COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Fiscal and Budget Manager
Job Titles:
- Director, Academic Affairs
Andy Swanson joined Colorado State in January 2021. Prior to his work at Colorado State, he was a freelance editor working in Vietnam and a former accessibility technology specialist. Andy received his Master's in Political Science: European and International Governance from Vrije Universiteit Brussel and has worked in higher education since 2012.
Job Titles:
- Operations Manager
- Operations
Barb Maynard works with TILT's assessment team to use data to inform TILT programs, and co-coordinates a project to make accurate closed captions available on course videos. Before joining TILT, Barb earned degrees in Animal Behavior and Zoology and worked in science writing and watershed protection.
Job Titles:
- Senior Instructional Designer
Job Titles:
- Director of Service - Learning
- Its Director
Courtney Ngai completed her graduate work at University of Massachusetts Boston, and previous work at UMB includes research into understanding and characterizing how students classify and differentiate substances. Courtney also worked on a collaboration with science and chemistry teachers affiliated with Boston Public Schools to assess and foster students' chemical thinking. Outside of research, Courtney volunteers for i-Trek, a nonprofit organization seeking to increase diversity in STEM by providing underrepresented students with research opportunities. Currently, Courtney serves as both a facilitator and researcher for DATs at CSU.
Job Titles:
- Program Coordinator of Community Engaged Learning
Danyel Addes is an engaged learning professional and educator with experience designing and implementing high-impact learning and student leadership programs and developing university and community partnerships. Her work focuses on experiential learning grounded in critical pedagogy, participatory practices, dialogue and deliberation, and embodied social justice and resilience practices. Danyel did her graduate work at the University of Georgia in Anthropology, and in Conservation Ecology and Sustainable Development and draws on anthropological, ecological and community organizing frameworks to further cultures of engagement in community and university settings.
Job Titles:
- Learning Assistant Program Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Senior Faculty Developer & Teaching Effectiveness Framework Program Manager
Jennifer Todd is dedicated to student engagement and learning, and has been at TILT since January 2017. She spent the first 20 years of her instructional experience in the classroom with students - and out of the classroom training teachers in best instructional practices. She is passionate about students taking responsibility for their learning, and the ways in which, we, as instructors can promote and encourage such a classroom culture. Her expertise lies in learning to write and writing to learn in all subject areas - as well as supporting students in reading and making sense of difficult text. Prior to CSU, Jennifer taught at an Expeditionary Learning School and was part of a team that opened a nationally acclaimed arts high school in Santa Ana, California.
Job Titles:
- Program Coordinator, OURA Lab, CURC
- Program Coordinator, OURA Lab, CURC / OURA
Job Titles:
- Director, Academic Integrity
- Education Leader
- Learning Expert
Joseph F. Brown is a higher education leader and teaching and learning expert with over fifteen years of experience spearheading initiatives and leading programs at universities across the country. He currently serves as the Director of the Academic Integrity Program at Colorado State University, where he provides strategic leadership, creates educational resources, and mentors faculty.
Joseph has a strong track record of bringing together diverse stakeholders and executing high-impact projects. He led the development of multiple innovative learning modules adopted by thousands of students annually. His creative marketing campaigns and faculty mentorship programs have enriched academic integrity campus-wide.
In his previous role, Joseph served as an Associate Professor of English at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and spearheaded numerous faculty leadership initiatives. He is committed to impactful teaching. In 2013, he was selected as a University System of Georgia Governor's Teaching Fellow and has been nominated for CSU Honors Professor of the Year three consecutive years.
Joseph holds a PhD in English Literature from Louisiana State University. His research interests include science fiction, southern literature, and academic integrity. He has authored numerous publications and presented at major conferences in his fields such as the International Center for Academic Integrity Annual Conference, the University System of Georgia Teaching and Learning Conference, and the Science Fiction Research Association Conference.
Joseph lives in Fort Collins, Colorado with his wife, Theresa, and their children, Benjamin and Evangeline. He is a lifelong Atlanta sports fan and his ideal Saturday is spent with his family, cooking classic southern food together to enjoy alongside one of their favorite teams' games.
