Alumni Updates

Three College of Education alumni were named to UGA’s most recent 40 Under 40 list. Released in the summer of 2019, the list celebrates the personal, professional, and philanthropic achievements of UGA graduates who are under the age of 40.

Colin Muething (B.S.Ed. ’07, M.Ed. ’09) received both his bachelor's and master's degrees in special education from the College of Education in 2007 and 2009, respectively, and later earned his doctoral degree in school psychology from the University of Texas at Austin in 2016.

At the Marcus Autism Center—one of only five National Institutes of Health Autism Centers of Excellence in the country—he specializes in treating the most severe forms of problem behavior, such as aggression, self-injury and destructive behaviors. In some cases, he treats children from across the country if other practitioners are unwilling or unable to work with them.

"My time in the College of Education was where I found my passion for working with children with disabilities who engage in problem behavior," said Muething. "The faculty I worked with helped foster this passion into a career that I truly love. The work I do every day gives me joy and without UGA and the faculty in the College of Education, I am not sure if I would be where I am today."

Colin Muething (B.S.Ed. ’07, M.Ed. ’09)

Cindy Quinlan (B.B.A. ’02, M.Ed. ’03, Ed.S. ’09)

Cindy Quinlan (B.B.A. ’02, M.Ed. ’03, Ed.S. ’09), who earned both her master's and specialist's degree from the College of Education, is a marketing education teacher at Brookwood High School in Gwinnett County, where she teaches entrepreneurship and work-based learning.

Her passion for education inspired her to teach with a non-profit organization called REAL LEDGE, whose mission is to advance and promote change to create economic development opportunities. Over the years, Quinlan has trained and consulted over 200 educators from all over the world, including Bulgaria, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Greece, Honduras, Norway and Spain.

Inspired by this experience, she launched her own business with her colleagues called EntrepreNOWship, which focuses on improving student performance, engagement and growth by infusing the entrepreneurial mindset in K-12 education with mindset training for educators, high- quality experiential learning and rigorous curricula.

"This type of work is important to grow communities and increase economic development, thus providing more opportunities for all," said Quinlan. "As always, the positive impact entrepreneurship has on the lives of others, both teachers and students, can make any difficult journey one of life's best adventures while helping others along the way."

JaNaè Taylor (M.Ed. ’03, Ph.D. ’07), who received both her master's and doctoral degrees from the College of Education, works with clients with a wide range of mental and behavioral issues, including anxiety, depression, anger and race-based trauma. As a licensed professional counselor, Taylor provides culturally-sensitive services tailored to the needs of all people with a focus on the Black community.

To invest in her community, Taylor serves as vice chair on both the Hampton Roads Black Area Chamber of Commerce's Board of Directors and the Iota Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated. The latter organization is a nonprofit that promotes group economics through professional development and community empowerment, while the former is a Greek sorority established by African American college women.

"UGA has played such an instrumental role in the trajectory of my professional life," said Taylor. "I've learned how to hone my creativity, innovation and motivation into a career I'm proud of today. The lessons I've learned in graduate school helped me launch my current mental health private practice."

JaNaè Taylor (M.Ed. ’03, Ph.D. ’07)

Five companies linked to the College of Education were included on UGA’s 2020 Bulldog 100 list. This annual recognition honors the fastest-growing businesses owned or operated by UGA alumni.

ADD's Personal Care Pharmacy, Bogart, Georgia (Rachel Florence, BSED '05): Established in 1961, Athens Discount Drug, or ADD Drug, is known for its old-fashioned lunch counter, variety of gifts, USPS postal service and medical care. The pharmacy takes pride in providing friendly and personal service.

BOS Security, Inc., Athens, Georgia (Nathan Carmack, AB '67, MED '72): Established in 1993, BOS Security specializes in providing both human security guards and virtual guarding for clients across the country.

Buckhead Beans, Atlanta, Georgia (Matthew Ades, AB '94, MED '96): Established in 2014, Buckhead Beans delivers fresh, locally roasted artisan coffees and organic teas to offices in the Atlanta area.

FTM Travel, Brentwood, Tennessee (Christy Shadday, BSED '93): FTM Travel specializes in booking vacations for all things Disney, including Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, Adventures by Disney and Disney's Aulani resort in Hawaii.

