2022 Summer Institute Presenters

As Montclair State University’s Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, Junius J. Gonzales, M.D., M.B.A., is designated the second highest ranking university official and leads the university’s academic programs for teaching, research, scholarship and creative inquiry and service in ten schools and colleges, and is responsible for academic planning, new initiatives in teaching and learning, faculty and academic staff development, and the libraries. He also oversees institutional assessment and accreditation, office of research, and student success efforts through University College, academic student services (e.g., tutoring), and special student programs such as Upward Bound and EOF.

Dr. Yanling Sun is the Assistant Vice President of ITDS and provides leadership, management and administrative oversight for all aspects of ITDS’ operations. She has over 25 years of professional experience in the areas of course design and development across modalities, instructional technology support, and faculty development initiatives/programs in higher education. Dr. Sun joined Montclair State University in 2005. She holds a Ph. D. in Curriculum ad Instruction with a specialization in Instructional Technology from Ohio University.

Dr. Claire Howell Major is a Professor of Higher Education and Chair of the Department of Educational Leadership, Policy, and Technology Studies at the University of Alabama. At the University of Alabama, she teaches masters and doctoral level courses in the Higher Education Administration program. She also conducts research on pedagogical approaches and student engagement. She has authored and co-authored several books, including Engaged Teaching: A Handbook for College Faculty (with Elizabeth Barkley), Learning Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Faculty (with Elizabeth Barkley), Online learning: A guide to theory, research, and practice, Teaching for Learning (with Michael Harris and Todd Zakrajsek), and Collaborative learning techniques: A handbook for college faculty (with Elizabeth Barkley and Pat Cross).

Catherine Keohane is interim Associate Director for Teaching and Learning for the Office for Faculty Development. Dr. Keohane has a Ph.D. in English from Rutgers University. She has designed and taught upper- and lower-division literature and composition courses, and has experience teaching in multiple modalities. She has presented on student engagement at MLA, and recently has begun to develop open-educational resources that work to mitigate financial barriers to students’ success.

Dr. Emily Isaacs specializes in teaching and learning, pedagogy, assessment, and faculty development. Professor Isaacs’ scholarship is focused on best practices for writing instruction and administration, the national state of writing instruction and support at U.S. four-year universities, and teaching and learning in public higher education. Recently her articles have appeared in Pedagogy, College English, Writing Program Administration, Writing Center Journal, Journal of Teaching Writing and in several book collections. In addition, she is the author of three books, including most recently, Writing at the State U (Utah State UP).

Joaly Garcia has worked in higher education since 2004, she is an Instructional Designer on the ITDS team and is also a professor in the Spanish and Latino Studies Department at Montclair State University. She is passionate about the teaching and learning process, and has successfully blended technological strategies with engaging techniques in online and F2F courses. Joaly earned her M.A. Et in Adult Learning and Distance Learning from Inter American University of Puerto Rico, School of Education and Professional Conduct.

Dr. van Eeden-Moorefield is a Professor and Associate Department Chair for Social Justice Initiatives in the Family Science and Human Development department at Montclair State University. He received his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He has made critical contributions to the field of Family Science regarding stepfamilies and LGBTQ+ populations. Dr. van Eeden-Moorefield is an established leader at NCFR (the Family Science national organization), serving in many capacities including as an elected member of the NCFR Board of Directors, Program Chair of the 2020 Annual Conference, and as a member of the editorial boards of Family Relations: Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Family Science and Journal of Family Theory and Review among other roles.

Christopher Kaczmarek, who received his MFA in Visual Art and an MA in Modern and Contemporary Art History, Theory and Criticism from Purchase College, State University of New York, serves the Department of Art and Design at Montclair State University as an Assistant Professor of Interdisciplinary Art, and the Program Coordinator for Visual Arts. As an artist, his research spans both experimental and traditional practices. Recent interests have been concerned with the shapes in which collective and collaborative environments can be formed to become spaces where imagination and creativity are used in the service of hopeful outcomes.

Dr. Ethné Swartz, is a 2018 – 2019 Fulbright Scholar with a Ph.D. from the University of Manchester, Manchester, UK. Her research is focused on entrepreneurship and innovation, management of technology, business continuity and crisis management. Active in the United States Association of Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) she served as a board member and as the Vice President of Conference for the annual conference in January 2011. She has co-authored two books and published in leading peer reviewed journals, notably Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, Entrepreneurship Research Journal, International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship, Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship, Long Range Planning, Journal of Applied Management Studies, Business Horizons, and ET&P. She serves as an editorial board member of the Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship and on the USASBE ethics committee.

