Jeffrey Messina

Robin Perlah

Biography

Robin Perlah currently serves as Chair of the Creative Studio (home to Champlain’s creative art and design majors), Program Director for the graphic design (BFA) and interaction design (BS) majors, and is an Associate Professor in the Division of Communications and Creative Media at Champlain College.

In her time at Champlain, Perlah also served as the Academic Director for the Emergent Media Center, where she helped shape the creative vision for the campus-based interactive media studio. Additionally, Robin served as Assistant Dean for the CCM division, interim Program Director for creative media (BFA), and Program Director for the master’s programs in emergent media (MS and MFA). She has taught a wide range of courses in the areas of interaction design, photography, graphic design, and media theory, serving both undergraduate and graduate students. Currently, Robin teaches undergraduate courses in design history as well as photography, image-making, and visual design.

Perlah’s current art practice is based on a persistent interest in the photographic image, both still and moving, as it is transformed by digitality. Her work deals with the ambiguity of memory, the intersection between image capture (both analog and digital) and the methods of processing and presenting images, and how generative art and data mutations can reveal layers of complexity.

Before working at Champlain College, Robin was the co-chair of the Design & Creative Media program at the Center for Technology, Essex, and ran several community art programs to support young people through art-mentoring relationships and other activities. Prior to that, she had a long career as an art teacher and, professional photographer and photo editor, specializing in commercial, portrait, and event photography as well as fine-art printing.

Robin is a site evaluator for the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD), is part of the volunteer board for PechaKucha Night (PKN) 365体育官网, and recently rejoined the board of trustees for the Vermont Arts Council as board secretary after finishing her last term as Vice-Chair in 2019. Additionally, she serves as the co-director for the Technology & Design Institute at Governor’s Institutes of Vermont. Robin earned a master of fine arts in emergent media from Champlain College, a bachelor of science in art education from the University of Vermont, and studied commercial and fine art photography at the New England School of Photography.

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Gary Baker

Biography

Dr. Gary A. Baker has a passion for teaching. For over 30 years, he’s been working to guide students toward successful career choices and successful lives. His own scholarly expertise lies in experimental social psychology. He enjoys interacting with students inside and outside the classroom. He likes introducing students to the study of psychology because students gain a practical knowledge of themselves and others that serve them well throughout their lives. He feels that the students who are most successful in college are those who seek an “education”, not just a degree. In addition to teaching psychology, Dr. Baker worked for nine years at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the Medical College of Georgia conducting research on addictions and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Professional & Scholastic Affiliation

• American Psychology—Law Society
• Association for Psychological Science
• The Society for Personality & Social Psychology

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Ariana Cano

Biography

Dr. Ariana Cano was born in Caracas, Venezuela, an upbringing constantly surrounded by adventures to El Avila and Morrocoy National Parks; the two “outdoor” environments that first introduced her to adventure, camping, and environmental protection. At age 11, Ariana’s family moved to the United States. She went on to attend Florida State University where she pursued a B.S. in Political Science and a B.A. in English. With the lack of environmental education in her repertoire, Ariana decided to pursue a Master of Science at the University of Vermont. She studied the effects of community supported agriculture and the impact these have on people’s attitude towards local food systems. She obtained her Ph.D. in Environmental Social Psychology at the University of Vermont.

Ariana’s main passion is teaching about social justice and sustainable development. She has had the opportunity to teach at different colleges and lead groups internationally to learn about efficient efforts to grow sustainable communities. She loves teaching and coaching people on how to become better environmentalists, as well as getting outdoors and enjoying nature. Ariana is a firm believer of grassroots movements, social justice, and political action. She also sits on the Board for Registration of Voters of her current city and constantly emphasizes the importance for people to get out and vote and be involved in the political system.

In her free time, you can find Ariana biking (either mountain or road because bikes are just awesome), playing volleyball, kayaking, and swimming. In the winter, she misses the warmth of the tropics but gets by snowboarding.

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Niels Caul

Biography

Dr. Niels Caul graduated with a PhD from University College Dublin in 2022. He has previously presented papers at the James Joyce Symposia in Dublin and Trieste, the James Joyce Italian Foundation Conference in Rome and the 2021 International Association for the Study of Irish Literatures. He has curated literary exhibitions for Museum of Literature Ireland and more recently “Revolutionary Dublin’s Literary Networks: C.P. Curran, Helen Laird and James Joyce’s Ulysses” for University College Dublin Special Collections.

