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Christina Hammons is a Clinical Associate Professor at SHSU who values intentionality, relevance, and meaningful engagement. She supervises teacher candidates during literacy methods and teaches early literacy courses, guiding scenario-based learning with a research focus on literacy practices, self-efficacy, and teacher preparation.

Kristin Stevenson is an Assistant Professor of Practice at SHSU who mentors teacher candidates during their year-long practicum. She supports instructional growth through observation, coaching, and professional development, fostering confidence and classroom readiness.

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Renée Gravois, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Marketing in the College of Business Administration at Sam Houston State University. Her areas of teaching and research expertise include writing in the disciplines, storytelling, creative problem solving, qualitative research methods, academic community engagement, university/community partnerships, and social marketing. She is also the Director and License Holder for TEDxSHSU. Prior to her academic career, she worked in the oil and gas industry

Dr. Jamile Forcelini is an Assistant Professor at Sam Houston State University. She has a PhD in Hispanic Linguistics from Florida State University. She also has a master's degree in Hispanic Linguistics and a TESOL certificate from Florida State University In the past she has taught language courses in Spanish, Portuguese and ESL as well as courses in linguistics. Her research investigates bilingual and trilingual lexical processes, the role of instruction on second language vocabulary acquisition, as well as the nature of trilingualism and multilingualism.

Carroll Ferguson Nardone is a Professor of Technical Communication and Associate Dean in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. Having directed the SHSU Writing in the Disciplines program since 2006, Dr. Nardone works with colleges and departments to integrate disciplinary writing into degree plans and courses; she serves as the co-chair of the SHSU Writing-in-the-Disciplines committee. Dr. Nardone has published in the areas of writing pedagogy, writing assessment, visual rhetoric, and digital writing practices in College Teaching, Research and Practice in Assessment, the Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, among others. Additionally, she co-authored a technical writing textbook and has presented her scholarly work at more than 30 national and international writing conferences.

Shaminul Shakib, PhD, MPH, is a health policy researcher and former non-profit professional passionate about teaching the societal impact of public health. He teaches epidemiology and global health, integrating data-driven insights and field experience to strengthen student learning and career readiness. He has also mentored award-winning student research in public health analytics.

As a public health educator, Adannaa develops students into future professionals and self-directed learners by providing real-world experiences often with community partners. She also puts special emphasis on fostering teamwork skills and seeking diverse perspectives.

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Todd Primm is a Professor in Biology who has developed five new courses. He is ACUE certified, was ACUE course facilitator for multiple years, and was a Engaged Learning Fellow from 2022-2024, with a focus on teaching students metacognition.

Dr. Lindsay Clark is an Associate Professor of Technical Communication in SHSU’s Department of English. She serves as Co-Chair of the University Writing in the Disciplines Committee and as a facilitator for the annual WID Workshop. Her research includes multimodal communication, genre theory and pedagogy, teaching writing in the disciplines, and communication assessment.

A native Belarusian, Olga Minich has been living in Texas for the over 20 years. Currently, she is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Biological Sciences teaching large Human Anatomy and Physiology courses. This semester, she has 400 students, all face-to-face. Olga has rich teaching experience (elementary school, high school, university) and passion for student engagement in the classroom.  It has been quite fascinating to see how best teaching tools work well in various age groups…she has 2 teenage boys and loves yoga.

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Dr. James has been a nursing professor for 14 years. Linda competed her PhD in Nursing at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston in February 2025.  She recently left Sam Houston State University and is now an Associate Professor at Texas A&M University Kingsville where she is starting a new nursing program.  Linda has a breadth of teaching experience in both clinical and classroom settings at the baccalaureate level and recently the master's level.  She whole-heartedly believes in Academic Community Engagement pedagogy and also strives to provide interprofessional learning opportunities for her students.   

Pam Slagle is an Associate Clinical Professor of Nursing in the College of Health Sciences. She serves as the RN-to-BSN Program Coordinator, Interim Level Leader for the Sophomore/Junior nursing level, Adult Health I Course Coordinator (old curriculum), and Medical-Surgical II and Special Topics: Introduction to Perioperative Nursing Course Coordinator (new curriculum). She has been part of SHSU since 2016.

Professor Slagle has been actively engaged in Interprofessional Education initiatives at SHSU, contributing to disaster preparedness training, Stop the Bleed programs, and poverty simulation experiences. She co-developed the Introduction to Perioperative Nursing pilot program in partnership with St. Luke’s The Woodlands, which has since expanded to include additional community partners such as Memorial Hermann and HCA.

She is also a published author of “Nursing student’s attitudes toward teams in an undergraduate interprofessional mass casualty simulation” in Nursing Forum (2021; 1–13). In recognition of her contributions to teaching excellence, she received the College of Health Sciences Faculty Teaching Award in 2021.

