Mary Frances Early
College of Education

Mid-Career Researcher Award

Jamilia Blake (M.Ed. ’03, Ph.D. ’07) is an award-winning licensed psychologist and a tenured professor at Texas A&M University. She has been with Texas A&M since 2007, where she has earned numerous accolades including Texas A&M University’s Transforming Lives Faculty Fellowship for her teaching and mentoring.

Her research examines the developmental trajectory of peer-directed aggression, bullying, and victimization in socially marginalized youth and racial/ethnic disparities in school discipline. Additionally, Blake has written more than 50 publications and is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association. 

Mid-Career Practitioner Award

Candace Moore (M.Ed. ’04, Ph.D. ’11) is an associate clinical professor in the higher education, student affairs, and international education policy program and director of the Center for Diversity and Inclusion in Higher Education in the Department of Counseling, Higher Education, and Special Education at the University of Maryland, College Park. 

Moore’s scholarship revolves around promoting inclusive campus environments and fostering international collaboration in higher education. Currently, she serves as a consulting editor of the Journal of Educational Management, an extension of the Institute of Educational Planning and Administration at the University of Cape Coast in Cape Coast, Ghana.

Mid-Career Practitioner Award

Andy Plemmons (B.S.Ed. ’01, M.Ed. ’04, Ed.S. ’09) is a school library media specialist at David C. Barrow Elementary School in Athens, Georgia and a Google Certified Innovator. With 20 years of experience in education, his library program is grounded in participatory culture, student content creators, and the global community.

Plemmons has presented at numerous conferences including the School Library Journal Leadership Summit, American Association of School Librarians, International Society for Technology in Education, Sharjah International Book Fair, Georgia Educational Technology Conference, and the Texas Library Association. He leads professional learning for educators around the U.S. and Canada.