.Ed. in Educational Leadership with a specialization in Policy Studies from BYU. She is a former middle school language arts and creative writing teacher. Her broad research interests center around the intersection of political science and public education, including teacher policy, school choice, accountability, and educational policy processes. Her current work centers around the political engagement and influence of K-12 teachers.
Elisa Serrano is a PhD student in the Curriculum & Instruction program at Penn State University. She holds a M.A. in Rhetoric & Composition from Texas State University and a B.A. in English from Texas A&M University. She is a research assistant and is currently involved in projects related to asset-based pedagogies and dialogic teaching. Elisa’s research interests, at a very general level, revolve around asset-based pedagogies, ethnic studies, and translanguaging pedagogical practices. More specifically, Elisa is interested in linguistic justice and restorative education for language-minority students, particularly for Latinx students, like herself.
Brendon Soltis is a PhD student in the Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education program at Michigan State University. He is a research assistant with the Neighborhood Student Success Collaborative, supporting college access programs. His research focuses on multiraciality discourses in higher education, multiracial identity and categorization, and multiracial college student experiences. Before joining Michigan State University, he served as the Assistant Director for Residential Education at Tufts University. Brendon earned a BS in Computer Science from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and an MA in Student Development Administration from Seattle University.
Kate Steilen is a PhD student in Educational Administration in the Graduate School of Education, University at Buffalo-SUNY. She has served as the Managing Editor for the Journal of Educational Change for the past two years. Her research focuses on leadership and work intensification, the politics of education, schools as workplaces, and the sociology of work generally. Kate became interested in this field through some organizing work in the Buffalo Public Schools, working on school board campaigns while serving as a board member at her children’s elementary school. She holds an M.F.A. in Fiction from Columbia University, a B.A. from Northwestern in English Literature and German. She has taught English in Germany, worked as an administrator in higher education and as a freelance writer and editor.
Dominique “Dom” Turner is a Ph.D. student in the Higher Education Administration program at Morgan State University and a Lifeways of Hope Fellow with the Center for Religion and Cities. His research interests are higher education governance, the historical development of church-based HBCUs, and graduate student development. Dom earned both his master’s degree in public administration and undergraduate degree in government from Bowie State University. Professionally, he is the Director of Non-Traditional Programs and an adjunct professor at University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC).
Veronica Stephenson is a PhD student in the Educational Leadership program at Auburn University. She holds a master’s degree in secondary English education from Harding University and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Auburn University. She taught all courses of English from junior high level to freshman composition for fifteen years and has been teaching and directing theatre for the past twelve years. Her primary research interest is the role of school leaders during and after a school-related traumatic event while also focusing on trauma-informed care, school safety, and community response to traumatic events.
Yuqing Qiu (She/Her) is a doctoral candidate in the counseling program in the George Washington University working on the dissertation. She is also a certificated LGPC in the D.C. area who has been in this profession for five years. The most recent position she got is a clinic supervisor at Community Counseling Service Center at George Washington University, where her primary responsibility is providing supervision for master’s level counseling interns and addressing administrative issues with other staff members.
Jennifer Valdez (She/her/ella) is a PhD student in Student Affairs at the University of Maryland -College Park. She obtained a Master’s degree in Higher Education and Student Affairs at Ohio State. Her research interests center the lived experiences of Latinx/o/a students on college campuses with an emphasis on racial/ethnic identity development, sense of belonging, and access. Past research includes Latinx/o/a degree attainment in computer science and STEM related fields and she currently serves on a research team focusing on Latinx/o/a mid-level professionals in higher education and student affairs.
Lillie Ko Wong (She/Her) is a Ph.D student in the Department of Education Studies at the University of California, San Diego. She received her master’s of education at the California State University, Sacramento. Prior to the program, she worked as a middle school history teacher with minoritized students in the San Francisco Bay Area. Through her experiences in education, she became interested in researching equity issues and the educational outcomes of students of color. Her research interests are in teacher education and equity policies.
