Anthony Dandridge
Visiting Lecturer, Department of Black Studies, State University of New York at New Paltz
Anthony Dandridge is a Visiting Lecturer in the 2nd oldest Black Studies department on the planet at SUNY New Paltz who has also taught in Temple Universities Philosophy Department, its Africology and Af-American Studies Department and the Africana Studies Department at the University of Delaware. An Afrocentrist that prioritizes the importance of cultural lenses when engaging phenomena, he has been teaching University courses on Race and Racism for 20 years, worked with incarcerated youth in the Don’t Fall Down in the Hood Program and incarcerated adults in the now International Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program where college students go into prisons and participate in college courses for a semester with people behind walls. Recently, he is a founding member of the Black Lives Matter at School Collective at SUNY New Paltz, a Co-Chair of the SUNY Black Faculty and Staff Collective, a New Paltz Faculty Sustainability Fellow, an instructor of Contemplative practices, a core member of the New Paltz Eddy, a steering group member for The Sojourner Truth Library Antiracist Campus Read, on several campus diversity committees and a proud and active member of the Union of University Professionals where he has presented on Unions and Racism on several occasions.
Kiersten Greene
Associate Professor, Department of Teaching and Learning, State University of New York at New Paltz
Kiersten Greene is an associate professor for literacy education at the State University of New York at New Paltz in the Department of Teaching and Learning, where they teach pre- and in-service teachers how to teach reading, writing, and multimodal text production. Kiersten has been an antiracist educator and union activist for the past twenty years in both K-12 and higher education, and is a founding member of the Black Lives Matter at School Collective at SUNY New Paltz. Their scholarship critically examines the disconnect between policy and practice in 21st century schooling, and when they’re not teaching, reading, writing, protesting, or parenting, you can find them rollerskating.
Dr. Judith Brown Clarke
Vice President for Equity & Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer, Stony Brook University
Judith Brown Clarke is an award-winning thought leader and diversity advocate. She was named Chief Diversity Officer (CDO) at Stony Brook University effective February 17, 2020, and was later named Vice President of Equity & Inclusion.
Bio, Office of the President
Dr. Maurie McInnis
President, Stony Brook University
Dr. Maurie McInnis is the sixth President of Stony Brook University, one of America’s leading public universities and an internationally recognized research institution. As chief executive for Stony Brook, McInnis also oversees Stony Brook Medicine, Long Island’s premier academic medical center, encompassing five health sciences schools, four hospitals, and 200 community-based healthcare settings. She plays a key role in economic development on Long Island and in Stony Brook’s role as a co-manager of Brookhaven National Laboratory.
Bio, Office of the President
Shafeek Fazal
Interim Dean, Stony Brook University Libraries
Shafeek Fazal serves as the Interim Dean of University Libraries, advancing the Library’s strategic direction in support of the University strategic plan and overseeing all areas of operation.
Bio, Office of the President
Amy S. White
Lehman College, CUNY
Dena Spanos
MSW Candidate, School of Social Welfare, Stony Brook University
Dena Spanos is an MSW student with a background in violence prevention, mental wellness, and antiracist education. As a member of the School of Social Welfare’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Standing Committee and the Racial Equity Student Alliance, Dena is committed to advocating for racial justice in higher education from the micro to macro level. With a focus on decentering whiteness in social work, Dena is currently working on her final semester Capstone project to decolonize social work education and utilize cultural humility as a tool for social change. In her free time Dena hosts ‘Getting InCUESive’, a podcast she established through her organization CommUnity Empowerment Services which focuses on violence prevention through collective and systemic care.
Fabio Montella
Librarian, Suffolk County Community College
Fabio Montella is an Assistant Professor of Library Services and an Adjunct Professor of History at Suffolk County Community College. He is an Open SUNY Online Teaching Ambassador for Excellence and a graduate of the Quality Matters Teaching Online Certificate Program. Currently, Fabio teaches an Introduction to College Research Course and several history courses, all of which are taught in both online and face-to-face modalities. His current studies include the design of embedded and collaborative information literacy practices, and the history of baseball on Long Island and its connections to the era of segregated professional baseball.
