Ringling College of Art and Design

Full-time Faculty

Douglas Chismar, B.A., M. Div., Ph.D.
Program Director

American University (Philosophy; Minor - History); Ashland Theological Seminary (Theology); Ohio State University (Philosophy). Former Director of the Chowan College Center for Ethics, Murfreesboro, N.C.; Chairperson of the Department of Philosophy at Ashland University, N.C. Dissertation: "Empathy: Its Nature, Determinants, and Importance for Moral Decision-Making." Extensive record of collaborative presentations and leadership in interdisciplinary studies and ethics across the curriculum programs.

Ann H. Albritton, B.A., M.A., M.Phil, Ph.D.

Eckerd College (Humanities); University of South Florida (Art History); City University of New York (Art History); City University of New York (Modern and Contemporary Art History). Fellow, Civic Education Project, Bucharest, Romania, 1993-1995. Research: Sonia Delaunay; Contemporary Art, Latin American Art, Art of the African Diaspora, and Women Artists. Numerous catalogue essays and reviews. http://webspace.ringling.edu/~aalbritt/  

Carolyn Bloomer, B.A., M.A.Ed., Ph.D.
Coordinator of Cultural Beliefs

Wichita State University (English; Minor - Art); University of Hartford Art School (Art Education); University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Anthropology of Meaning). Field Research: China. Author: Principles of Visual Perception; writer for Critique: The Magazine of Graphic Design Thinking, and Adobe. Speaker: Mead Annual Report Conference; International Institute for Information Design; Poynter Institute for Media Studies. http://www.carolynbloomer.com/  

Nicole Caron, B.A., M.A. 

Pitzer College, Claremont, CA (English); Portland State University, Portland, OR (English). Ms. Caron has 10 years experience teaching composition at community colleges and universities in Oregon, Connecticut and Florida. She spent the 1990s working for and consulting with community colleges, metals manufacturing companies, and other small businesses designing and developing training programs, directing technology adoption programs, writing grants and marketing and strategic plans. Nicole also co-owned a small marketing company. Her nonfiction articles have appeared in newspapers, magazines and trade novels and trade journals. She lives with her spouse and Golden Retriever in Clearwater. Her passions include writing novels and participating in two annual writing contests: The 3 Day Novel Contest and the National Novel Writing Month contest.  www.nicolecaron.com 

Susan Doll, M.A. , Ph.D.
 
Northwestern University (Film History and Theory). While working at Facets Multi-Media in Chicago and serving as the editorial director for the DVD label as well as primary writer and researcher, Dr. Doll was responsible for the release of classic foreign films, lost documentaries, and rare avant-garde films on DVD.  She developed a film theory class while teaching film studies at Oakton Community College and co-developed a course on global film studies.  She has also taught and developed courses at other Chicago-area colleges, including Daley City College and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is a regular blogger for the Turner Classic Movies blogsite, and has published Elvis for Dummies, The Films of Elvis Presley, and Elvis Album. Other books range in style and intended audience from Florida on Film (coauthored with David Morrow and published by the University Press of Florida) to An American in Paris: Inside the Script (an e-book for Kindle) to I Love Lucy (an interactive book for children). Dr. Doll has also written or co-written books on non-film subjects, including Haunted Tales from the Holler and Blanche Lazzell: The Making of an American Modernist (West Virginia University Press). No matter the intended audience or publisher, Susan approaches the subject through core ideas, approaches, and strategies drawn from her experiences as a teacher, never missing an opportunity to discuss film as an art form or as an expression of culture. 

Anthony Rice, B.F.A., M.F.A.
Co-Coordinator of American Humanities,
Coordinator of Art History

Virginia Commonwealth University (Fine Arts); University of North Carolina (Fine Arts). Major exhibitions: Brooklyn Museum; Smithsonian Institute; Corcoran Gallery of Art; Baltimore Museum of Art; High Museum of Art. Collections: King Juan Carlos of Spain; National Museum of American Art; High Museum of Art; Library of Congress. Texts illustrated: Seven Persian Fables; A Letter of Columbus. Grants: National Endowment for the Arts. 

Daphne Lange Rosenzweig, B.A., M.A., Ph.D. 