Iris Martinez is an instructor for UNIV 2112: Career Education and Development at Sam Houston State University, where she helps undergraduate students develop professional skills, clarify their career goals, and build confidence for their future careers through a hands-on, experiential learning style. She also oversees the Learning Coaching program at the Academic Success Center, as Assistant Director of Academic Outreach. Currently, Iris is pursuing her doctorate in higher education leadership and is passionate about supporting students as they navigate college and prepare for meaningful careers. 

Linda Wilmoth, M.Ed., is an Adjunct Professor in Early Childhood in the School of Teaching and Learning at Sam Houston State University. Her area of expertise is the importance of play and its connection to learning. A longtime Director at a large play-based preschool, she trained staff members and parents on the value of play in children's lives. She strives to bring the same sense of playfulness and elevated learning to the college classroom. 

As a public health educator, Adannaa develops students into future professionals and self-directed learners by providing real-world experiences often with community partners. She also puts special emphasis on fostering teamwork skills and seeking diverse perspectives.

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Dr. Ashly Smith helps students become reflective, receiver-centric, and dynamic communicators as an Associate Professor of Business Communication in SHSU's Department of Business Administration and Entrepreneurship. Her research focuses on better understanding employers’ expectations and exploring pedagogical strategies for helping students hone their talents and skills.

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Judith Clemens-Smucker teaches film studies at SHSU. Her research explores gender representation and audience engagement in television and film, focusing mainly on sitcoms and horror. She has published on Schitt’s Creek, Star Trek, Barbie, The Bear, and Stranger Things. 

Jake Portie is an award-winning independent filmmaker who is known for his work in the psychological-thriller genre. As a digital media artist, his work spans narrative film production, social media content creation, fiction writing, and original film scoring. His teaching specialties include directing, advanced editing, and compositing. He is nationally certified in Effective Teaching by the Association of College and University Educators and his current creative scholarship explores the use of emerging media tools in narrative filmmaking

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Dr. Karen L. Nelson is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology at Sam Houston State University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine and a licensed psychologist with more than 25 years of clinical, academic, and program leadership experience. She has directed mental health and forensic treatment programs, taught across multiple university settings, and presented widely on communication, wellness, and safety in healthcare.

Her current work focuses on improving medical student communication skills, reducing burnout, and exploring the integration of AI to enhance teaching and learning in health-professions education.

Dr. Song is an Associate Professor of Engineering Technology & Industrial Distribution at Texas A&M University. His research lab, Einbrain Lab (www.einbrain.com), focuses on human–AI collaboration, developing AI-driven Extended Reality (XR) systems to enhance human performance and learning.

https://engineering.tamu.edu/etid/profiles/song.donggil.html

Dr. Paul Zarutskie is Professor Obstetrics & Gynecology, Clinical Medicine and Primary Care at Sam Houston State University College of Osteopathic Medicine (SHSU-COM). At the national level he is recognized for developing successful initiates in patient/consumer advocacy and education with emphasis on utilization of media and Internet communications. Dr Zarutskie has an active record of scholarly accomplishments which includes over 100 publications, abstracts, and book chapters. He has served as a reviewer for specialty peer review journals and has received 13 extramural grants including NIH/NICHD funded grants. At SHSU-COM, Dr. Zarutskie is engaged in interdisciplinary collaborations that include initiatives that engage students in employing assisted intelligence technologies across diverse academic and clinical fields—such as medicine, psychology, public health, and data sciences.

As a seasoned instructor and facilitator, Heather’s work centers the integration of information literacy across the curriculum via authentic learning that equips emerging scholars and practitioners for engagement in a global society.

Michael Bouchoukian is an educational technologist dedicated to driving digital transformation in higher education. He specializes in automation and immersive technologies, such as virtual reality, to reimagine and enhance the learning experience. Michael has honed his expertise at institutions including Rice University and the University of California, Davis, where he led the development of a campus-wide lecture capture system and control systems network. His work bridges innovation and pedagogy, delivering tech-enabled solutions that empower both educators and students. He holds an M.Ed. in Instructional Design from Regent University and is currently a doctoral candidate in Instructional Systems Design and Technology at Sam Houston State University.

Scott Miller is a professor of Physics and Astronomy at Sam Houston State University, where he has taught introductory astronomy for non-science majors and engaged in astronomy education research since 2008.

Emma Bullock, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Mathematics Education in the Mathematics and Statistics Department, College of Science and Engineering, at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, TX just north of Houston. She researches the design of, and teachers’ use of, digital math tools and other visual mathematics representations and studies the intersection between student mathematics achievement and school leadership, modeling schools as complex adaptive systems (CAS). In particular she focuses on visualizations of CAS and mixed methods research study design. At SHSU she teaches undergraduate and graduate mathematics and pre-service teacher mathematics content courses and enjoys mentoring and working with both undergraduate and graduate students in all aspects of her research, teaching, and service. She currently serves as the chair of the Complexity Theories in Education SIG of AERA and the International Complexity Research Association for Social Sciences (ICRASS).

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