The Southern Coterie, Sea Island, Georgia (Cheri Leavy, BSED '97): The Southern Coterie is an online resource for Southern creatives and entrepreneurs to create, connect and collaborate.

Science in reach

A merging of interests

Linda Purvis (B.S.A. ’02, M.S. ’07, Ph.D. ’19), an assistant professor at the University of North Georgia (UNG) and alumna of the College’s doctoral program in science education, played a vital role in creating the poultry science program at UNG in 2011. Today, the program—which she launched with no faculty, course materials, or scholarship money—has 85 students.

Since then, she has secured more than $40,000 in grants from the U.S. Poultry Foundation and—thanks to donations from local poultry companies—gives out about $8,000 per semester in scholarships. “I’m really passionate about helping students figure out what they’re really good at and helping them find a job and a career that will fit that,” says Purvis.

In recognition of her achievements, Purvis received the 2019 Young Alumni Achievement Award from the UGA College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in poultry science. She also holds a master’s degree in veterinary medicine from the UGA College of Veterinary Medicine.

Linda Purvis shows a chicken to middle and high school students who visited the University of North Georgia campus during a one-day poultry science workshop.

Making science personal

To help her students grasp complex scientific concepts, Chelsea Sexton (B.S.Ed. ’14, Ph.D. ’22), a former science teacher at Kennesaw Mountain High School and a current doctoral student in the College’s science education program, added a unit on pathogenic pollution to her AP environmental science class and partnered with an environmental engineer to develop a disinfection experiment that connects global drinking water security with students at home.

“So much of the content in these courses is directly related to their lives—understanding water and air pollution, how ecosystems and humans interact, and how the values people prioritize shape their choices,” said Sexton, who was named Georgia’s 2019 High School Science Teacher of the Year by the Georgia Science Teachers Association. “I facilitate their understanding that knowing science is cool and being able to share their knowledge is paramount to achieving their goals.”

Sexton says her students feel more invested in the content and practices of the subject if she lets them take ownership of the information they learn. Last fall, she started the next chapter of her life as a doctoral student in the College’s Department of Mathematics and Science Education, where she plans on focusing even more on the practical and clinical applications of teaching and education and hopes to learn more about the research and theory of science education.

Distinguished Alumni Award Winner

Sexton received the Mary Frances Early College of Education’s 2020 Early Career Practitioner Alumni Award.

Read her story

Sexton and her students pose for a photo after collecting dirt samples for a soil and sediment lab.

OLLI@UGA is a member-driven organization that meets the intellectual, social, and cultural needs of individuals aged 50 or older in Athens, Georgia.

OLLI celebrates a quarter century of lifelong learning

Founded in 1994, OLLI@UGA in the Mary Frances Early College of Education celebrated its 25th anniversary this past year. In 2009, the organization—which supports lifelong learning in Athens and the surrounding communities—changed its name from Learning in Retirement to the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute after it received an endowment from the Osher Foundation.

To celebrate this milestone, the organization hosted several events throughout the year, including a membership picnic at Flinchum’s Phoenix in September and a Halloween luncheon at George’s Low Country Table in October.

“During this time, we gave members a chance to reflect on and record how important OLLI is in their lives, whether it’s from the classes and trips they have taken or by the social connections they have made,” says Tim Meehan, executive director of OLLI@UGA. “We look forward to serving Athens and northeast Georgia for the next 25 years. We would like to thank UGA and the Mary Frances Early College of Education for all their support.”

Support OLLI

Join OLLI

Where are our alumni?

EduDawgs never bark alone, no matter where they end up after graduation. With nearly 60,000 alumni around the globe, our graduates are improving lives and making a difference in their communities, whether they’ve decided to stay in Georgia or have moved abroad. Check out our alumni heat map to see where your peers have laid down roots!

FIND YOUR LOCAL ALUMNI CHAPTER
If you’re interested in volunteering, socializing, or growing as a professional with your peers, visit alumni.uga.edu/find-chapter.

Class Notes

1970s

Marilou Braswell (BSED ’78) is the director of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ cheerleading ministry.