Roy Anthony Zamora II is a PhD student in Educational Leadership Policy at Texas Tech University. He holds a M.Ed. from Harvard Graduate School of Education and a B.S. in Secondary Education – Social Studies from Texas Christian University. Prior to becoming a teacher he served in the United States Air Force as a Civil Engineer. He is currently the Coordinator for Performance Outcomes at a school district in North Texas. His research interests focus on evaluation and accountability systems, institutional change, and organizational theory.
Xiaoyue Zhang is a doctoral student in Curriculum and Pedagogy at George Washington University. She holds an M.Ed. in Curriculum and Pedagogy from Washington State University and a double bachelor’s degree in Musicology and Piano Performance from Sichuan Conservatory of Music, China. She was a professional piano player before she entered graduate school. This background of long-time professional training inspired her many thoughts about art and music and made her a hands-on art learner. Her research interests involve the arts and music in museums and informal learning environments (out-of-school learning). Her current doctoral dissertation addresses postwar art, music, contemporary philosophy, and post-qualitative inquiry.
Adeoluwa Folami is a second-year doctoral student at Morgan State University in the Higher Education Administration cohort. She has a postgraduate diploma in educational administration and a master’s in public administration. She is presently an adjunct at the Anne Arundel Community College, and a Graduate Intern at the Johns Hopkins University LEED Office. She is interested in research focused on students’ experiences with an institution’s student services. She loves reading, traveling, and meeting people. Her current project is learning ASL.
Natasha M. Rabinowitz is a second-year doctoral student at Auburn University in the Educational Leadership Program with a focus on Administration of Supervision and Curriculum. She has obtained two masters degrees in Microbiology and Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Connecticut. She also earned a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Nevada – Las Vegas (UNLV) in Biological Sciences and a minor in Chemistry. Currently she is in her 12 year as an educator in Phenix City, AL under a TEAMS contract. She has been on the advisory boards for Infiniscope (a joint venture between NASA and Arizona State University) and the National Science Teaching Association, Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS@NSTA) advisory board. Her research interests are salary discrepancies between STEM (science technology engineering and mathematics) and Non-STEM teachers and teacher attrition. She is also interested in looking at teacher well-being (physical and mental health) and the effect these have on student achievement. She also enjoys reading, traveling, and spending time with family and friends.
Supporting members of the American Journal of Education editorial team:
Bryan Mann, Student Board Advisor
Dana Mitra, Editor
Emily Hodge, Editor
David Gamson, Book Review Editor
Alumni of the Student Board are:
Jeremy Anderson
Ruxandra Apostolescu
Shefa AlHashmi
F. Frank Ayata
Nikolaus Barkauskas
Katie Bateman
Elizabeth Bell
Pauli Badenhorst
Leslie Cano
Jana Clinton
Alex Collopy
Katie Crabtree
Susan Crandall Hart
Seyma Dagistan
Samantha Deane
Jason A. Engerman
Scott D. Farver
Kathryn Fishman-Weaver
Sebrina Doyle Fosco
Anne Frank-Webb
Sarah Hairston
Adam HockerEmily Hodge
Barbara Hou
Beth Howd
Jacob Kirksey
Joseph Levitan
Daniel A. Lilly
Jing Liu
Megan E. Lynch
Lorraine A. Jones
Kayla Johnson
Holly Klock
Bryan Mann
Natasha Mansur
Jonathan (JD) McCausland
Eric McGinnis
Kelly McGurgan
Rachel Montgomery
Raquel Muñiz
Arun Muthusamy
Rhoda Nanre Nafziger
Mary Neville
Thomas Norris
Nnenna Ogbu
Abigail Orrick
Andrew Pendola
Logan Rutten
Yahya Shamekhi
Jeremy Singer
Stormy Stark
Aubree Webb
Hansol Woo
Shulong Yan
Diane H. Zack