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Annemarie Conlon

Biography

Dr. Annemarie Conlon teaches social work foundation courses. She is a licensed clinical therapist specializing in anxiety-related disorders. Her experience includes working at MD Anderson Cancer Center, providing family-centered counseling to people diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. She has also spent one year as a pre-dissertation intern with Dr. Jimmie Holland at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. Annemarie received the American Cancer Society Grant in Clinical Oncology Social Work as a doctoral student and was a Hartford Pre-dissertation Awardee, Cohort III. Before coming to Vermont, she was the social work lead on three federal and foundation grants centering on the interprofessional education of students, faculty, and health care providers who attend to the health care needs of older adults. Annemarie got her start in health care as a graduate intern at Legacy Community Health in Houston, Texas, where she worked with people diagnosed with HIV.

Before entering the health field, Annemarie spent over a decade at American Express in New York City, where she held positions of increasing responsibility. These included the titles of pricing analyst, financial analyst, sr. financial analyst, financial systems lead, and manager of international business development. She worked with a multi-disciplinary team in that position to develop the American Express Card as a franchise in emerging overseas markets.

Distinctions & Awards

Francine Page Excellence in Teaching Award (2023)

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Valerie Esposito

Biography

Valerie Esposito has been at Champlain since July 2010 and is the Director for the Applied Sustainability and Environmental Studies and Policy programs. She teaches courses on Sustainability, Environmental Justice, Women’s Leadership, Place-based Sustainability, Ecological Economics, Mindfulness, Becoming Part of the Creative Economy and the Capstone.

Valerie attended American University, earning a B.A. in Justice. She received an M.A. from Brown University in Environmental Studies. She obtained her Ph.D. in Natural Resources and Ecological Economics from the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics and the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Vermont. Prior to coming to Champlain she served as the Executive Director of the Vermont Earth Institute.

After college Valerie spent two years living abroad in Costa Rica and Chile, where she participated in environmental volunteer work and taught English. She pursued her international interests in her doctoral work, conducting research and working with local non-profit and non-governmental organizations in Costa Rica, Peru and the Dominican Republic. She is very interested in bringing this experience to the classroom, to ensure relevant local, national and global issues are addressed. Her research interests include ecological literacy, education for sustainability, service learning and ecological economic policy implementation.

Valerie enjoys spending time with family and friends and taking advantage of Vermont’s natural and cultural playground, through skiing, hiking, biking, canoeing, camping, theater visits and seeing live music. Sustainable travel, gardening, cooking, reading and cultivating her inner yogini also keep her busy.

Distinctions & Awards

John Lavalle Innovation Award, 2019
Academic Innovation Award, 2023

Professional & Scholastic Affiliations

• US Society for Ecological Economics
• International Society for Ecological Economics
• North American Association for Environmental Education
• Association for Environmental Studies and Science

Curriculum Vitae

READ MY CV

Recommended Reading, Listening & Viewing

• Kimmerer, R.W. Braiding Sweetgrass
  A beautiful and poetic exploration of how humans can reimagine a holistic, inclusive relationship with the environment and all living beings based on indigenous wisdom and ways of knowing.
• Kaza, S. Mindfully Green: A Personal and Spiritual Guide to Whole Earth Thinking
  Explores Buddhist ideals of reducing harm, being with ecosystems and taking a deep systems view to implement the green practice path.
• Eisler, R. The Real Wealth of Nations: Creating A Caring Economics
  Explores the impact of the caring economy to give visibility and value to the socially and economically essential work of caring for people and the planet.

Favorite Quote

“To love a place is not enough. We must find ways to heal it.”

—Robin Wall Kimmerer

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Tarn Foerg

Biography

Tarn Foerg’s identity is as a Social Worker. She holds a BSW, MSW, and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LICSW). Tarn is an Associate Professor and the Social Work Program Field Education Coordinator at Champlain College. Tarn began her full-time appointment in 2011 after serving as an adjunct for 4 years. Her professional practice experience spanned 12 years prior to teaching. Tarn’s clinical practice experience included extensive case-management and clinical support for children, youth and families as a direct service clinician in school social work with The Baird Center for Children and Families.

In addition to her active memberships in BPDonline, CSWE and NASW-VT. Tarn has provided many years of volunteer service including as a Executive Board member of the National Association of Social Workers-VT Chapter, the Nominations Committee of the Baccalaureate Program Directors, as a crisis volunteer for the Women’s Rape Crisis Center, fundraising efforts for the Committee on Temporary Shelter, and as an event coordinator for Lake Champlain Waldorf School. She was a Board president and volunteer for the Women’s Rape Crisis Center, served the older adult population at the Champlain Valley Agency on Aging, as community outreach educator regarding access to benefits and services, was co-director of a state-wide Senior Help-line and a quarterly columnist for local papers regarding issues for seniors and those who qualify for disability benefits. She has supervised MSW level interns as a field instructor for the University of Vermont and was a supervisor of school social work clinicians working in the largest mental health agency in Vermont. Tarn co-developed the Trauma Response Protocol for children and families to be implemented in crisis events in the largest county in Vermont and was a consultant to a local school district regarding anti-bullying and pro-social skills development for elementary aged children and held teacher in-services regarding implementation. Tarn has served as a Research Fellow for the Center for Community and Social Justice at Champlain College in 2021 and is currently embarking on a new project in 2023.

