Janet H. Mason Ed.D was a Holmes Scholar from 1993 to 1996 at the University of South Carolina following twenty years as a secondary teacher / administrator in Long Beach, California. Subsequently, she conducted annual workshops at the Holmes Partnership conferences, to help other Holmes Scholars through the dissertation process. She served on the committee that chartered the National Association of Holmes Scholars Alumni. Currently Dr. Mason is an educational consultant. She can be reached at drjanetmason@yahoo.com.

Dr. Lora Bailey is dean and professor at Brenau University. She serves on the board of directors for the Georgia Association for Colleges of Teacher Education, NAHSA, and the Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI).

 

From 2006-2009, she was program director and Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education and member of the Auburn University – Auburn City Schools PDS, where she  played an integral role in the development of the organization’s strategic plan.

 

Dr. Bailey was program director for the Early Childhood program at the University of Louisville, and directed a $500,000 grant to improve teacher and learning in mathematics for high-needs elementary and middle schools in Kentucky.

 

She served as a faculty member at the University of South Carolina for 3 years and directed an Improving Teacher Quality, NCLB mathematics program, funded for $375,000 to reform nine of the University’s PDS, which were at-risk of school closure. 

 

 

Dr. Dianne L. H. Mark is the Dean in the William L. Spadoni College of Education at Coastal Carolina University.  As dean, she provides oversight and leadership to undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as The Biddle Center for Teaching, Learning & Community Engagement.  Prior to coming to Coastal Carolina University, Dr. Mark was dean of the College of Professional Studies at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania after serving almost ten years at the College of Education and Human Services at Central Michigan University; where she was the associate dean of the college and also a tenured professor in the Department of Teacher Education and Professional Development. She has also been a faculty member at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa and was the Director of the Career Opportunities Program. This was a three way partnership between Drake, the Des Moines School District and Des Moines Area Community College to increase the number of teachers of color in the district.  Dr. Mark grew up in Flint, Michigan and received a BS in Physical Education from Michigan State University; a M.S. in Student Personnel Administration from Buffalo State College, a M.Ed and a Ph.D in Educational Administration from the State University of New York at Buffalo. In 2009, she received recognition as a distinguished alumnus from her high school alma mater – Flint Central High School.

           

Dr. Mark was one of the recipients of the Minority Opinion Magazine's 2008 Minority Achievement Award and completed training from the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) to become a member of the Board of Examiners. She attended the Harvard Institutes’ program on leadership; The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education’s New Dean’s Institute, the American Council on Education/Office of Women in Education program and served as a board member of The Michigan chapter of the American Council on Education. She holds membership in the National Association of Holmes Scholars Alumni, the American Educational Research Association and the Teacher Education Council of State Colleges and Universities. Her research focus has been on issues related to school, community and family partnerships and urban education; and has been a reviewer for the Journal of Teacher Education and Urban Education, where she been guest editor and served on the editorial board. She co-authored a text book title, Cultural Journeys: Multicultural Literature for Children and Young Adults and has published articles.

 

Married for 29 years to Eddie and residing in South Carolina, they have two daughters, Tashi and Talia.

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Aretha Faye Marbley is an Associate Professor and Director of Community Counseling in Counselor Education at Texas Tech University.  She’s a critical social justice activist and womanist scholar with a research focus on global multicultural-social justice, specifically counternarratives of marginalized people in oppressive social structures.

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Keith D. Riley is an Assistant Professor at Jacksonville University. He received his Doctorate degree from the University of Central Florida in Curriculum and Instruction with specializations Sport Management and Physical Education Pedagogy.  His research has focused on student-athletes, time management and academic achievement.

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Diana Gonzales Worthen is the Director of Project Teach Them All, a distance education program that prepares secondary in-service teachers to receive an ESL (English to Speakers of Other Languages) endorsement. She received her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Arkansas. She has over 20 years teaching experience in science education, ESOL and sheltered instruction. Her research interests include emerging diversity theory, coaching teachers of English language learners, Latino student achievement, cooperative learning and developing school-community partnerships.  

Dr. Adah Ward Randolph is an Associate Professor at Ohio University.  She received her Ph.D. from The Ohio State University in Educational Policy and Leadership with specializations in African American and Women’s education history, education policy, curriculum studies and qualitative methodology.  Her research has focused on African American teachers and principals in urban communities.

 

Charissa Marrah, Ph.D. is an assistant professor at the College of Charleston. Originally from Florida, she is a state certified K-12 special education teacher with an ESOL endorsement. Dr. Marrah’s had dedicated her professional career to researching and improving pedagogy for twice-exceptional gifted learners labeled emotionally disabled.

Dr. Carolyn Walker Hopp earned a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Central Florida (UCF), where she was the first Holmes Scholar. As a Holmes Scholars alumna,  current responsibilities at UCF include Instructor, Educational Studies, College of Education, where she also serves as Coordinator of the Masters degree program in Teacher Leadership and mentor to the UCF Holmes Scholars.