Pam Fallivene is a Lead Technology Trainer in the ITDS group and has been at Montclair State University for 22 years feeding her passion for teaching and helping others to improve their skills. She supports the campus community on Canvas as well as other teaching and learning technologies.

Abigail Hunte is a Senior Technology Trainer with over 15 years of experience providing technical training to adult learners in Corporate and Higher Education environments. She enjoys being part of the ITDS team and helping to serve the greater Montclair State community.

Keith Adams is an Instructional Designer with ITDS. In addition to this role, Keith teaches Photography in the College of Art. He holds an MFA from Mason Gross School of the Arts and an MA in Arts and Humanities Education from New York University.

Dr. Jinxia He is a Lead Instructional Designer on the ITDS team. She received her Ph.D. with a specialization in Instructional System Design from the University of Central Florida. Her research interests focus on using instructional strategies in online teaching and learning, building online learning communities and team-based learning especially virtual teams, as well as integrating emerging technologies in education.

Qian (Lora) Yao is an Instructional Designer on the ITDS team. She works with faculty on different undergraduate and graduate online programs and she provides course design consultations for online, hybrid and face-to-face courses, as well as designs faculty development courses and workshops. Qian holds a M.A. in Public and Organizational Relations from Montclair State University.

Gina Policastro is an Instructional Designer with ITDS and a MSU Alumnus (BA English Education). She is passionate about building community in online environments and providing instruction on blended learning engagement strategies. Gina holds an MI in Library and Information Science from Rutgers University.

Dr. Jazmin Reyes-Portillo is an Assistant Professor in the Psychology Department at Montclair State University. Dr. Reyes-Portillo completed her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. She was a recipient of the Sallie Foundation Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at Columbia University Medical Center/New York State Psychiatric Institute. Dr. Reyes-Portillo graduated with a B.A. in Psychology from Wellesley College. Her research interests include using digital health technology to improve racial/ethnic minority youth access to mental health treatment for depression and anxiety disorders; implementation and dissemination of evidence-based practices in schools and community settings; suicide prevention; and Latinx mental health.

Gail Yosh, an Instructional Specialist at Montclair State, has more than 25 years of experience in marketing, corporate communications, and event marketing for FORTUNE 500 companies such as Cendant Corporation and Medco (Express Scripts). Her expertise extends to Internal & External Corporate Communications, Marketing Communications, Career Communications, Personal Branding, Presentation Skills, Networking, and Business Writing. Gail earned her MBA in International Business from Montclair State and is currently pursuing her doctorate in Marketing at Pace University.

Carla Engstrom is the ELAD Program Administrator in Educational Leadership at Montclair State University. She is a collaborative educator and school leader with 25 years of experience in K-12 and Higher Education settings. She has worked at Montclair State University for 15 years in roles in Teacher Education Admissions & Retention, The Office of Clinical Experiences, and as a University Instructor in the Departments of Early Childhood, Elementary, & Literacy Education and Educational Leadership. Carla also serves as the Course Coordinator for ELAD: 615 Internship in School Leadership (300 hours) which leads to NJ Principal Certification.

Patrick Scioscia is a Lead Instructional Designer on the ITDS team. With more than a decade of experience in higher education, his current responsibilities include instructional design, implementing emerging technologies, LMS management, etc. In addition to his role in ITDS, he is also an instructor in the First-Year Writing department. Patrick earned his MA in Instructional Technology and Media from Columbia University.

Keith Adams is an Instructional Designer with ITDS. In addition to this role, Keith teaches Photography in the College of Art. He holds an MFA from Mason Gross School of the Arts and an MA in Arts and Humanities Education from New York University.

Joaly Garcia has worked in higher education since 2004, she is an Instructional Designer on the ITDS team and is also a professor in the Spanish and Latino Studies Department at Montclair State University. She is passionate about the teaching and learning process, and has successfully blended technological strategies with engaging techniques in online and F2F courses. Joaly earned her M.A. Et in Adult Learning and Distance Learning from Inter American University of Puerto Rico, School of Education and Professional Conduct.

Jean Moreno-Lassalle is an Instructional Design Assistant in the ITDS team at Montclair State University. He works primarily in assisting the Instructional Design team with course design and online program development. In addition to this, his responsibilities include training faculty members on Canvas, running workshops on educational technologies, co-managing the ITDS website, and designing visual projects for the group.

