The following faculty have been listed in alphabetical order.
Dr. Heather Coleman
Assistant Professor, Specialized Education Services (SES)
Dr. Heather Coleman is an Assistant Professor in the SES department within the Birth-Kindergarten program. Prior to coming to UNCG, Dr. Coleman completed her doctoral degree at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). At VCU she was awarded the Graduate School Dissertation Assistantship and the School of Education Outstanding Dissertation Award. Dr. Coleman was also awarded a Graduate Research Grant from the Organization for Autism Research. Dr. Coleman’s research interest involves early childhood, parent coaching, and autism. Specifically, she is passionate about applied research that helps early educators and parents learn how to complete effective interventions with their children with autism in their home or early education environments. Dr. Coleman is also very passionate about early identification and interdisciplinary assessments for children with autism and other developmental disabilities. She is certified and research reliable in the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), the “Gold Standard” in autism-related assessments. When Dr. Coleman is not working, she enjoys spending time with her sweet daughter, rowdy husky, and husband. She and her family are active and enjoy going to the gym, sporting events, festivals, and other local happenings.
Dr. Shaqwana Freeman-Green
Assistant Professor, Specialized Education Services (SES)
Dr. Shaqwana Freeman-Green is an Assistant Professor in the SES department at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Dr. Freeman-Green received her Ph.D in Special Education from UNC Charlotte, and comes to UNCG from Illinois State University. Her research interests include mathematics instruction for all students, the use of technology to support effective teacher preparation for students with disabilities and diverse learning needs, and culturally responsive teaching. Her research also involves empirically based teaching and learning strategies for youth with high incidence disabilities in secondary schools. Specifically, her research focuses on mathematics education in urban settings and the innovative use of web-based instruction to address the promotion of research-to-practice in special education. She has published multiple journals, book chapters, web publications, National and State reports, and conference proceedings surrounding her research.
Tammy Gruer
Assistant Professor, Library and Information Studies (LIS)
Tammy Gruer is a National Board Certified Clinical Assistant Professor in the LIS department at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro where she is the coordinator for the Practicum in School Library Media and teaches Materials for Children and School Library Media Specialist and the Curriculum. A 24-year veteran of Guilford County Schools (GCS), Gruer has served as a classroom teacher, school level library media coordinator, district library media and technology specialist, and most recently the Director of Library Media Services. She provided professional development to GCS Library Media Coordinators (SLMCs) and was integral in implementing many district initiatives. In her leadership role in GCS, she designed and implemented the library instruction program and trained SLMC’s in instructional theory, technology integration and methods.
Dr. Tiffanie Lewis-Durham
Assistant Professor, Educational Leadership and Cultural Foundations (ELC)
Originally from Brooklyn, New York, Dr. Lewis-Durham received her doctorate in Educational Theory and Policy from Pennsylvania State University. Prior to her time at UNCG, she was the Director of Community Schools for a nonprofit in New York City public schools. With more than a decade of experience in education, she supported schools in their efforts to expand social and emotional wellness programs, increase community and parent engagement, and create a positive school culture. In her role, she oversaw several school-based programs with more than 6,000 youth and families. Currently, she conducts research on the way schools and school districts implement equity-oriented educational policies and how, if at all, they include community in schools. She also researches principal preparation programs and how they prepare social justice-oriented school leaders. She has published articles in Urban Education and the eJournal on Education Policy. In her spare time, she enjoys cheering on New York based sports teams and spending time with her partner and one-year-old son.
Dr. Katherine Mansfield
Associate Professor, Educational Leadership and Cultural Foundations (ELC)
A first-generation college graduate, Dr. Katherine Mansfield has 25 years’ experience as a teacher and administrator across the preschool to post-secondary pipeline. Dr. Mansfield completed her Ph.D. in Educational Policy and Planning at The University of Texas at Austin where she also earned additional graduate credentials in Women’s and Gender Studies. Mansfield comes to UNCG from Virginia Commonwealth University where she was a tenured Associate Professor. Mansfield’s research spans across elementary, secondary, and higher education (P-16) sectors and centers on the intersection of social identities, politics, policy, and practice. For example, she studies the disproportionality in school discipline, gifted education, and STEM as it relates to gender, race/ethnicity, class, and other identity complexities in schools. Mansfield also studies the importance of mentoring women graduate students, especially those studying in historically male-dominated fields such as educational leadership and STEM. Mansfield is also concerned about how policy and practice across the P-16 pipeline may exacerbate inequity and examines how states are dealing with opportunity gaps via the establishment of integrative policy and alternative governance structures such as P-16 Councils.