Mount Holyoke College (Economic Geography; Minor - Art History, British Empire History, Political Science); Columbia University (East Asian Art & Archaeology; Minor - Far Eastern Languages & Literature); Columbia University (East Asian Art & Archaeology; Minor - Far Eastern Languages & Literature). Fulbright Fellow, National Palace Museum, Taiwan. Author of numerous books, catalogues and articles on Asian art. Book reviewer for Tibet Journal, China Review International, Journal of Asian Studies, National Gallery of Art. Fellow, Royal Asian Society-Korea and American Oriental Society. Museum exhibition curator, museum consultant; lecturer at international conferences; accredited appraiser of Asian and Islamic art. https://webspace.ringling.edu/~drosenzw/

Tim Rumage III, B.A., M.A.

Bowdoin College (Biology & Psychology); Boston University (Biology). Consultant for comprehensive environmental planning. Former director, scientific and technical illustration program, Rhode Island School of Design. Board Member, Florida House Foundation. Numerous publications. http://web.me.com/trumage/Site/Welcome.html  

Robert Stanton, B.A., M.A.
Coordinator of Comparative Arts 

Bates College (English); University of  Cincinnati (English). Previous teaching experience: University of Cincinnati; Art Academy of Cincinnati; University of Maine at Augusta; Boston University; University of Houston-Downtown; California State Polytechnic University.  Academic residencies: Camargo Foundation, Cassis, France, 1975; Visiting Scholar, American Academy in Rome, 2000 and 2007. Research: literature and the arts as expressions of significant socio-cultural and philosophical ideas. His works have been published in Theatre Annual, Text and Presentation, and Proceedings. https://webspace.ringling.edu/~rstanton/ 

David Steiling, M.A., Ph.D.
Coordinator of Literature

Boston University (Creative Writing & English); University of South Florida (Literature). Poet, performance artist, new vaudevillian, journalist. Currently engaged in research and writing on the literature of comics and the graphic narrative. http://webspace.ringling.edu/~dsteilin/  

Ryan Van Cleave, B.A., M.A. Ph.D. 

Northern Illinois University (English; Minors - Music, Philosophy); Florida State University (English); Florida State University (English). Dr. Van Cleave is the co-founder and director of C&R Press, a non-profit literary organization that publishes books from new and emerging writers and provides free community writing workshops. He is the author of five collections of poetry, has served as editor of Contemporary American Poetry: Behind the Scenes and co-editor of six other textbooks and anthologies, and is the recipient of numerous writing and publishing awards. His latest book is Unlocked (Walker Books for Young Readers, 2011), a YA novel. Dr. Van Cleave is also a frequent conference speaker on the subjects of digital culture, digital addiction, social networking and creative writing.  www.ryangvancleave.com  

Terra Williams, B.A., M.A., Ph.D.
Coordinator of Writing

Purdue University (English & Creative Writing); University of Nevada (English); Florida State University (English, Rhetoric and Composition). Current member of NCTE, CCCC, WPA. Co-author of “Moving to the Public: Weblogs in the Writing Classroom,” Into the Blogosphere: Rhetoric, Community, and Culture of Weblogs. Dissertation: “Student Discussion of Assigned Reading in Online First-Year Writing Courses.” Panelist/speaker at numerous conferences. Past teaching experience: University of Nevada, Las Vegas; Florida State University; Arizona State University. https://webspace.ringling.edu/~twilliam/ 

Christopher Wilson, B.Arch., M.A., Ph.D.

Temple University (Architecture); The Architectural Association, London (Histories &d Theories of Architecture); Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey (Architecture). Dr. Wilson has worked professionally as an architect in Philadelphia, Berlin, and London, and is a registered architect with the Royal Institute of British Architects. He has been teaching architecture and design students at the university level since 1997, both in design studios and lecture/seminars. Dr. Wilson has presented scholarly papers at conferences in Austria, Canada, France, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Japan, and has published articles in refereed journals and chapters in edited books.


Long-term Part-time Faculty

Kimberly S. Benson, B.F.A., M.A. 

Ringling College of Art and Design (Illustration); Argosy University of Sarasota (Mental Health Counseling). Professional experience: Fact Team Case Manager, Adult and Adolescent Units Discharge Planner, Emergency Screener, Coastal Behavioral Healthcare, Sarasota, FL. Kim is a Fact Team Therapist, a registered mental health counselor intern, and operates a private practice in which she offers individual psychotherapy services for adolescents and adults. She is a member of the American Counseling Association.

Paula Brooks-Jawitz, B.S., M.S, Ph.D. 