David Cady (MED ’76) released a nonfiction book in July 2019 titled, “Religion of Fear: The True Story of the Church of God of the Union Assembly,” published by the University of Tennessee Press.

Judson Fears (MED ’71) received the Professional Outdoor Media Association’s 2019 Pinnacle Award for his book, “The Scouting Guide to Survival,” published by Skyhorse Publishing. This is Fears’ third book to win a Pinnacle Award, the association’s top national book award. He has written 33 books and has published over 6,200 magazine articles.

Judy Norman (BSED ’78) is approaching four years since opening her successful storefront travel agency Classy Destinations in Macon, Georgia. Her company is a preferred Sandal-certified travel agency specializing in ocean and river cruise lines as well as hotel and luxury tour companies.

Judi Reiss (BBA ’70, MED ’72) was elected Bucks County’s prothonotary and was a candidate for Pennsylvania’s First Congressional District.

1980s

Matt Arthur (BSED ’83, MED ’91, EDS ’93) was named executive director of the Georgia Professional Standards Commission in December 2019.

Donna Blalock (BSHE ’86, MEd ’87), a retired family and consumer sciences teacher at Colquitt County High School, works for the Swisher International Sunbelt Ag. Expo’s Farmer of the Year program, which provides recognition for a select group of American farmers.

Betsy Bockman (MED ’84 EDS ’92), principal of Henry W. Grady High School, led the biggest gains in student achievement in all traditional Atlanta middle schools in 2019. The school’s proficiency in English and language arts grew from 56% in 2016 to 72% in 2019 and proficiency in math rose from 37% to 54%.

Bonnie Cramond (PHD ’82) received the 105th Birthday Torrance Lifetime Creativity Award from the International Conference on Knowledge, Innovation, and Enterprise in December 2019. The award recognizes her decades of work, dedication, and steadfastness in the field of creativity and giftedness.

Elaine Dasher (ABJ ’89, MED ’96) received the Fulbright Award for Global Classrooms, a year-long professional development opportunity for elementary, middle, and high school teachers.

Irmgard Klopp (MED ’84) retired from working as a service agent for flag carrier Lufthansa at the airport in Stuttgart, Germany after 31 years.

Maureen LeBoeuf (MED ’86, EDD ’94) published her book, “Developing Your Philosophy of Living and Leading One Moment at a Time.” LeBoeuf retired from the U.S. Army in 2004 after 28 years of service.

1990s

Kelli Bivins (AB ’97, MED ’02, EDS ’11) received the Fulbright Award for Global Classrooms, a year-long professional development opportunity for elementary, middle, and high school teachers.

Mel Bolling (BSED ’94) is a forest supervisor for the Caribou-Targhee National Forest, which covers over 3 million acres in southeastern Idaho. He worked for the U.S. Forest Service for 25 years.

Jason Branch (BSED ’97, MED ’98) received the Bill Barr Leadership Award, one of the most prestigious honors from the Georgia School Superintendents Association.

Brian Culp (BSED ’99, EDD ’05) was named a Fellow of the National Association for Kinesiology in Higher Education. He is a faculty member at Kennesaw State University.

Doug Dixon (MED ’90, PHD ’97) released his new book, “Beyond Truman: Robert H. Ferrell and Crafting the Past,” in May 2020.

Kelly Hall (BSED ’92) is a kindergarten teacher who works at Elbert County Primary School, which won the Georgia School Boards Association’s 2019 Leading Edge Award. The award recognizes the success of Hall’s transitional kindergarten classes, which offer students an additional year of early education to promote their success in school.

Eric Hart (MED ’99) received his doctoral degree in global sport leadership development from East Tennessee State University in May 2019. He was named the deputy athletic director at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in December 2019.

Chris Hightower (MED ’96) is the institutional accreditation liaison and director of institutional effectiveness at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas.

E. Paulette Isaac-Savage (EDD ’99) was inducted into the International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame in Belgrade, Serbia in 2019. She has written several publications related to adult religious education and Black churches.

Marie Levett (EDD ’92) was named the 2019 STEM/STEAM Advocate of the Year by the Georgia Department of Education for her work in STEM/STEAM education. She also received the 2019 Professional Achievement Award from Georgia Southern University and was inducted into the Alumni Honorees Society. Lastly, she received an Award for Excellence in Leadership by Savannah State University.

