Old Dominion University's Darden College of Education and Professional Studies welcomed 10 new professors to its high-quality faculty for the 2019-2020 academic year. The new professors join a college with approximately 130 full-time faculty, and will help strengthen a variety of academic program areas, including communication disorders and special education, counseling, elementary education, exercise science, higher education, human services, and instructional design & technology.
"We are so thrilled to welcome our new teaching faculty to the Monarch community," said Dean Jane S. Bray. "These talented professors are academic scholars who bring a wealth of experience, research and will offer ODU students high-quality teaching."
Dr. Mauriell Amechi is a visiting assistant professor of educational foundations and leadership. Amechi's research agenda and advocacy center on issues of educational equity, access, choice, student development, and persistence, with a particular focus on the experiences and pathways of transition-age foster youth and adults formerly in foster care. He is active in the the American Educational Research Association, the Association for the Study of Higher Education, the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, and the American College Personnel Association-College Student Educators International.
Lindy Brown is a lecturer and program advisor in the library and information studies program. She previously worked as a librarian at the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library before coming to ODU. Prior to that, she served as an academic advisor in the athletic departments of Oregon State University and the University of Florida, as well as in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences at the University of Florida.
Dr. Natalie Edirmanasinghe is an assistant professor in counseling. Previous to taking the position at ODU, Edirmanasinghe was a school counselor for seven years, predominantly serving in middle school settings. Her primary research interest is multicultural school counseling, specifically in supporting immigrant populations. She is also interested in small group counseling in schools to support underserved populations. She is a Nationally Certified Counselor and a licensed school counselor in Georgia and Florida.
Dr. Gena Gerstner is an assistant professor of exercise science. She is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist within the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). Her areas of research include examining the influence of obesity and aging on neuromuscular function as well as examining performance measures in occupational populations. She is a member of the NSCA, the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Public Health Association.
Dr. Annemarie Horn is an assistant professor of communication disorders and special education. She has worked as a special education teacher in public school districts located in Texas, Nevada and Virginia. Her areas of specialization and research include postsecondary transition for youth with disabilities, teacher training and eCoaching, and increasing the application of evidence-based practices in classrooms and community settings. She serves as a reviewer for several national journals, including Career Development and Transition for Exceptional Individuals and Transition in Practice, and is an active member in several national CEC-affiliated organizations.
Kathryn Hughes is a lecturer in the human services program. For the past several years she has been focused on developing her private counseling practice, which specializes in the treatment of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs). In addition to clinical services, Hughes has been providing education to local community partners on the prevention and treatment of PMADs. Previous clinical experience includes working with military families, combat veterans, and college student mental health.
Virginia Massaro is a lecturer of teaching and learning in the elementary education program. She taught kindergarten and first grade for six years in Orange County Public Schools, Virginia, prior to enrolling in the doctoral program. Massaro's areas of specialization and research include literacy and language development of emergent bilinguals, dual language instructional practices and global citizenship. She serves as a co-director of membership on the board of directors for the Virginia State Reading Association.
Dr. Rob Moore is an assistant professor of instructional design and technology. Previously, he was a postdoctoral fellow in the instructional technology program at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and worked as the lead instructional designer at the UNC-CH School of Government. His areas of specialization and research include learner motivation and persistence in massive open online courses, the design and development of online learning environments (OLEs), and the role of analytics in examining student engagement in OLEs.
Dr. Jane Roitsch, CCC-SLP, MBA, is an assistant professor of communication disorders and special Education. Prior to receiving this appointment, Roitsch was an adjunct instructor and a lecturer in the department. She currently serves on the mentoring committee for the Speech-Language-Hearing Association of Virginia and is the faculty advisor for Operation Smile at ODU. Her research interests include executive functions, cognition, anatomy, dysphagia, voice and fluency disorders.
Dr. Naeem Shaikh is an assistant professor in the human services program. His dissertation examined the relationship of social workers' political ideology, religious affiliation, political party affiliation, social dominance orientation, and other variables with their self-reported cultural competence. His current research interests include social dominance and racism with a focus on mass incarceration.