
NEW ENGLAND EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH ORGANIZATION
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Officers

EMILIE
REAGAN
President
Claremont Graduate University
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Emilie Mitescu Reagan is an Associate Professor in the Claremont Graduate University School of Educational Studies. She is also Co-Principal Investigator for the University of New Hampshire Teacher Residency for Rural Education (TRRE) program. Emilie's research focuses on social justice-oriented teacher education policy and practice, using primarily quantitative and mixed methods research.

AMY
RYAN
Immediate Past President
Boston College
Amy Ryan is the Assistant Dean for Field Placement and Outreach at the Lynch School of Education and Human Development at Boston College. In this capacity, she oversees field placements for teacher candidates, actively partners with faculty in the Teaching, Curriculum and Society Department, and serves on the Catholic Education Committee and the Donovan Urban Scholars Advisory Board. Before joining Boston College, Dr. Ryan served as the Deputy Superintendent of the Catholic Schools Office in the Archdiocese of Boston. She led the implementation of a new student information system and adaptive online assessments across the elementary schools. Dr. Ryan is currently the Immediate Past President of NEERO and an active member of the NEERO Board.

JESS
GREGORY
Secretary
Southern Connecticut State University
Jess L. Gregory is an Associate Professor in the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Department at Southern Connecticut State University, where she teaches Educational Leadership courses across both the sixth-year administrator certification and doctoral programs. Jess has published many peer-reviewed, empirical journal articles as well as conference papers, books, and several chapters in edited volumes.
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KRISTEN
BONANNO-SOTIROPOULOS
Communications Director
Bay Path University
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Kristen Bonanno-Sotiropoulos is the Program Director of Special Education and English as a Second Language Graduate Programs at Bay Path University. Kristen is also an educational advocate working for children with exceptionalities and their families. She has co-authored several international books and book chapters related to the unique needs of students with disabilities and effective instructional programs and practices. She is regular presenter at local and national conferences and serves as an Educational Surrogate Parent for the Massachusetts Federation for Children with Special Needs.
TOM
SCHRAM
Historian
Univeristy of New Hampshire
Tom Schram has worked for over thirty-seven years in education, ranging from K-6 teaching to higher education teaching, research, and administration. His scholarly agenda and expertise encompass teacher education program development and policies, rural teacher residency programs, school-university partnerships, ethnographic and field-based qualitative research design and methods.

SARAH
ENTERLINE ROCH
Vice President & Conference Chair
St. Mark's School
Sarah Enterline Roch is the Director of Institutional Research at St. Mark’s School (Southborough, MA). Sarah received her Ph.D. from Boston College in Educational Research, Measurement, and Evaluation, and served as the first Director of Assessment and Accreditation at BC’s School of Education. Sarah has participated in NEERO since 2004, received the inaugural Kim Fries Award, and been a member of the Board since 2018.

JESSICA
PAWLIK-YORK
Treasurer
University of Hartford
Jessica Pawlik-York is the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the College of Education, Nursing, and Health Professions at the University of Hartford. She has more than 20 years of experience in higher education with roles in both student and academic affairs. Pawlik-York is a seasoned faculty member teaching courses in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality studies, as well as in History, and Education.
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THERESE
AJTUM-ROBERTS
Conference Director
Northeastern University
Therese Ajtum-Roberts has devoted most of her career to creating inclusive, equitable, and engaging learning environments. For nearly twenty years, she has supported instructors' use of technology, backwards design, and UDL principles to create a responsive, equitable, and inclusive curriculum for all learners. Thereses’s research interests focus on faculty and in-service teachers' professional development, teaching with technology, and how teachers create responsive, equitable, and inclusive learning environments.

DEB
PATTERSON
Special Projects Director
Western New England College
Deb Patterson is Chair of the Education Department at Western New England University in Springfield, Massachusetts, and the licensure officer for WNE. In addition to the NEERO board, Deb also serves on the Massachusetts Colleges of Teacher Education (MACTE) board.
Regional Representatives
OLCAY
YAVUZ
Connecticut Representative
Southern Connecticut State University
Olcay Yavuz is, Internship Coordinator and an Associate Professor in the Southern Connecticut State University Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Department where he teaches courses in School Law, School Finance, Doctoral Inquiry Seminar, Leadership Perspectives, Program and Personnel Evaluation, Quantitative Methods in Educational Leadership, Organizational Development, Advanced Research Methods, Learning Theories, Leadership Development, School Leader Field-Based Internship as well as Dissertation Advisement and Defense.