She has taught Ethics in Human Services, Practicum I and II and the accompanying seminars, Crisis Intervention, Survey of Community Agency, Community Experience, Social Welfare Policy, and Human Sexuality, and Practice II. Tarn has been active in her service to the college and in strengthening the Social Work Program. She has held positions on the College’s Women and Gender Center and the Student Conduct Review Board, Curriculum Committee, Library and Academic Resources Committee, United Way Fundraising Committee, Service Learning Planning Committee, Faculty Club advisor for YarnForGood and the Social Work Phi Alpha Honor Society. Tarn is also engaged in collaborative work with co-conspirators of NEW (Naming Educational Whiteness a group of colleagues whose guiding philosophy centers our work toward more equitable systems within education broadly, and within our individual disciplines more specifically.

Publications & Abstracts

Exploration of an alternative emergency response system: Vermont

Recommended Reading, Listening & Viewing

Check out the various Social Work Associations to learn more about social work:

• IFSW
• NASW
• NABSW
• Demystifying Social Work: Dr. Geetanjali Ted Talk
• The Danger of A Single Story-Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Ted Talk, Listen to this TedTalk to inspire you too think more deeply about how you see, truly see others as whole beings and how you to want to be seen.
• (divorcing) White Supremacy Culture-Coming Home to Who We Really Are by Tema Okun, Understanding the pervasive systemic behaviors, policies and practices that are imbedded in our institutional settings provides insights to disrupt and make necessary changes to achieve justice.

Favorite Quote

“If you think you’re too small to make a difference, try sleeping in a room with a mosquito.”

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Latoya Hogg

Biography

Latoya S. Hogg holds a Ph.D. in Social Work from Howard University. Her research focuses on the Impostor Phenomenon in Black social work doctoral students attending historically Black colleges and universities. Dr. Hogg received her Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from the University of Texas at Tyler and her Master of Social Work from Stephen F. Austin State University. She has had accepted presentations at the Council on Social Work Education’s Annual Program Meeting, the National Association of Social Worker’s National Conference, the Society for Social Work and Research Annual Conference, and the Network for Social Work and Management Annual Management Conference. Dr. Hogg works as a full-time Analyst at the United States Government Accountability Office. In addition, she also virtually mentors emerging social work undergraduate and graduate students across the country and hosts virtual accountability spaces for doctoral students on the weekend. She also serves as an adjunct faculty member in social work at Howard University and the University of Texas at Arlington.

Distinctions & Awards

Edward A. Bouchet Graduate Honor Society Inductee, 2023

Favorite Quote

Veni, vidi, vici.

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Rachel Hooper

Biography

As a Creative Media Faculty member at Champlain College, Rachel Hooper teaches a range of courses including Human-Centered Design, Creative Media, and Video Game Production. She empowers students to seek patterns, connect dots, and imagine new futures by using data and empathy to uncover and define problems worth solving.

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Meg Jones

Biography

Meg Jones joined Champlain College having received their PhD in Education from the University of Rhode Island. Meg’s research interests include preservice teacher education, social justice & inclusion in PK-16 education, literacy for PK-16, and qualitative research methods. They have over ten years of experience in education including as an elementary and early childhood classroom teacher, district level technology integration coach, professional development facilitator, college course instructor for literacy courses and qualitative methods, and international research fellow.

Meg was the recipient of a Fulbright Finland Foundation grant (2021-2022) and American-Scandinavian Foundation fellowship (2022-2023), which combined supported two years living and researching in Finland. Meg brings these experiences to Champlain to connect local and global communities while ensuring future teachers are ready for diverse classrooms.

Meg’s educational philosophy is rooted in critical approaches to teaching and learning, drawing from the works of bell hooks, Judith Butler, and Paulo Freire. In the classroom, Meg practices “engaged pedagogy” (hooks, 1994) which prioritizes the wellbeing and empowerment of students.