Dr. Campbell McDermid
Assistant Professor, Specialized Education Services (SES)
Dr. Campbell McDermid is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Specialized Education Services. He hails from Canada originally and designed and taught in a sign language interpretation program at George Brown College in Toronto for a decade and a half. His travels took him to the National Technical Institute for the Deaf in Rochester, New York at the Rochester Institute of Technology before arriving at UNCG. His research encompasses translation theory, identity, Groupthink, pragmatics, cohesion, accuracy and assessment. His work has focused on operationally defining the concept of a “literal” or “dynamically equivalent” interpretation through the application of pragmatics and various theories of translation and interpretation. He designed the Ontario provincial assessment for sign language interpreters and helped redesign the Canadian national interpreter certification system. His accomplishments also include national interpreter certification in the United States and Canada, and the recent publication through RIT Press of a workbook for interpreters, “Learning to Interpret.”
Dr. Heather Moorefield-Lang
Assistant Professor, Library and Information Studies (LIS)
Dr. Heather Moorefield-Lang started as a theater teacher and school librarian in the NC school systems. She is currently an assistant professor with the Department of Library and Information Studies. Before joining UNCG she was on the faculty of Library and Information Science at The University of South Carolina. Dr. Moorefield-Lang has long been interested in how technologies can enhance instruction in libraries and classrooms. Her current research focuses on makerspaces, fablabs, and hackerspaces in libraries and educational settings of all types. She has been published in a variety of publications including Library Hi Tech, TechTrends, KnowledgeQuest, and School Library Connection. She has published multiple books, her latest title being School Library Makerspaces in Action. She had the honor of being nominated for the White House Champion of Change for Making in 2016 and was awarded an American Association of School Librarians Social Media Superstars in the area of Tech Troubadours in 2018. To learn more about Dr. Moorefield-Lang and her work, see her website www.techfifteen.com, check out her YouTube Channel Tech 15, or follow her on Twitter @actinginthelib.
Dr. Delma Ramos
Assistant Professor, Teacher Education and Higher Education (TEHE)
Dr. Delma Ramos is an Assistant Professor of Higher Education in the Teacher Education and Higher Education department. She earned a doctoral degree in Higher Education with a concentration in Research Methods and Statistics from the University of Denver. Dr. Ramos’ research focuses on college success, specifically examining the role of family, community, and culture in empowering students to navigate college. Her work engages historically marginalized populations and employs critical methodologies and theories to uncover systems of oppression that perpetuate inequity in education. Her work has been presented at annual national meetings of the Association for the Study of Higher Education, NASPA, and the American Educational Research Association and in journals including the ASHE Higher Education Report Series, JCOT, and JCSCORE. Dr. Ramos is originally from Mexico but has lived in Colorado for the majority of her life so, she calls Colorado home. When she is not engaging in research and writing, you enjoys watching TV, listening to music, exercising, and spending time with her loved ones.
Dr. Troy Sadler
Associate Dean, Office of Research, School of Education
Troy Sadler is the Associate Dean for Research and a Professor of Science Education. Dr. Sadler joins the School of Education following service as Professor of Science Education at the University of Missouri, where he is the founding director of the ReSTEM Institute: Reimagining & Researching STEM Education, an interdisciplinary STEM education research, outreach, and evaluation center. Prior to his role at the University of Missouri, Dr. Sadler was on faculty at the University of Florida and Indiana University-Bloomington.His research focuses on how students negotiate complex socio-scientific issues and how these issues may be used as contexts for science learning. He has also explored ways in which innovative technologies including virtual environments and gaming can support student learning. Sadler has published over 100 journal articles and book chapters and his work has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the Institute of Education Sciences, the US Department of Education, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute as well as local foundations and state agencies.
Dr. LaTesha Velez
Lecturer, Library and Information Studies (LIS)
Dr. LaTesha Velez is a Lecturer in the Library and Information Studies department. She received her Ph.D from the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign and her MLS from North Carolina Central University. Her work focuses on uncovering invisible norms and bias that may hinder the LIS profession from providing its highest level of service. After working in libraries off and on since 1994, Dr. Velez is now focused on teaching new professionals to thrive in a growingly diverse and globalized field. LaTesha’s research critically examines and contextualizes information in society and the role of information institutions in society. Her specific interests include the history of race and space in the academic library setting, social histories and theories of information communication technologies (ICTs) with a focus on race, gender, and sexuality, and a critical look at how information institutions can serve as counter-spaces.
