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, Board President
'98 Art ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂ, '24 Ed.D. ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂal Leadership

Dr. Stuart has served as the Visual Art Supervisor for Prince George's County Public Schools, MD since 2014. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in art education from UMD, a Master of Arts degree in education from the Maryland Institute College of Art, her certificate in supervision and administration from UMD and most recently her Doctorate in ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂal Leadership from the ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂ. Dr. Stuart taught elementary art for nine years and was the content specialist for art, theater, and dance for Montgomery County Public Schools in Rockville, Maryland, for seven years. Elizabeth has co-authored two books—Using Art To Teach Reading Comprehension Strategies (Klein & Stuart, 2013), and Using Art to Teach Writing Traits (Klein & Whitehead, 2018). She loves to find ways for children to use art to deepen their understanding of other subjects and believes that all children can access the same level of understanding in different ways. Elizabeth lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, with her husband, Christopher, and her two children. Elizabeth currently serves as the chair for the Jump Start Your Job Search annual event. 

, Board Vice-President
'20 M.A. Minority and Urban ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂ

Dr. Waldron is currently the Executive Director of the National Capital Region Genesys Works - National Capital Region, a non-profit organization that provides high school students with skills training, meaningful work experiences and connections to professional networks and recently completed his Doctorate in ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂ from the University of Pittsburgh.  He also serves as an adjunct professor at the ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂ, where he teaches Nonprofit Management and Social Innovation. He founded Mentor POST, a mentorship and charisma coaching program for educators and community activists. Selvon has a love for community resilience building through education and economic development. He has a tremendous passion for education equity and workforce development. 

, Treasurer
'98 Elementary ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂ

Candice has been serving as a first grade teacher at Kensington Parkwood Elementary School in Montgomery County Public Schools, MD since 1997. s a Nationally Board Certified Early Childhood Generalist and certified Reading Specialist, she strives to instill a love of literacy, and believes in the powers of hard work and reflection to grow.  She has been fortunate to serve in a number of roles outside of the classroom to support other educators, including as an instructor for National Board graduate courses, district literacy trainer, and advocate of new educators through New Educator Orientation, training, and mentoring.  Being a life-long learner, Candice is passionate about developing professionally, most notably earning The John F. Kennedy Center's Changing ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂ Through the Arts Award six times from 2010-2020.  In her leisure time, she loves to spend time with her husband and dogs, Liberty and Sunshine, read voraciously, and enjoy all things Lilly Pulitzer.

Jaime Bowers, Board Secretary

'24 Ed.D. ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂal Leadership 

Dr. Bowers is the Director of the Department of Testing, Research and Evaluation with Prince George's County Public Schools (PGCPS) in Maryland. She has been as educator for over 23 years and has experience in several of Maryland's local school systems as well as the state department of education. Her insight and first hand knowledge of the school house as well as both state and local accountability and assessment has led to the successful implementation of both state and district assessment programs, which specifically focused on utilization of interim benchmarks summative measures in an assessment cycle to yield meaningful data and reporting to guide instructional decisions. She is currently serving as a board member for the Maryland Assessment Group, an organization that focuses on assessment and accountability information, policy and professional development opportunities for educators throughout the state of Maryland. She recently complete her Ed.D. from the ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂ in ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂal Leadership, which will allow her to continue to share her passion and expertise in the ever changing educational landscape and fulfill her lifelong goal of officially becoming a TERP! 

'05 Art ºÚÁÏ´óÊ 

Amanda Espina is entering her 20th year as a dedicated visual arts educator in Prince George’s County Public Schools. With experience teaching all levels PreK-12, she has built a dynamic career rooted in inclusive, student-centered teaching and was named PGCPS Teacher of the Year in 2016. Amanda is passionate about creating meaningful and engaging connections with her students, helping them discover their voice and recognize their potential as creative thinkers and change-makers. She believes deeply in the transformative power of both the arts and education—not only as tools for personal growth, but as catalysts for empowering families and strengthening communities. 

