Impact Academy Fellows

Meet Current and Past Impact Academy Fellows

Deans for Impact has supported 115 educator-preparation leaders over the past seven years through our Impact Academy fellowship. Scroll down to meet these innovative leaders!

Apply now through April 1, 2023 to be part of our next cohort.

2022 Impact Academy Fellows

The seventh cohort of Impact Academy fellows represent more than 15 states across the U.S. They come from public, private, and non-traditional programs, 35% of which are Minority-Serving Institutions. Collectively, these leaders come from institutions collectively serving more than 10,000 future teachers, 46% of whom identify as people of color.

: Jason Barr, Rider University

: Hansel Burley, University of New Mexico

: Sara DeLano, Dallas College

: Pervis Evans, Odessa College

: April L. Fleming, Florida SouthWestern State College

: William (Bill) Gaudelli, Lehigh University

: Amy Ginsberg, William Paterson University

: Afra Hersi, Loyola University Maryland

: Jerell Hill, Pacific Oaks College

: Christopher Joyce, Louisiana Resource Center for Educators

: Pete Kelly, University of Mary Washington

: Jeffrey L. Kirk, Texas A&M University – Central Texas

: Joan Y. Pedro, University of Houston – Clear Lake

: Gary Ritter, Saint Louis University

: Eleanor Rodríguez, Relay Graduate School of Education

: Brenda Sabey, Utah Tech University

: Janna Scarborough, East Tennessee State University

: Diana Turk, New York University

: Judi Wilson, Augusta University

: Ryan Wise, Drake University

2021 Impact Academy Fellows

The sixth cohort of Impact Academy fellows hail from 17 states, joining from as far north as Alaska and as far east as Brooklyn. The institutions they lead reflect the broad diversity of programs preparing new educators in the United States. They are 42% private and 58% public, and include 10 Minority-Serving Institutions. Collectively, the programs serve over 10,000 future teachers annually. Of these candidates, 42% are future teachers of color. Meet our largest and most institutionally diverse cohort to date:

2020 Impact Academy Fellows

The fifth cohort of Impact Academy fellows spans 12 states from North Carolina to California, Michigan to Mississippi, and collectively prepares over 6,600 teachers annually. Averaging four years in their current roles, they lead their educator-preparation programs at a moment of unprecedented challenge as they prepare the next generation of teachers in uncertain environments and seek to address educational inequities revealed and exacerbated by the COVID- 19 pandemic. Deans for Impact is proud to support these leaders as they pursue instructional excellence in the face of new challenges.

: Laurie Burgess | Cornerstone University

: Sharen Cypress | Freed-Hardeman University

: Kimberly Gaiters-White | Virginia Union University

: Trenton Gould | The University of Southern Mississippi

: Sheri Hardee | University of North Georgia

: Christy Harris | Relay Graduate School of Education – Atlanta

: Myra Lovett | University of Louisiana Monroe

: Kimberly McLeod | Texas A&M University Commerce

: Nancy Ruppert | University of North Carolina – Asheville

: Valerie Rutledge | The University of Tennessee – Chattanooga

: Kimberly Rynearson | Tarleton State University

: Mindy Sjoblom | Relay Graduate School of Education – Chicago

: Denise Staudt | University of the Incarnate Word

: Michelle Young | Loyola Marymount University

2019 Impact Academy Fellows

Deans for Impact is pleased to welcome the fourth cohort of Impact Academy, our yearlong fellowship for leaders of educator-preparation programs. The 19 fellows in this cohort hail from 12 states ranging from Alaska down to New Mexico, Mississippi up to Massachusetts, and collectively they prepare more than 7,600 teachers each year. Over the next year, fellows will work with Deans for Impact to build capacity to catalyze program improvements and enhance teacher readiness.

: Stephen Atwater – University of Alaska Southeast

: Paula Summers Calderon – Southeastern Louisiana University

: Prentice T. Chandler – Austin Peay State University

: Stacey Edmonson – Sam Houston State University

: Deborah Erickson – Point Loma Nazarene University

: Beth Foley – Utah State University

: Penny Garcia – Eastern New Mexico University

: Kim Hawkins – Carson-Newman University

: Laurie Henry – Salisbury University

: Lisa Huffman – Texas Woman’s University

: Vessela Ilieva – Utah Valley University

: Katie Cole Kinney – University of North Alabama

: Peter Laipson – Woodrow Wilson Academy of Teaching and Learning

: Nancy Marchand-Martella – Purdue University

: Leah Nellis – Indiana University Kokomo

: Jennifer Shewmaker – Abilene Christian University

: Jabari Sims – Relay Graduate School of Education: Dallas-Forth Worth

: Thea Williams-Black – Tougaloo College

: Lisa Zagumny – Tennessee Technological University

2018 Impact Academy Fellows

We are proud to welcome our third cohort of Impact Academy fellows! To learn more about our fellows and the programs they lead, click here.

: Rachel Abbott – Georgia Southwestern State University

: Jordan Barkley – Tarleton State University

: Rob DeHaas – Dallas Teacher Residency

: Katharine Delavan – Lake Erie College

: Laurie Elish-Piper – Northern Illinois University

: Alaina Harper – Relay Graduate School of Education

: Virginia Padilla-Vigil – New Mexico Highlands University

: Alma Rodriguez – University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

: J. Anthony Rolle – University of Rhode Island

: Deanna Sands – Seattle University

: Kimberly Walker McAlister – Northwestern State University

: Andrew Wall – University of Redlands

: Tamara Wallace – Radford University

2017 Impact Academy Fellows

In 2017, we welcomed 17 fellows into the second Impact Academy cohort. Our 2017 fellows come from programs in 13 different states and Washington D.C., and together their programs enroll about 7,400 teacher-candidates. Learn more about the 2017 Impact Academy fellows.