LISA ANDRIES
D'SOUZA
Massachusetts Representative
Assumption College
Lisa Andries D'Souza is a Professor of Education at Assumption University in Worcester, Massachusetts. Her research interests include teacher preparation, history/social science education and middle school education. She has been an active member of NEERO since 2005. Lisa is passionate about supporting undergraduate/graduate students and beginning faculty in their pursuit of educational research.

EDWARD
LEHNER
New York Representative
Brooklyn Community College
Edward Lehner is an Associate Professor in Education and Academic Literacy at Bronx Community College. He is a seasoned research methodologist with extensive training in qualitative and quantitative frameworks. His research currently focuses on blockchain applications combining data sciences and higher education. In particular, he centers his efforts on cryptocurrencies and their ability to fund education, science, and, broadly, education and art endowments. To understand cryptocurrency valuation metrics, Edward has combined qualitative methodologies with data science, a complex and heterodox space, where there is much to research.

KELLY
CLARK/KEEFE
Vermont Representative
University of Vermont
Kelly Clark/Keefe is an Associate Professor at the University of Vermont. Her primary appointment is in the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies program, where she teaches graduate courses in qualitative research and social foundations of education. Kelly’s research brings theories of affect and educational subjectivity to bear on a range of topics including: the role of bodies, place, and movement in shaping educational identity; stratified versions of schooling; and conceptual analyses of educational leadership.

Julie
Dellamattera
Maine Representative
University of Maine
Julie DellaMattera is an Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education; preceptor in the Honors College; and School Director for Educational Leadership, Higher Education, Human Development, and Peace Studies in the College of Education and Human Development at UMaine. Julie has a myriad of early childhood education experiences in both public and private sectors and in profit and non-profit agencies across the State.
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CLARISSA M.
UTTLEY
New Hampshire Representative
Plymouth State University
Clarissa M. Uttley is a Professor of Education at Plymouth State University in Plymouth, NH. She is the program coordinator for the MEd in Curriculum & Instruction and teaches courses in research design, assessment, and human-animal interaction.
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LEILA
ROSA
Rhode Island Representative
Rhode Island College
Leila Rosa is currently the interim Director of the TESOL program and an assistant professor with the Department of Educational Studies at Rhode Island College. Her research centers on immigration trauma and its impact on the educational placement and identification of students who are English language learners in urban settings. She takes a special interest in the climate of deportation and the implications on children and youth that live in a mixed-status home. She has taught courses in the Department of Educational Leadership with the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, and the Department of Special Education at the University of South Florida.
JEFFREY
SANTICOLA
Outside the New England Representative
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Chef Jeffrey Santicola has split his first six years at Indiana University between the Culinary Arts Academy and the Hospitality Management Department, where he currently serves as the food and beverage instructor. Chef Santicola chairs the students run restaurant facility, open to both IUP campus personnel and Indiana's local community. Chef Santicola is completing his Doctorate in Education specific to Curriculum and Instruction. He also serves as the Hospitality Management Department lead advisor and a college mentor for students in the University College.
Strand Directors
CHRISTINE
CLAYTON
Teaching & Teacher Education
Pace University
Christine is an associate professor of education and the program director of initial certification programs at Pace University in Pleasantville, NY. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in curriculum, assessment, content literacy, and research. She has published several peer-reviewed articles about inquiry learning and professional development as well as about teacher education and teacher performance assessment. The work of a nine-year professional development project was the subject of her first book in 2020, Inquiry in tandem: Student and teacher learning in secondary schools.
GAIL
PRELLI
Leadership, Policy, & Education Reform
Bridgeport University
Gail is an Associate Professor Educational Leadership at the University of Bridgeport. She is a retired public school administrator.
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AUBREY
SCHEOPNER TORRES
Higher Education
Saint Anselm College
Aubrey is an Associate Professor in the Education Department at Saint Anselm College. Her research interests include competency-based education, teacher retention, teacher preparation, and Catholic education with methodological areas of expertise in qualitative research design as well as mixed methods, including development, use, and analysis of interview, observation, and survey protocols.
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SEBASTIAN
MONCALEANO
Measurement, Assessment & Evaluation; Research Methods
Boston College
Sebastian Monscaleano is a Ph.D. candidate at Boston College's Measurement, Evaluation, Statistics, and Assessment program. Previously a high school math teacher, he now focuses on researching computer-based assessments and the use of technology-enhanced items in educational digital testing.