Glenn Dausch
Web Accessibility Officer/EIT Coordinator, Stony Brook University
Glenn Dausch works within the Office of Equity and Access as Stony Brook University’s Web Accessibility Officer/EIT Coordinator. Where he leads our Campus Digital Accessibility Program, and serves as a subject matter expert on digital accessibility matters. Glenn has a long-established career at Stony Brook University. He previously held a pivotal role as the assistive technology specialist within SASC. Glenn sees digital Accessibility As an essential component of a truly inclusive and diverse campus. He is grateful to work with colleagues that continue to go “Far Beyond” to ensure that all faculty, staff, students and community members can participate in our programs.
Jaime Hartless
Assistant Professor of Sociology, Farmingdale State College
Jaime Hartless is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Farmingdale State College. Dr. Hartless received her PhD in Sociology from the University of Virginia in 2019. Her research focuses on how social inequality is reproduced within LGBTQ+ and feminist spaces. Her dissertation, for example, examines the politics of allyship in these two social movements. This research has informed her teaching throughout her career, particularly within courses like Introduction to Sociology, Introduction to LGBTQ+ Studies, Social Inequality, Gender & Sexuality, and Social Science Research Methods.
Keith Pardini
Librarian, Suffolk County Community College
Keith Pardini is an Instructor of Library Services at Suffolk County Community College. In this position he oversees Reference services and coordinates projects to improve library services and resources for faculty and students. He also teaches an Introduction to College Research course via online and face-to-face modalities. This required college course focuses on information literacy skills and research methods for college success and beyond. He is interested in local history related to military veterans and has a certificate in Archives and Preservation of Cultural Materials.
Kerry Weir, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Exceptional Education & Learning, SUNY Old Westbury
Kerry Weir, Ph.D. is an assistant professor of Exceptional Education & Learning and co-chair of the Joint Faculty-Administration Applied Learning Task Force at SUNY Old Westbury. Dr. Weir’s research focuses on educational leadership, preparation and retention of special education teachers, and issues of social justice in education. Collaborating closely with the Applied Learning Coordinator, Dr. Weir is committed to creating access to authentic learning experiences for students on campus and in the field.
Marisa Petrusky
Undergraduate Student, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Stony Brook University
Marisa Petrusky is a graduating senior Physics major from the Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Honors College at Stony Brook University. As a former WISE first-year student mentor and the current Vice President of the Society of Physics Students, she draws from the experiences of herself and her peers to devise and lead initiatives that promote a healthier and more inclusive culture in STEM. She has previously been awarded the Stony Brook Undergraduate Recognition Award for Outstanding Achievement in Community Service and recently won the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship.
Michelle Wohlman-Izakson, MS.Ed.
Grant Coordinator for the NYS Regional Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders and Assistant Director for The Teacher Opportunity Corps
Michelle Wohlman-Izakson, MS.Ed. served as Grant Coordinator for the NYS Regional Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders and Assistant Director for The Teacher Opportunity Corps; both grants from The School of Education. Ms. Wohlman-Izakson has also taught courses for the First Year-Experience, Community Action, Learning and Leadership Program and The School of Education. Ms. Wohlman-Izakson currently serves as the Applied Learning Coordinator, a hybrid position which bridges both the academic and student affairs divisions. She is also an advisor in the Career Planning & Development office, where she helps students discover applied learning opportunities that align and complement their career aspirations.