'85 Sociology, '91 M.A. ºÚÁÏ´óÊ 

Barbara Gill is a nationally recognized higher education leader with over 38 years of service at the ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂ, including a decade as Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management (2014–2024). In that role, she was responsible for three mission-critical offices—Undergraduate Admissions, Student Financial Aid, and the University Registrar. Barbara was the architect of the ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂ’s first enrollment management structure, creating an integrated and student-centered approach to recruiting, enrolling, and supporting undergraduate students from across the country and around the world. Under her leadership, the university significantly increased the academic talent and diversity of its incoming classes. Barbara is a champion for college affordability and access, Barbara assisted in the development of the Maryland Promise Program and Terrapin Commitment, the university’s most transformative need-based financial aid initiatives providing scholarship support to students from the lowest income backgrounds. Recently retired, Barbara’s career reflects a steadfast commitment to access, equity, and excellence in higher education.

'12 Secondary ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂ Social Studies

Jake serves as the Student records Associate for Prince George's County Public Schools, MD and an Expert Reviewer for MSDE. Jake serves on the Alumni Network board because he feels like the College of ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂ always did a great job in supporting students and he wanted to pay in forward and make sure alumni see the value in supporting the next generation of educators. Jake currently serves as the chair of the Social Committee. 

Jennifer Himmel 
'23 Ph.D. Teaching, Learning, Policy & Leadership 

Dr. Jennifer Himmel is an educational program and operations leader with 20+ years of experience driving improvements to learning and educational operations. She is currently the project director for the federally-funded National Clearinghouse of English Language Acquisition. Her previous professional experience includes serving as a teacher educator at several universities in the metro region and at the Center for Applied Linguistics where she led the PreK-12 English Learner professional development business unit.
Dr. Himmel holds a PhD in teaching and learning, policy and leadership from the ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂ and her research interests include the promotion of  peer interaction and dialogic approaches to content area literacy instruction to further the language and literacy development of multilingual learners.

'01 Special ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂ, '02 M.Ed. Special ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂ, '11 Ph.D. Special ºÚÁÏ´óÊ 

Dr. Cherise J. Hunter is a Senior Fellow at UMD's Center for ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂal Innovation and Improvement (CEii) and adjunct faculty member for both the Doctorate of ºÚÁÏ´óÊ (Ed.D.) in School System Leadership and the Special ºÚÁÏ´óÊ Program in the College of ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂ. Prior to working at UMD, Dr. Hunter was a school district Policy Manager and has expertise in school system policy management including setting the policy agenda, collaborating with the Board of ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂ, and engaging stakeholders in the policy development process.  She also served for eight years as a Senior Research Analyst with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy, where she managed a multi-million-dollar portfolio of policy research and evaluations. In 2007, Dr. Hunter was awarded a doctoral fellowship from the ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂ’s Institute for the Study of Exceptional Children and Youth.  Before that, she was a Governor’s Fellow with the Maryland State Department of ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂ’s Division of Early Intervention and Special ºÚÁÏ´óÊ Services. Dr. Hunter is a three-time alumna having earned her Bachelors’, Masters’ and Doctorate degrees from the ºÚÁÏ´óÊ in Special ºÚÁÏ´óÊ and was also elected to the University Senate in 2023.  She proudly began her career as a Special ºÚÁÏ´óÊ Transition Teacher and enjoys supporting educator leadership development in her current projects.  Outside of work, Dr. Hunter focuses on making fun memories with her husband and their four children. 