Brooklyn College (Elementary Education); University of Maryland (Reading Curriculum/Instruction); University of Maryland (Reading Curriculum/Instruction); University of Maryland (Reading Curriculum/Instruction). Adjunct in Children's Literature and Writing Books for Children. Full time Academic Resource Center reading/study skills specialist with expertise in cognitive style, mnemonics, test development, and reading comprehension. Past teaching experience includes: University of Maryland Graduate School, Co-Director University of Maryland Reading Center Summer Program, State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota Campus. Field of research and publications include Mental Imagery, Text Illustrations and Children's Story Comprehension and Recall, Reading Research Quarterly and Induced Mental Imagery and the Written Language Expression of Young Children. 

James Condor, B.S., M.Ed., Ph.D. 

Indiana University of Pennsylvania (Mathematics; Minor - Computers); Indiana University of Pennsylvania (Mathematics; Minor - Education); University of South Florida (Mathematics; Minor - Computers). Teaching experience: Manatee Community College, Bradenton, FL; Edison Community College, Fort Myers, FL; Lander College, Greenwood, SC; University of Pittsburgh, Johnstown, PA. Dr. Condor is the author of two Critical Thinking Workbooks for Alan Bluman’s Elementary Statistics textbook [McGraw-Hill], and created a complete set of instructional videos for Larson & Farber’s Elementary Statistics textbook [Prentice Hall]. He is a member of the American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges, Florida Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Florida Two-Year College Mathematics Association, and the Sarasota Council of Teachers of Mathematics.  Dr. Condor has also presented at state and national conferences on the link between mathematics and art.

Virginia B. DeMers, B.A., M.A.
Director of Academic Resource Center

Vassar College (Religion; Minor - Philosophy/English); University of South Florida (English Literature). Virginia is a published poet, and has 20 years experience teaching in writing, reading and study skills. In addition to teaching and literature at Ringling, she directs the Academic Resource Center, supervising all areas of academic support and arranging accommodations for students with disabilities. Her areas of interest include rhetoric and composition, literature by women and modern and contemporary poetry. 

Wendy Dickinson, B.A., M.A., Ph.D.

College of Business, University of South Florida (Accounting); University of South Florida, College of Education and College of Fine Arts (Art Education); University of South Florida (Fine Arts). Currently, Dr. Dickinson serves on the Executive Board of the Florida Educational Research Association, and serves as a grants research specialist at the University of South Florida, where her duties include research design and quantitative data analysis for special education grants. She has authored numerous publications in the field of educational research, and presented research findings at state, national and international conferences for the past 12 years. A member of the American Anthropology Association, Southern Graphics Council and Florida Printmakers, she is a practicing studio artist producing both 2- and 3-dimensional works. Her prints and book arts have been exhibited in both solo and group exhibitions throughout the country.  

Emily Hall, B.A., B.S., M.S., Ph.D. 

Mercer University, Macon, GA (Spanish); Mercer University (Environmental Science); University of Florida, Gainesville, FL (Engineering Sciences); University of Florida, Gainesville, FL (Engineering Sciences). Professional experience: Staff Scientist, Mote Marine Laboratory, Sarasota, FL. Dr. Hall’s experience at Mote Marine Laboratory has included the management of multiple laboratory and field analyses as crew leader for monthly red tide and Sarasota Bay water quality monitoring, and collaboration with FWRI [Fish and Wildlife Research Institute], START [Solutions To Avoid Red Tide], and Sarasota County for the research and monitoring of the relation between nutrient patterns and algal blooms. 

Neil Marinovich, B.A., M.A. 

Kalamazoo College, Kalamazoo, MI (History); Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI (History). Master thesis: “American Industry and Finance, and German Rearmament: A Case Study of Standard Oil, DuPont and General Motors and Their Relations with Interessengemeinschaft-Farbenindustrie Aktiengesellschaft”; a copy of the thesis is in the United States Library of Congress. Professional experience includes: Adjunct European & American History Instructor, Career Choices Center Coordinator, Manatee Community College; Career Training Advisor, Manasota Industry Council/Manatee Community College; Business Technology Instructor, Washtenaw Community College/Business-Industry Center, Ann Arbor, MI.

Jacqueline Smith, B.A., M.A.

Florida State University (Psychology; Minor - English); University of South Florida (American Literature). Ms. Smith has been published in Studies in American Culture and American Quarterly. Adjunct in Writing.

