Faculty & Staff

About

Kathryn Baldwin, MIT Director (2016-17), Assistant Professor of Science Education and Educational Foundations. Kathryn received her BS and MS in Geology from Washington State University and an EdD in Curriculum and Instruction – Science Education from Washington State University in 2007. Kathryn’s research interests focus on science education, earth science education, environmental and sustainability education, outdoor learning, science teaching self-efficacy, problem and place based learning.

About

Melissa Bedford is an Assistant Professor of Literacy in the EWU Department of Education. Prior to coming to Eastern, Melissa lived in Northern Nevada where she was an elementary school teacher, primarily working in grades 3rd-6th. A proud alumna of the University of Nevada, Reno, she received her BA in Political Science, MEd in Elementary Education, and recently earned her PhD in Education, with an emphasis in Literacy Studies. Melissa’s research interests include the use of technology, specifically robotics, to promote literacy development, culturally responsive literacy instruction, critical literacy in the elementary grades, and literacy practices to support language learners.

In her spare time, she likes going to the theater; listening to and making music; visiting with her friends and family; playing golf and board games; and relaxing with her dog, Lily, and hedgehog, Olive. Melissa is enjoying her new life in Washington and is excited to continue to explore Spokane, Cheney, and the surrounding areas!

About

Stephanie has been working as a field experience supervisor, supporting teacher candidates during their placement, since 2013. She attended Deer Park High School before graduating from Spokane Falls Community College in 1982. Stephanie then graduated with a bachelor’s degree in education from EWU in 1986 and received her Master of Education from the University of Idaho in 1999. Between the years of 1992 and 2003, Stephanie taught at Post Falls Christian Academy and Brian and Terri Cram Middle School in Las Vegas from 2005 to 2007.

About

Annette Clark is the general manager for the Department of Education. She fulfills the day-to-day operations of the Chair’s Office and the School of Education, including coordinating policy and departmental matters; scheduling; overseeing hiring committees; staff supervision; directing special events; records retention; budget and contract management; and running the Teacher of the Month program.

About

Clive Gary earned a bachelor of arts in Elementary Education from Southern Utah University in 1983 with minors in Reading and Theater Arts. In 2002, Clive earned his master’s degree in Educational Leadership from the University of Nevada/Reno.

While in Nevada, Clive spent 17 years as a teacher of 3rd and 5th grade. He then moved to the middle school where he was a Reading/Writing specialist and an evaluator for the state’s writing proficiency exam. Clive retired from the state of Nevada in 2013.

Currently, Clive is a full time Faculty Field Supervisor. He also teaches literacy courses from time to time. Clive lives with his wife of 33 years. They have three children, three dachshunds, and one cat.

About

Tara has been a professor of literacy at EWU since 2012.

About

A. Suzie Henning grew up in Boise, Idaho. She graduated from Capital High School (Go, Golden Eagles!) and pursued a BA in History from Seattle University, an MA in Curriculum and Development from Fordham University Lincoln Center, and her doctorate in educational validity studies from the University of Durham, U.K.

After teaching high school social studies in the Bronx, she moved to Gettysburg, PA and became a teacher trainer at Mt. Saint Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland. In 2008, she moved to Spokane and currently works with teacher candidates as the Co-Director of Field Experience at Eastern (Go, Swoop!). Her research interests include philosophy of education, educational assessments & validity, social foundations, culturally responsive teaching, and educational internships. Along with her partner, Prof. Brian G. Henning, she lives with three cats, two children and a dog named Tator.

About

Rosie received her BAE in Special Education from Arizona State University in 1997 and her MA Ed. in Literacy from Eastern Washington University in 2010. Research interests are in early childhood education, learning disabilities and bilingual education. She spent the last 15 years as a special educator in Spokane and Spokane County. Born and raised in El Paso, Texas she attended bilingual schools from K-12. She came to Spokane in 2003 when her husband Roland was transferred with a company in the pharmaceutical industry. Rosie has three grown children and 2 grandlittles who live in three different states: Texas, California and Montana.

About

Ashley Lepisi received her BA Degree in Education from Eastern Washington University in 2008, and her MA Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Eastern Washington University in 2011. Ashley taught grades K-2 in Spokane Public Schools and served as a Peer Coach. She teaches literacy and technology courses in the Department of Education. Her research interests are focused on early literacy and the impact of parent involvement as well as technology integration into the elementary classroom. Ashley is from California and currently lives in Spokane with her husband Shawn and two sons, Benny and Brody.