Publications & Abstracts

• Disrupting cisheteronormativity in STEM through humanism
• Unpacking Anti-femininity Among Masculine Identifying STEM Students with Minoritized Identities of Sexuality and Gender
• “You Assumed That Everybody Was…”: Hermeneutic Injustice and Cisheteropatriarchy in STEM Coursework
• Embodied Literacies of Sexuality and Gender of College Students
• Using Digital and Media Literacies to Expand Global Perspectives

Recommended Readings

• Teaching to Transgress by Bell Hooks
• The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

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Jennifer Jorgenson

Biography

Jennifer Jorgenson is the Director of the Vermont Child Welfare Training Partnership (VT-CWTP). In her role, she serves on statewide workgroups and leadership teams, providing input and recommendations for practice and policy change across the greater child welfare system. In 2017, she was one of the co-developers of the iTIPS curriculum and more recently was an integral part of the final revision of the NCTSN (BPC) Breakthrough Parenting Curriculum: Navigating Trauma Across Generations; in collaboration with both the Vermont team and the Chadwick Center for Children and Families.

Previously, she served as the Co-PD for the treatment and services strand on the ACF Placement Stability Project grant, rolling out screening, assessment, progress monitoring, treatments and services for youth in custody impacted by trauma. In this role, she led the statewide roll out of the RPC+TIPS for caregivers. Prior to her current role, Jennifer served as Director of Treatment Services for a child abuse prevention and treatment agency, an outpatient therapist, a therapeutic residential center therapist and Membership Director for the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence where she oversaw the provision of evidence-based trauma treatments in Kentucky and Ohio. A Licensed Independent and Clinical Social Worker, Jennifer obtained her BSW at Ball State University and her MSW at Indiana University. She is a Certified Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) therapist and Level 1 trainer, and Certified Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy (TF-CBT) therapist and trained in CARE.

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Kathleen Legg

Biography

After graduating with an Economics degree from Harvard University, Kathleen fell into a career of teaching and has never looked back. Kathleen earned her Masters degree in Curriculum and Instruction in Secondary Mathematics from University of Colorado, Boulder. She’s taught mathematics to children since “93 in Colorado, Vermont, and internationally in London and the Hague. She also teaches science and in 2014 was recognized as VASE Science Teacher of the year.

Kathleen moved from teaching children in the classroom into a K-8 coaching role for Champlain Valley School District. This experience renewed her passion for math education and the importance of making mathematics meaningful and accessible for all learners. Kathleen has a passion for supporting teachers to be the best teachers of mathematics that they can be, regardless of their own mathematical journey.

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Pamela Marsh

Biography

Pam Marsh holds an A.B. from Middlebury College (1976) in Political Science and Russian Language, and J.D. from Harvard Law School (1979). After a year engaging in a judicial clerkship, she worked for Vermont Legal Aid from 1980-1983. She went into private practice in November 1983. While she engaged in a general practice, she specialized in Juvenile Law, and was certified as a Child Welfare Law Specialist by the National Association of Counsel for Children. She retired on 12/31/2022 to take a position as the Addison County Probate Judge. Attorney Marsh has served in numerous civic positions, as well as volunteered on the boards of the Otter Creek Children’s Center and Bridge School, both in Middlebury, Vermont. She has been active in numerous professional organizations as well.

Professional & Scholastic Affiliations

• Vermont Bar Association
• American Bar Association

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Melissa McDuffie

Biography

Melissa had a variety of experiences working in the field of psychology both before and after she started teaching including addictions counselor, working in therapeutic foster care, community mental health counselor, school intervention programs, crisis intervention work and running a campus counseling center. She has been teaching since 2001. Her areas of teaching interest include General Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Abnormal Psychology and Counseling Psychology.

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April Mentzer

Biography

April holds both a Bachelors and Masters in Social Work and became a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in 2024. She is the Visiting Professor in Social Work at Champlain College. Prior to accepting this position, April worked in the Champlain College Counseling Center providing a variety of services for students including individual therapy, group therapy, health promotion, and assisting with campus wide wellbeing initiatives. April serves as the Clinical Supervisor for PEARLS, a program to reduce depression symptoms in older adults. Before coming to work at Champlain College, April served older adults through her work with the state wide SASH Program (Support and Services at Home), people in Recovery at Howard Center’s Chittenden Clinic, and served on various employee wellness committees.

Throughout her social work career, April has explored what people need to be well, bringing a Bio, Psycho, Social, Spiritual lens to her work. April is also a certified yoga instructor and has studied yoga and mindfulness for more than half her life. When April is not working she enjoys walking with friends, traveling, and spending time with her family and their beloved pet chickens.

What are your hobbies?

Walking, spending time with family and friends.

Favorite local eateries and things to do in Vermont:

Spending time outside.

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