DENISE
SARGENT
Diversity &Sociocultural Issue
Fitchburg State University
Denise is the Chair of the Education Department and Associate Professor at Fitchburg State University. Denise teaches in the graduate and undergraduate education programs and supervises student teachers. Her research interests are in teacher development, policy, and school improvement. Prior to coming to Fitchburg State University, Denise worked at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and taught special education in public school K-12 classrooms.
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KELLY
SWINDLEHURST
Curriculum & Instruction
University of Vermont
Kelly Swindlehurst is a lecturer in the Department of Education at The University of Vermont. She teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in Special Education. Her research focuses on effective teacher preparation to meet the needs of all learners.
ANDREW
MILLER
Human Development and Learning
Boston College
Andrew’s research and teaching focus on the ways Catholic schools and Catholic school leaders, inspired by Catholic social teaching, provide a transformative and socially just education for the students who attend America's Catholic schools. As a faculty member in the Educational Leadership and Higher Education department, Miller teaches graduate electives in the M.Ed. program focused on ethics and equity frameworks and transforming the field of Catholic education.
DANETTE V.
DAY
Professional Development
Fitchburg State University
Danette V. Day is an Associate Professor in the School of Education at Fitchburg State University in Fitchburg, MA where she teaches courses in cultural competency, diversity pedagogy, educational psychology, and curriculum development. Her research centers on community engagement, sense of belonging and mindfulness in teaching, learning and leadership. An educator and scholar with a 30-year career in public, private, charter and innovation school education, Dr. Day earned a Doctorate of Education in Teacher Education and School Improvement from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA in 2014.
Strand Co Directors

DEB
PATTERSON
Teacher and Teacher Education
Western New England University
Deb Patterson is Chair of the Education Department at Western New England University in Springfield, Massachusetts, and the licensure officer for WNE. In addition to the NEERO board, Deb also serves on the Massachusetts Colleges of Teacher Education (MACTE) board.

OLCAY
YAVUZ
Leadership, Policy, & Education Reform
Southern Connectcut State University
Olcay Yavuz is, Internship Coordinator and an Associate Professor in the Southern Connecticut State University Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Department where he teaches courses in School Law, School Finance, Doctoral Inquiry Seminar, Leadership Perspectives, Program and Personnel Evaluation, Quantitative Methods in Educational Leadership, Organizational Development, Advanced Research Methods, Learning Theories, Leadership Development, School Leader Field-Based Internship as well as Dissertation Advisement and Defense.

KELLY
CLARK/KEEFE
Higher Education
University of Vermont
Kelly Clark/Keefe is an Associate Professor at the University of Vermont. Her primary appointment is in the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies program, where she teaches graduate courses in qualitative research and social foundations of education. Kelly’s research brings theories of affect and educational subjectivity to bear on a range of topics including: the role of bodies, place, and movement in shaping educational identity; stratified versions of schooling; and conceptual analyses of educational leadership.
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KATHERINE
REYNOLDS
Measure, Assessment, & Evaluation; Research Methods
Boston College
Katherine Reynolds currently works at the TIMSS and PIRLS International Study Center, where she oversees the development of context questionnaires that accompany the TIMSS and PIRLS assessments.

THERESE
AJTUM-ROBERTS
Diversity and Sociocultural Issues
Northeastern University
Therese Ajtum-Roberts has devoted most of her career to creating inclusive, equitable, and engaging learning environments. For nearly twenty years, she has supported instructors' use of technology, backwards design, and UDL principles to create a responsive, equitable, and inclusive curriculum for all learners. Thereses’s research interests focus on faculty and in-service teachers' professional development, teaching with technology, and how teachers create responsive, equitable, and inclusive learning environments.

JULIE
DELLAMATERA
Curriculum & Instruction
University of Vermont
Julie DellaMattera is an Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education; preceptor in the Honors College; and School Director for Educational Leadership, Higher Education, Human Development, and Peace Studies in the College of Education and Human Development at UMaine. Julie has a myriad of early childhood education experiences in both public and private sectors and in profit and non-profit agencies across the State.

BETH
FORNAUF
Human Development and Learning
Plymouth Sate University
Beth Fornauf an Assistant Professor of special education at Plymouth State University in Plymouth, NH. Her teaching and research are focused on Universal Design for Learning (UDL), Disability and Critical Race Studies (DisCrit), and inclusive education. While at UNH, she worked for a teacher residency program focused on recruiting and preparing teachers for rural New Hampshire schools. Beth has also worked as a project manager for the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST), supporting a UDL professional learning network for New Hampshire educators. Prior to my work in higher education, Beth was an elementary and special education teacher.

JESSICA
PAWLIK-YORK
Professional Development
University of Hartford
Jessica Pawlik-York is the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the College of Education, Nursing, and Health Professions at the University of Hartford. She has more than 20 years of experience in higher education with roles in both student and academic affairs. Pawlik-York is a seasoned faculty member teaching courses in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality studies, as well as in History and Education.