About

Gus Nollmeyer is an Assistant Professor of Education at Eastern Washington University. He teaches elementary classroom management, elementary science and social studies methods, instructional media, and a variety of other undergraduate and graduate courses. Prior to coming to Eastern, Nollmeyer taught elementary school, served as a curriculum coach and educational consultant, ran an educational business, and was an adjunct professor. Please visit his website to learn more about Nollmeyer’s teaching philosophy and research interests. You can find a number of resources for teachers at Nollmeyer’s website as well.

About

Lance Potter teaches courses in educational leadership and school law, as well as Intro to Education. Lance brings an eclectic past to his position at Eastern. Among other things, he as been the superintendent and principal of an international school, taught at that same international school, taught college and high school courses, taught middle school, managed a farm, practiced law, worked in business, and taught skiing in Colorado. Lance holds a PhD in Educational Leadership from Penn State University and a JD from Georgetown University Law Center.

About

Russell Pounds is the Graduate Program Coordinator. Russ has been at EWU for over 20 years.

He enjoys Golf, Volleyball, spending time with family and watching EWU athletics. Go Eags!

About

Janice works as a field experience supervisor, supporting teacher candidates during their placement.

About

Shelly Shaffer, Assistant Professor of Literacy. Shelly Shaffer received her BA in English from University of Arizona in 1998, her MA in Curriculum and Instruction from University of Phoenix in 2002, and her PhD in English Education from Arizona State University in 2015. She taught for 13.5 years in Mesa Public Schools in Mesa, AZ. She will be teaching courses in Education and Literacy in the Department of Education. Her research interests are focused on secondary literacy instruction, literacy motivation, innovative curriculum, and culturally and ethnically diverse learners in ELA (English Language Arts) classrooms. Shelly Shaffer just moved to the Cheney area from Arizona with her husband and two children. She left two sons in Arizona; one is going to Arizona State University this year as a freshman, and the other is living with his family in Mesa, AZ. She also breeds English bulldogs, and she currently owns one male and two female bulldogs named Cooper, Alice, and Cookie.

About

Heather Shelley joined EWU as the Transition to Teaching Program Coordinator in 2022. She serves as a liaison to prospective applicants and supports candidates throughout their tenure in the program, as well as a contact for mentor teachers and field supervisors.

About

Ann Van Wig is an Assistant Professor of Education at Eastern Washington University. Ann earned her PhD in Curriculum and Instruction, with an Emphasis in Literacy from the University of Wyoming. She teaches coursework in literacy methods, literacy assessment, children’s literature, writing in the classroom, theory and practice, and content literacy. Prior coming to Eastern, Ann taught direct instruction reading courses in a middle school, alongside reading, writing, and math. She also served as the district assessment interventionist during implementation and monitoring of benchmark and progress monitoring assessments.

Ann’s interests include emergent literacy skills, assessment that informs instruction, curricular design that aligns with teaching practices, and global education. She has been fortunate to be able to travel to both Guatemala and Latvia in observation and interacting with schools and teachers, developing an international perspective of education. She currently is conducting research with a group of scholars around the U.S. on literacy curricular decisions that impact teacher education practices. Ann volunteers in a kindergarten class (the most fun in her day!) and serves on the Faculty Senate, representing the Education Department. Ann grew up in northeast Iowa, but married a Californian, so much of her adult life has been spent in the West. She loves traveling that includes visiting family and friends. Ann has three grown children, spread around the U.S. Her fourth child will graduate from high school in May.

About

Margarita graduated from EWU with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and a minor in Spanish. She started working at EWU ten years ago and started with Records and Registration, where she worked for five years before moving to the Spokane EWU campus where she split her time as Office Assistant for the Departments of Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy for three years. She is now in the School of Education working as a Program Specialist 2. When she is not working at EWU, you can find her at many musical events, concerts or festivals in the Pacific Northwest during the spring and summer. During the fall and winter, she is watching and rooting for her Pittsburgh Steelers.

About

Jiawen Wang is an assistant professor of education at Eastern Washington University. He achieved both his MA in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages and his PhD in Educational Psychology and Educational Technology from Michigan State University. Prior to that he had been a high school English teacher in China for more than ten years. Prior to coming to Eastern, Wang taught at the University of Detroit Mercy. He has taught a wide range of undergraduate and graduate courses, from educational psychology, educational technology, to diversity, mainstreaming exceptional persons, and methods of educational research. Wang likes to share family stories of his wife and his son, now a college sophomore, in connection to any topics in teaching, and encourage his students to share their stories as well in order to make connections between life and education. He likes to play basketball in spare time and is an NBA fan championing those brave underdogs as well as those hardworking superstars.