Tamara Thomason Manchester (BSED ’98) is the lead art educator in the Jackson County School System and teaches at East Jackson Comprehensive High School in Commerce, Georgia.

Ilka McConnell (AB ’98, MPA ’04, PHD ’13) was named director of the Economic Development Department in Athens-Clarke County. This department serves as the primary point of contact for industries, large commercial developments, site location consultants, and state economic development organizations interested in developing, expanding, or locating businesses in Athens-Clarke County.

Susan Morris (BSED ’90, MED ’93) moved to Columbus, Georgia, after teaching overseas for 25 years. She is now a history and social studies instructional systems specialist for the U.S. Department of Defense Education Activity's Southeast District. In this position, she provides professional learning, coaching, mentoring, and assesses the system-wide effectiveness of social studies instruction for Southeast District schools.

Elizabeth Mundin (BSED ’95) was selected as the director of middle school admission at The Bolles School in Jacksonville, Florida.

Maria Ray (BSED ’92) teaches English at Opelika High School in Alabama.

Jamie Smith (BMUS ’97, MMED ’99) is the director of bands at DeKalb Academy of Technology and Environment in Stone Mountain, Georgia.

Lynn Stallings (PHD ’95) was selected as the honors program director at Auburn University at Montgomery in Alabama.

Jon Stuart (BSED ’92, MED ’94) led the men’s track and field team at the University of Southern Mississippi to its first top 25 NCAA Championship finish.

Judi Wilson (MED ’93, EDS ’95) was named dean of Augusta University’s College of Education.

2000s

Akilah Carter-Francique (MED ’04, PHD ’08) received the Sean Adams Courageous Activist Award during the 2019 Black Student Activists Summit. She is also president of the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport.

Jamie Eckstein (BSED ’05) moved to New York City to pursue her dream of being a stand-up comedian after working as a high school teacher at South Cobb High School in Austell, Georgia. She graduated from Teachers College, Columbia University with a master’s degree in education policy, specializing in K-12 education. Eckstein now works at Educators for Excellence in New York as a senior outreach director.

Lesley Graybeal (AB ’07, MA ’07, PHD ’11) was named director of service-learning at the University of Central Arkansas.

Daniel Kirk (PHD ’08) was named dean of Winona State University's College of Education in Minnesota.

Wenhao Liu (PHD ’02) was named a Fellow of several organizations, including the National Association for Kinesiology in Higher Education, the American College of Sports Medicine, and SHAPE America.

Katie Martin (BSED ’09), a middle school teacher at the Atlanta Youth Academy, was honored by the Atlanta Braves organization as a Community Hero for her decade of teaching math; starting a mentoring program at her school with more than 80 mentors from the community; creating a girl’s running club to promote health, fitness, and positive self-image; and taking her students on a trip each year to Tennessee. The Braves donated tickets for her students to attend the game and gifted her school $1,000.

Michael Nixon (MED ’00) is the executive director of the Georgia High School Mock Trial Competition and a member of the National High School Mock Trial Competition’s board of directors, which helped host the National High School Mock Trial Championship in Athens. This included high school students from 46 states along with their teachers, coaches, and parents.

David Phillips (BSED ’03) and Chrissy Price Hattaway (BSED ’12) led the Greenbrier Middle School STEM team to compete at the International Young STEAM Maker Competition, an international engineering competition held at Lingnan University in Hong Kong. The team brought home several awards and placed second in the overall STEAM Maker exhibition and presentation. In October, Phillips was named the 2019-2020 Columbia County Teacher of the Year and has entered the competition for the 2020-2021 Georgia Teacher of the Year.

Read their story

Sandria Stephenson (PHD ’08) is the immediate past president of the Georgia Association of Accounting Editors and is currently program chair on the board of the Southeast American Accounting Association. She is also the founder and executive director of Help Doctoral Students Retreat, an initiative that helps graduate students and lifelong learners achieve their educational endeavors.

2010s

Megan Brock (PHD ’18) is a lecturer and academic coach in the Division of Academic Enhancement at the University of Georgia. She celebrated her one-year anniversary as a faculty member this past January.