Rosi Lamela has been the Multimedia Specialist for ITDS since 2017. She has been involved in video, multimedia and photography for the last decade after receiving her BA in Broadcasting from MSU. She previously worked as a Video Specialist and Photographer in the Marketing and Communications Department for Berkeley College, and in the University Communications and Marketing Department at Montclair State. One of her key efforts is producing all video content for the Online MBA program and ITDS.

Joe Yankus is an Instructional Designer on the ITDS team with about 10 years of experience in higher education. He collaborates with faculty to design courses for undergraduate and graduate programs, and enjoys ideating and facilitating various faculty development initiatives. Joe has a B.A. in Communication Studies & Sociology and a M.A. in Instructional Design & Technology, both from Seton Hall University. He is also a part-time faculty member at Rutgers University, where he teaches an undergraduate Public Speaking course.

Ashwin Vaidya is a faculty member in the Department of Mathematics and also holds a joint appointment in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. He also serves as the director of the Complex Fluids Laboratory where along with students, he performs experiments and works on mathematical problems related to complex systems. He is interested in problems related to self-organizing systems, pattern formation, and biological fluid mechanics such as those that occur in the eye or the human brain. He is also interested in issues related to STEM education and to making creativity an essential feature of science and math education.

As Director of the Disability Resource Center (DRC), Meghan Hearns is knowledgeable in ADA law as it relates to higher education and provides a variety of advocacy and support for students, faculty, staff regarding creating and providing accessible learning, social and living experiences. She holds a B.S. and M.S. in Psychology and is a doctoral candidate at Arizona State University with a focus in Educational Leadership. Her work with the DRC includes a passion for peer mentoring and collaborating with faculty and staff across campus to address accessibility. Ms. Hearns firmly believes, “Accessibility is not a destination; rather, a journey. Just think of the DRC as your GPS guiding you on that journey.”

Evin Deschamps is the Assistant Director of Supplemental Instruction at Montclair State University. Her professional experience includes leading academic support centers and developing data-driven programs that support student retention. While at Northern Arizona University, she created an academic coaching program that harnessed early alert technology to provide timely interventions to struggling students. Evin focuses on increasing access and equity through strategic communication and marketing, and led a campus-wide Academic Behaviors Social Norming Campaign while at NAU. With a background in student development, she helps students maximize their campus employment experiences through training, professional development, and mentorship.

Chris Petrillo is an Instructional Designer within the ITDS team and MSU alumnus (BS Biological Science). Some responsibilities include working with instructors to design pedagogically-sound courses for online programs, development of workshops for increasing engagement in courses using interactive and collaborative platforms, administrating the MSU Canvas environment, and supporting faculty use of Canvas and other instructional technologies.

Gina Policastro is an Instructional Designer with ITDS and a Montclair State Alumnus (BA English Education). She is passionate about building community in online environments and providing instruction on blended learning engagement strategies. Gina holds an MI in Library and Information Science from Rutgers University.

Pam Fallivene is a Lead Technology Trainer in the ITDS group and has been at Montclair State University for 22 years feeding her passion for teaching and helping others to improve their skills. She supports the campus community on Canvas as well as other teaching and learning technologies.

Abigail Hunte is a Senior Technology Trainer with over 15 years of experience providing technical training to adult learners in Corporate and Higher Education environments. She enjoys being part of the ITDS team and helping to serve the greater Montclair State community.

Qian (Lora) Yao is an Instructional Designer on the ITDS team. She works with faculty on different undergraduate and graduate online programs and she provides course design consultations for online, hybrid and face-to-face courses, as well as designs faculty development courses and workshops. Qian holds a M.A. in Public and Organizational Relations from Montclair State University.

Jean Moreno-Lassalle is an Instructional Design Assistant in the ITDS team at Montclair State University. He works primarily in assisting the Instructional Design team with course design and online program development. In addition to this, his responsibilities include training faculty members on Canvas, running workshops on educational technologies, co-managing the ITDS website, and designing visual projects for the group.

Melissa Adamo is a Faculty Developer with the Office for Faculty Advancement and an Adjunct Instructor at Montclair State University and Rutgers University-Newark. She teaches composition courses at both institutions and has also taught creative writing and literature as well as pop culture at other state schools. She previously worked as the College Liaison for the Dodge Poetry Festival and has been a writing tutor at various community colleges across New Jersey. She was awarded an Excellence in Teaching award at Montclair State in 2019 and was an Engaged Teaching Fellow in 2016. Melissa has presented on panels regarding teaching methods at the Northeast Modern Language Association Convention and has had work published in various academic and literary journals.