, Membership Chair
'06 Spanish & Marketing 

Jeff is a proud UMD Alum and lifelong educator. After graduating from ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂ, Jeff moved to New York City where he began his teaching career with Teach for America at CS 211 in the Bronx, teaching a bilingual self-contained sixth grade class. Following this, Jeff began teaching at KIPP NYC Public Charter Schools. Jeff taught ESL, Spanish, and Special ºÚÁÏ´óÊ at the middle school and high school levels before becoming the Director of Student Support Services and eventually Assistant Principal of the largest KIPP school in the country, KIPP NYC College Prep High School. Jeff was later tapped to lead KIPP NYC’s regional Special ºÚÁÏ´óÊ work, and he moved into a the role of Regional Managing Director of Student Support Services for KIPP NYC. Under Jeff’s guidance, students with IEPs outperformed their peers in the district in nearly every grade on both the state math and ELA exams. During the pandemic, Jeff led KIPP NYC’s only in-person K-12 school site from September of 2020 until schools reopened in March of 2021. In July of 2023, Jeff began as Principal of KIPP Washington Heights Elementary School, while continuing to oversee Special ºÚÁÏ´óÊ for the region. Within one academic year, students at KIPP Washington Heights Elementary improved overall reading proficiency from 38% of students reading at or above grade level to 87% of students reading at or above grade level. Jeff enjoys traveling with his husband, spending time with his puppy, Felipe, and running.  

'25 Psychology and Human Development 

Bella graduated with a dual degree in Psychology and Human Development, with a minor in Nonprofit Management and Leadership. As a member of the inaugural Human Development Honors Cohort, she completed a thesis exploring relational reasoning in young children. She also earned her citation through the Public Leadership Scholars Program. During her time on campus, Bella held several leadership roles, including serving as an Undergraduate Teaching Assistant in the Department of Psychology, Peer Advisor for the College of ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂ, and member of the Student Alumni Leadership Council. She was also a founding member and Treasurer of the Human Development Student Association. Bella interned with the UMD Alumni Association and later worked as the Program Assistant for the College of ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂ’s Office of Advancement. She is currently seeking opportunities to work as a researcher in a developmental psychology lab before applying to Ph.D. programs.

'96 M.Ed. Social Studies

Jeanne is a classroom teacher for Montgomery County Public Schools, MD. In her 28 years of teaching, 26 in MCPS, she also served as a Resource Teacher, Staff Development Curriculum Trainer with central office, AP Coordinator, and currently, classroom teacher.  Prior to MCPS, she was a middle school teacher in Jacksonville, Florida.  Jeanne is most interested in keeping student voice in large district decision making, and continues to not only keep the message alive in her own school but in the greater MCPS community.  She is passionate about high expectations for both students and teachers, focusing on new teacher retention and support.  Working across many schools in MCPS, as well as in central administrative offices, Jeanne continues to keep a focus to serve the students and the community as we move forward in adapting to new public education needs.  The main interest for Jeanne in working with the alumni board is to engage, entice, and retain great students to become and continue to choose teaching as a profession.  In her free time, Jeanne focuses on family, mainly her two boys as they move into the college realm.  Jeanne enjoys reading, hiking, traveling, and cooking.  She currently resides in Silver Spring, MD.

Kellie Skinner
'09 Special ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂ, '10 M.Ed. Special ºÚÁÏ´óÊ 

Kellie Skinner is an Alternative Curriculum Class (ACC) Special ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂ teacher at Annapolis High School in Anne Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS).  Kellie began her career at Annapolis in 2010.  Throughout her time there she has grown and strengthened the ACC program and serves as the team lead.  Kellie was the inaugural coach of the schools Unified Tennis, Allied Bowling, and Unified Bocce teams, and coached several award winning teams over 10 years.  Through her work in the classroom, with unified sports, and assisting with Best Buddies, she lead the team that applied for and was awarded the Special Olympics National Unified Champion School for 2021-2025, and was chosen as an ESPN Top 5 Unified Champion School in 2022.  In the 2023-2024 school year, Kellie was a National Board Certification Applicant, and was a 2024 AACPS Teacher of the Year finalist. At Annapolis, she also serves as the President of the Faculty Council, Chairperson for the Sunshine Social Committee, a mentor for new teachers and those seeking Special ºÚÁÏ´óÊÂ certification.  In her time away from work, Kellie enjoys spending time with her family, enjoying nature, planning road trips to baseball stadiums or national parks, and doing puzzles.