Larry Cloud (MED ’10) was named the director of new student orientation in the Office of Admissions at the University of Georgia.

Joseph Cooper (PHD ’13) released a new book, "From Exploitation Back to Empowerment: Black Male Holistic (Under)Development Through Sport and (Mis)Education," published by Peter Lang.

Michael Darke (BSED ’15) is starting an online master’s degree program in instructional technology at Georgia Southern University.

Ayca Fackler (MA ’18) received UGA’s Graduate Education Advancement Board Fellowship, a merit-based scholarship, last fall.

Barbara Fuqua (MED ’10) received her doctoral degree in education with a focus on teacher leadership from Kennesaw State University last December. She is currently the principal of Greensboro Alternative Education School in Georgia.

Zach Garrett (MED ’17) entered his fourth year as a video production teacher at Riverside Military Academy in Gainesville, Georgia, where he started the program from scratch—raising over $50,000 dollars to fund equipment purchases and construct a video production studio on campus. The program now has a combined enrollment of over 60 cadets, spanning over five classes, which is 15% of the Academy’s population. The broadcasting course Garrett teaches produces a bi-weekly news show, “Eagle News Network,” that reaches more than 25,000 viewers per semester.

Laura Gray (MAT ’15) was named STAR teacher of Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology, as well as STAR teacher of Gwinnett County Public Schools. She developed a new math course with the state called “Programming Concepts of Linear Algebra” and presented a seminar at the Georgia Association for Career and Technical Education Conference last summer.

Sydney Jensen (BSED ’13) is an English and language arts teacher at Lincoln High School in Nebraska, where she was named Nebraska’s 2019 Teacher of the Year. She delivered a TED Talk last year that amassed more than 1.2 million views and can be viewed at go.ted.com/sydneyjensen.

Read her story

Kevin Mendez (BSED ’19) started a new job with Techtronic Industries as a sales and marketing representative in the Savannah area.

Brandon Parham (BSED ’15) completed his master’s degree in educational leadership from Kennesaw State University.

Ashlee Perry (MED ’10, CERT ’18, PHD ’18) was named the Clarke County School District Secondary Counselor of the Year. She also received the district's Golden Apple Award for her positive contributions to the school district.

Chelsea Sexton (BSED ’14) was named Georgia's High School Science Teacher of the Year by the Georgia Science Teachers Association. She taught science at Kennesaw Mountain High School and has returned to the College to continue her pursuit of knowledge in the science education doctoral program.

Read her story

Hannah Sharpe (BSED ’19, AB ’19, MED ’19) graduated in May with a bachelor’s degree in history and a combined bachelor’s/master’s degree in social studies education. She received the Fulbright English teaching assistantship award and spent her Fulbright year teaching at an all-boys high school in Mokpo, South Korea.

“My time teaching English in South Korea has allowed me to grow as both an educator and a person. My passion for bringing different cultures and narratives into the classroom grew exponentially as I found ways to bridge American and Korean culture. As a future history teacher, learning new perspectives was an invaluable experience. Whether I was at school or in my homestay, I learned how to better communicate with others, despite a language barrier. I will always carry with me the lessons I learned in Korea as I begin my journey as an educator in our evermore interconnected, global world.”
–Hannan Sharpe (BSED ’19, AB ’19, MED ’19)

Melissa Shivers (PHD ’11) was named vice president for student life at Ohio State University. Shivers previously served as vice president for student life at the University of Iowa. She is also an adjunct associate professor of educational policy and leadership studies and spent a year as interim associate vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Tanner Stines (BBA ’10, MED ’14) was named senior associate athletic director at McNeese State University in Louisiana.

Brittany Williams (CERT ’19, PHD ’19) received the 2019 Dissertation of the Year Award from the Southern Association for College Student Affairs. She is an assistant professor for educational leadership and higher education at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota.

Whitney Young (MED ’11) completed her doctoral degree in curriculum, instruction, and assessment from Walden University. She recently became the assistant principal at W.J. Cooper Elementary School in Gwinnett County.

Have something to share? We want to hear from you! Email Haley Avery, associate director of alumni relations, at havery@uga.edu.