Patricia A. Dunn
Professor of English, Stony Brook University
Patricia A. Dunn is professor of English at Stony Brook University, where she teaches courses in the teaching of writing and disability studies. She has published numerous articles, blogs, and five books on her related areas of interest: Learning Re-Abled: The Learning Disability Controversy and Composition Studies; Talking, Sketching, Moving: Multiple Literacies and the Teaching of Writing; Grammar Rants [co-authored with Ken Lindblom]; and Disabling Characters: Representations of Disability in Young Adult Literature. Her latest book is Drawing Conclusions: Using Visual Thinking to Understand Complex Concepts in the Classroom.
Ray Anderson
Stony Brook University
Susan Wood
Suffolk County Community College
Dr. Thomas Manuel
Artist in Residence, Stony Brook University & President & Founder, The Jazz Loft, Inc.
Jazz historian, music educator and trumpet player Dr. Thomas Manuel received his formal music training from Boston University and completed his DMA in Jazz Performance at Stony Brook University. His mentors included Warren Vache and Ray Anderson. As the recent recipient of an endowed Artist in Residence chair within the Jazz department at Stony Brook University, Manuel also holds a faculty position with the Stony Brook University Young Artist Program directing their jazz program in residence at the Jazz Loft. In addition to this he serves as a trustee to the Frank Melville Memorial Foundation and is also a member of the Huntington Arts Council Decentralization Advisory Committee. Manuel has been cited for his accomplishments by The New York Times, Downbeat Magazine, Newsday, Jazz Inside Magazine, Jazz Ed Magazine and has been featured with his Big Band ensemble on radio, television, as well as several CD albums. Most recently Manuel established a music program for under privileged students in Port Au Prince Haiti and he was also honored as the guest speaker for the graduation ceremony for the Greater Vision Christian School in New Kru Town, just outside the capital city of Monrovia in Liberia, Africa. During his time there he established a music program for the school and was fortunate to direct the students in their first concert. Manuel dedicates his professional efforts to both the preservation of Long Island’s jazz history as well as presenting it to future generations. He has taught in the public school system for over a decade, on the collegiate level, and served for many years as a member of the Suffolk County Music Educators Association (SCMEA) Executive Board. In May 2016 Manuel officially opened The Jazz Loft in Stony Brook, NY. As its founder, curator and artistic director Manuel takes pride in this innovative and creative space which joins jazz performance, jazz preservation and jazz education in celebration of the past, present, and future. Manuel has received several honors for his dedication to the American born art form of Jazz including Stony Brook Universities 40 Under 40 Award, several Suffolk Country Proclamations, the East End Arts & Humanities Council 2020 Music Masters residency, the 2019 Applied Improvisation Network International Conference artist presenter, and the 2016 Person of the Year in Brookhaven award from the Times Beacon Record. His most recent endeavor included an educational outreach to Havana, Cuba, collaborating with several top jazz artists, professors, producers and an independent film maker.
Victoria Boecherer
Public School Teacher and Adjunct Instructor
Victoria Boecherer is a Long Island public school teacher with experience teaching the primary grades, as a classroom teacher, through college, as an Adjunct Instructor of College Seminar at Suffolk County Community College. She has B.A. and M.A. degrees in English from Stony Brook University, and an M.S. in Childhood Education from Long Island University: Riverhead. In addition, she holds New York State teaching certifications in Childhood Education, Early Childhood Education, and Literacy; a certification in English Language Arts is pending. Her article “The Square Cucumber: Restoring Student Autonomy and Confidence” was awarded Honorable Mention for the Paul and Kate Farmer English Journal Writing Award by the National Council of Teachers of English in 2018.
Wendi Mathews, LCSW
Director of Student Accessibility Support Center, Stony Brook University
Wendi Mathews is the Director of Student Accessibility Support Center at Stony Brook University. Wendi is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who holds her Masters in Social Work from Adelphi University. Before beginning her career in higher education, she worked in the mental health field providing clinical counseling at a non-profit agency where she specialized in working with individuals of all different abilities within a modified high school setting. She has enjoyed working at Stony Brook University to help create a universally accessible and inclusive environment where students have the opportunity to thrive in their personal, educational, and professional development.
