Bryan Dewsbury is an Associate Professor of Biology at Florida International University where he also is an Associate Director of the STEM Transformation Institute. He received is Bachelors degree in Biology from Moorehouse College in Atlanta, GA, and his Masters and PhD in Biology from Florida International University in Miami, FL. He is the Principal Investigator of the Science Education And Society (SEAS) program, where his team conducts research on the social context of education. He is a Fellow of the John N. Gardner Institute and the RIOS (Racially-Inclusive Open Science) institute. He conducts faculty development and support for institutions interested in transforming their educational practices pertaining to creating inclusive environments and in this regard has working with over 100 institutions across North America, United Kingdom and West Africa. He is a co-author of the book 'Norton's Guide to Inclusive Teaching' and author of the upcoming book 'What then shall I teach? - Rethinking equity in higher education'. He is the founder of the National Science Foundation (NSF) funded Deep Teaching Residency, a national workshop aimed at supporting faculty in transforming their classroom to more meaningfully incorporate inclusive practices. Bryan is originally from the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and proudly still calls the twin island republic home.

Dr. Christine Harrington has been working in higher education for over 20 years and is an expert on student success and teaching and learning. Currently, she is a professor in the Community College Leadership doctoral program at Morgan State University.  Previously she coordinated the Ed.D. in Community College Leadership program at New Jersey City University and worked at Middlesex County College for 18 years in a variety of roles including professor of psychology and student success, director for the Center for the Enrichment of Learning and Teaching, first-year seminar course coordinator, counselor, and disability services provider.  Christine also served a 2-year appointment as the Executive Director for the Center for Student Success at the New Jersey Council of County Colleges.  Christine is the author of numerous books and articles related to teaching and learning and is frequently invited to give plenary presentations at national and local conferences as well as at colleges and universities across the nation.

Clarissa Codrington is an Assistant Professor of English at MassBay, having come here from Michigan. Before teaching here, she taught as an adjunct instructor in several institutions, most recently, Eastern Michigan University and Washtenaw Community College. Clarissa received her MA in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) in 2014, a BA in History back in 2006, and lots of life lessons learned by living in Japan in the interim between the two degrees. She loves empowering students to advocate for themselves in their classrooms, schools, and communities, as well as helping them become interested in civic engagement and doing their part to dismantle systems of oppression

Courtney DeGeorge is an Assistant Professor of English at MassBay. This past year, she served as the collegewide DEI Assessment Coordinator and also co-facilitated a yearlong culturally responsive UDL community of practice. She previously worked as an adjunct professor of English at Bunker Hill Community College for over 10 years. Courtney has an MA in English from Simmons University and a BA in Sociology with a concentration in social inequality from Bates College. There she studied the possibility of education as a site of social change and firmly believes in the transformative power of the classroom. She strives to adopt pedagogical practices which affirm and empower her students. 

Dr. Jeanie Tietjen, Professor of English at MassBay Community College, founded and directs the Institute for Trauma, Adversity, and Resilience in Higher Education. She recently served on an 18 month consensus study “Supporting the Whole Student: Mental Health and Well-Being in Higher Education” with Washington D.C.’s National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and contributed an article “Naming the Urgency: The Importance of Trauma-Informed Practices in Community Colleges” in a forthcoming edited collection on Trauma Informed Pedagogies: A Guide for Responding to Crisis and Inequality in Higher Education. She earned her doctorate from the Department of English at Brandeis University in 2016, and her dissertation examined representations of excremental violence in Holocaust literature. She has taught for over 20 years in diverse settings and esteems the diversity, resilience, and commitment to best educational outcomes in community college from all community stakeholders.

Maria (Mia) Ong, PhD, is a Senior Research Scientist at TERC. For nearly three decades, Dr. Ong has researched the lived experiences of women of color and other marginalized groups in STEM. She holds over 40 publications, including pieces in the Harvard Educational Review and Journal of Engineering Education. Dr. Ong has served on several national committees and task forces, including the NSF Committee on Equal Opportunities in Science and Engineering (2008–14) and the National Academies Committee to Address the Underrepresentation of Women of Color in Tech (2019–2022). She is a former co-recipient of a U.S. Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring. 

Meredith Watts is a Professor of Mathematics at MassBay Community College. She has been the Developmental Math Coordinator for the last several years and helped coordinate MassBay's corequisite math initiative through their Title III grant. She is also an AMATYC Project ACCCESS alum, a faculty fellow through Inquiry-Based Learning in Math New England, and served as president of NEMATYC. She is thrilled to be involved with bringing trauma informed education to the math classroom. 

Dr. Newton Miller has been committed to the education arena since 1995 when converted non-traditionally from the ranks of the engineering field. His research interest lies within educating at-potential populations, focusing on the systemic thinking tied to student achievement, effective school cultures, and facilitating programming and instruction that promotes educational success within at-potential adult populations. Dr. Miller currently serves as the Lead Faculty of the Education Studies and Educator Preparation programs at the University of Arizona Global Campus. Some of his contributions to the world of education have been lauded by honors like the Impact Award from the Urban League 2018; Provost Award for Outstanding Faculty, from Ashford University, 2014 and the Excellence in Teaching Award from Swarthmore College, 2012. He is the author of “Why Some Seeds Don’t Grow” a book that sheds light on high impact principles needed to enhance the educating, mentoring, and parenting of urban youth. Dr. Miller believes educators are meant to facilitate the thinking that changes the world; thus, his mantra is: Educate … Motivate … Help Them Grow!  Fun Fact:  Dr. Miller’s dream job was as a Structural Engineer until he stood in front of a classroom of knowledge-hungry, inner-city students.  It was at that moment he knew his true purpose and career path was to be an educator.

Sarah L. Rodriguez is an Associate Professor of Engineering Education and an affiliate faculty member with the Higher Education Program at Virginia Tech.  Dr. Rodriguez’s research expertise includes using identity and critical frameworks to study the formal and informal experiences of historically marginalized student populations within engineering and computing. Her work focuses on equity, access, and retention issues, principally related to STEM identity development, intersectionality, and larger systems of oppression. Her strengths include a research-to-practice approach with practitioners, particularly for enhancing outcomes for Latina/o/x students and community colleges. She has published 40 peer-reviewed articles in outlets such as Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, Journal of Hispanics in Higher Education, Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, and Community College Review, as well as authored book chapters and research/policy briefs. Dr. Rodriguez has delivered presentations at national and state conferences, such as the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), the American Educational Research Association (AERA), and the Council for the Study of Community Colleges (CSCC). She received her Ph.D. in Higher Education Leadership from The University of Texas at Austin and holds a master's degree in College Student Personnel from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She also holds a bachelor's degree in English and Spanish from Texas A&M University-Commerce and was a transfer student from Trinity Valley Community College.