Shinta Hernandez
Dean of the Virtual Campus
Montgomery College
Shinta Hernandez, Ph.D. is the founding Dean of the Virtual Campus at Montgomery College in Montgomery County, Maryland. During her 14 years at the College, she has helped to advance work in the areas of open educational resources and open pedagogy, social justice and equity, inclusive curriculum, faculty professional development, international collaborations, and online education. She currently serves on the leadership teams of the Montgomery College Achieving the Dream (ATD) Student Success Network, the Community College Consortium for Open Educational Resources (CCCOER), the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) Faculty Advisory Council, and the MarylandOnline Leadership Institute (MOLLI).
Previously, Dr. Hernandez served as the Department Chair of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice at Montgomery College. She led her department through the implementation of Z-courses using culturally relevant open educational resources that resulted in students in her disciplines saving approximately $1 million in textbook costs. She has presented and facilitated workshops to higher education institutions across the U.S. on decolonizing the curriculum, social justice and inclusive curriculum, tough empathy pedagogy, and open pedagogy. Dr. Hernandez is also the co-founder of the award-winning United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Open Pedagogy Fellowship, which has grown to eight institutional partners across North America and Central America in just five years.
Dr. Hernandez received her B.A. degree in Psychology from Brandeis University, M.P.P. degree in Social Policy from Georgetown University, and Ph.D. degree in Sociology at the University of Maryland College Park. She was awarded the Outstanding Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching and Advising from Montgomery College in 2017 and the Excellence Award from the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD) in 2018. Her doctoral dissertation is “A Sociological Analysis of the Impact of Online Education on Community College Completion: A Case Study of Montgomery College in Maryland.” Follow Dr. Hernandez on Twitter @ProfHernandez2.
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Dean of the Virtual Campus
Montgomery College
Clint Lalonde
Manager, Education Technology
BCcampus
Wrangler of learning technologies by day, Dad, cyclist, soccer fan & home roaster of coffee by night, Clint is an educational technologist and advocate for the use of open educational resources and open education practices in higher education. Clint has worked in the British Columbia post-secondary system for 25 years and is currently a project manager with the BCcampus Open Education team leading the open homework systems project. A founding member of the BC Open EdTech Collaborative, he is also Associate Faculty in the School of Education & Technology program at Royal Roads University, and an occasional Sessional Lecturer in the Department of Education at the University of Victoria. Clint’s educational interests include network learning, social learning, education technology, and open education.
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Manager, Education Technology
BCcampus
Di Luo
Assistant Professor of Art History and Architectural Studies
Connecticut College
Di Luo is Chu-Niblack Assistant Professor of Art History and Architectural Studies at Connecticut College. She teaches Introduction to Asian Art, Chinese Architecture, Japanese Art and Architecture, Silk Road, Sacred Space, and Urban History of Asia. Her other research and teaching interests include 3D scanning and the preservation of cultural heritage.
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Assistant Professor of Art History and Architectural Studies
Connecticut College
Suzanne Marmo
Assistant Professor at the School of Social Work
Sacred Heart University
Suzanne Marmo, PhD, LCSW is an Assistant Professor at the School of Social Work at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield Connecticut. Dr Marmo is an OER enthusiast and has successfully converted the majority of courses that she teaches to full OER content and has been assisting students with preparing renewable assignments to be released to the commons. Dr Marmo was chosen to be an OER fellow at Sacred Heart University in 2019-2020 and is the current Connecticut representative with NEBHE’s OER Community of Practice.
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Assistant Professor at the School of Social Work
Sacred Heart University
Nicole Colter
Business Professor
Three Rivers Community College
Nicole Colter is an Instructor of Business at Three Rivers Community College. She teaches Principles of Management, Entrepreneurship, and Business Software Applications using open educational resources and open educational practices. Nicole’s pedagogical interests also include ungrading, self-directed learning, experiential learning, service learning, and teaching for creativity development. Nicole received her M.S. degree in Creative Studies from the International Center for Studies in Creativity at Buffalo State College. In her spare time she serves as a peer coach in the Akimbo Podcasting Workshop.
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Business Professor
Three Rivers Community College
Asheka Rahman
Professor of Engineering
Central Connecticut State University
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Professor of Engineering
Central Connecticut State University
Nicolas Simon
Assistant Professor of Sociology
Eastern Connecticut State University
Dr. Nicolas P. Simon is an assistant professor of Sociology in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, Criminology, and Social Work at Eastern Connecticut State University in Willimantic Connecticut. His major research interests include sociology of higher education, first-generation college students, community service, Open Educational Resources, Open Pedagogy, and sociological theories. Dr. Simon holds a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Connecticut and a master’s degree from Université de Caen in France.
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Assistant Professor of Sociology
Eastern Connecticut State University
Nelly Gonzalez
Student
Eastern Connecticut State University
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Student
Eastern Connecticut State University
Tyler Fairbanks
Student
Eastern Connecticut State University
My name is Tyler S. Fairbanks. Studying Sociology at Eastern, I aim to work others to construct a better world than the one I was born in. To do so, I would like to take on the barriers within the systems that govern our lives. Currently, I work as a SOAR Benefits Specialist helping people apply for disability benefits to remedy financial barriers. Open Pedagogy is yet another invaluable tool to fixing another key system in our nation: the educational system.
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Student
Eastern Connecticut State University
Kiyana-Nicole Smith
Student
Eastern Connecticut State University
Kiyana-Nicole Smith (she, they) is a sophomore at Eastern Connecticut State University, studying Pre-Early Childhood Education and Sociology. Kiyana-Nicole shares her joy and time through campus involvement. Volunteering in the community may help her finalize what age group she would like to teach. Kiyana-Nicole is passionate about people and helping them in any way she can.
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Student
Eastern Connecticut State University
Maya Vanderberg
Student
Eastern Connecticut State University
Maya Vanderberg (she/they) is a junior at Eastern Connecticut State University, working towards a Bachelor's in Sociology and Pre-Law. She works on campus in the Dean of Arts and Science's office, and she is the Public Relations Officer for the Honors Club. Maya is currently developing her undergraduate thesis on the effects of criminalizing statutes on homeless community members. She has been involved with a myriad of Open Educational Resource projects throughout her undergraduate career and maintains a passion for promoting the accessibility of educational materials.
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Student
Eastern Connecticut State University