Job Titles:
- Senior Instructional Designer
Justin Switzer earned his bachelor's degree in Psychology in 2007 from Colorado State University and has been working in higher education at CSU since 2008. As an Instructional Designer, he works with digital media and Canvas, and he appreciates simple yet thoughtful design.
Job Titles:
- Director of Teaching Excellence With the Institute for Lea
Karen Falkenberg is the Director of Teaching Excellence with the Institute for Learning and Teaching at Colorado State University. She co-directs the Instructional Innovation & Excellence team which is responsible for faculty and instructor support through a wide variety of programs, services, partnerships, and initiatives. She has over 40 years of experience in STEM, education, and leadership beginning with her work as a research chemical engineer. Her education research has focused on educators' creativity and innovation, learners' self-efficacy and cultural competencies, and facilitating change in higher education. Karen has numerous accomplishments that include receiving a patent for solar cell technology, co-authoring Facilitating Change in Higher Education: The Departmental Action Team Model (2020), and acting as a contributing author to the National Academy of Engineering's publication Technically Speaking: Why all Americans need to know more about technology (2002). She is a co-author of numerous peer reviewed journal articles, has consulted extensively, has facilitated change efforts and new initiatives for decades, has led numerous high performance teams, and has designed and presented countless presentations, workshops, and retreats. Karen was faculty member at Emory University before joining TILT, was the Undergraduate Education Director for the Center for Behavioral Neuroscience (a national Science and Technology Center) and acted as a consultant to His Holiness the Dalai Lama to infuse STEM into the traditional Buddhist curriculum; Karen has taught over 1000 practicing and pre-service teachers, and has individually coached or mentored over 150 emerging leaders. She honors and cultivates relationships. In her spare time, she loves to lift weights, take spin classes, be outdoors, garden, learn about anything, and coach others on nutrition, mindset, lifestyle and wellness. Gratitude and joy fills her life.
Job Titles:
- Associate Director for Faculty Success
Katy Little received her Bachelor's in Journalism and Mass Communication (2001) and Master's in Library and Information Science (2003) from Kent State University. She has worked in the field of higher education for more than 20 years for institutions including the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine, Kent State University and Weston Distance Learning, Inc. Currently, she is the director of instructional technology for Colorado State University's The Institute for Learning and Teaching (TILT), where she supports instructors and graduate teaching assistants in becoming effective teachers. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and watching her children's many sporting events.
Job Titles:
- Director, Student Engagement
Job Titles:
- Program Director
- Program Director for the Office for Scholarship
Mary Swanson is the Program Director for the Office for Scholarship and Fellowship Advising at Colorado State University (CSU), her alma mater. After she received a BA in history, Mary attended graduate school at CSU and the University of Notre Dame where she studied the history of the American West and environmental law. Although she has called Colorado home for 20 years, she is a native of Minneapolis, MN and loves to spend time in the land of 10,000 lakes.
Job Titles:
- Program Coordinator, OURA Ambassadors
- Program Coordinator, OURA Ambassadors / OURA
Job Titles:
- Systems Admin & Application Developer
Job Titles:
- Associate Director of Assessment
Rebekah LeMahieu joined TILT as the Associate Director of Assessment in 2020. She received her PhD in Developmental and Psychological Sciences from the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University where she studied parent-child interactions and early childhood math education. At CSU, she assesses TILT's programming and services towards increasing student equity and success. She also assists with university-wide academic program and general education assessments. Prior to joining CSU, Rebekah worked at a non-profit research and evaluation organization, partnering with schools, non-profits, and educational agencies to conduct applied research and evaluation studies. In her free time, she enjoys hiking and baking.
Job Titles:
- Learning Assistant Program Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Learning Technology and Analytics Program Manager
Job Titles:
- Senior Faculty Developer & Teaching Effectiveness Initiative Program Manager
Tonya Buchan received her MS. Ed in Curriculum and Instruction from Purdue University. Tonya started her career in higher education in 1997 and has held a variety of roles including online instructor, instructional technology consultant, grant program manager and instructional designer. Tonya enjoys creating faculty development experiences as well as partnering with instructors to integrate research-based educational practices using the CSU Teaching Effectiveness Framework and educational technology into course design and teaching.