Poppy Spencer, B.A., M.S.

Rollins College (Fine Arts); Mount Mary College (Art Therapy). Registered Art Therapist with the Art Therapy Credentialing Board. Poppy is one of only four Registered Art Therapists in Sarasota County, as well as a Member of the Florida Art Therapy Association Board. She has participated in many art therapy keynote speaking presentations and workshops, and was honored in 2007 as Outstanding Substitute Teacher by the Sarasota County School Board. She currently serves as President of The Institute of Creative Growth where she facilitates, inspires, and uplifts individuals and groups through creative visual imagery for the purpose of perpetual well-being. www.arttherapywithpoppy.com

Alison Watkins, B.A., M.F.A., Ph.D.

Agnes Scott College (Math); Bard College (Writing); Florida State University (Literature). Poet, bookmaker. Publications: The Visionary Ethics of W.B. Yeats and The Ghost Tree. Adjunct in English, Comparative Arts, and Topics in Liberal Arts. https://webspace.ringling.edu/~awatkins/

Jack Winner, B.A., M.A., Ph.D.

Rutgers University (English Literature); Bryn Mawr College (English Literature); Bryn Mawr College (English Literature). Sarasota Film Society. Adjunct in Comparative Arts.


Adjunct Faculty

Sharon Avison, B.A., M.A., M.B.A., M.S., M.Phil

Brandeis University (English); Villanova University (English); Drexel University (Marketing); University of Pennsylvania (Global Organizational Studies).  Ms. Avison is a managing partner with a global consulting firm.  She has held executive management and marketing positions at leading banking and financial services organizations including Citigroup, Wells Fargo Bank, and Bank of America. An internationally noted speaker, she has been invited to address professional groups including the Wharton China Forum, the American Bankers Association, and the American Marketing Association.

Anamari J. Boyes, B.S., M.S.

University of Navarre, Spain (Environmental & Agricultural Biology); University of Navarre, Spain (Environmental & Agricultural Biology). Ms. Boyes’ professional experience includes work as a Staff Biologist at Mote Marine Laboratory in different fields, during which time she has managed many of the laboratory duties, overseeing extensive field work operations, and collaboration with other programs at Mote Marine. For the first five years of her career, she focused on invertebrate taxonomy and sea grass ecosystems. Since then she is an HPLC specialist analyzing algae pigments, involving technical aspects of HPLC analysis, as well as posterior analysis of chromatography for the Phytoplankton Ecology Program. 

Kariann Goldschmitt, Ph.D.
 
 University of California, Los Angeles (Musicology). Prior to Ringling College, she was a visiting assistant professor of music at New College of Florida and the Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow of Non-Western Music at Colby College, Waterville, ME. Her research focuses on the circulation of Brazilian popular music through the cultural industries, including film and video-game soundtracks and global advertising campaigns. She is also interested in broader issues of representation in film music, the popular and art music traditions of Latin America, and sonic branding. Her scholarly work has appeared in Luso-Brazilian Review, Popular Music and Society, Yearbook for Traditional Music, and American Music. She has also contributed numerous articles to the second edition of the Grove Dictionary of American Music and has forthcoming articles in edited collections. Goldschmitt is currently working on Bossa Mundo: Brazilian Music in the Global Culture Industries, a book-length study of how Brazil’s changing status in the global economy has influenced how Brazilian musicians represent themselves abroad. She has taught on diverse topics such as introduction to the arts, beginning Portuguese, global popular music, jazz, 19th century music, and music’s role in religious ecstasy. twitter.com/kgoldschmitt  ncf.academia.edu/KGoldschmitt

Kimberly Smith, B.F.A., M.A. 

Ringling College of Art and Design (Illustration); Argosy University of Sarasota (Mental Health Counseling). Professional experience: Fact Team Case Manager, Adult and Adolescent Units Discharge Planner, Emergency Screener, Coastal Behavioral Healthcare, Sarasota, FL. Kim is a Fact Team Therapist, a registered mental health counselor intern, and operates a private practice in which she offers individual psychotherapy services for adolescents and adults. She is a member of the American Counseling Association.

Britt E. Dienes, B.A., M.A.
 
 University of South Florida (Literature); University of South Florida (Literature). Britt is a graphic designer, yoga instructor and writer. Her professional history includes several years of teaching writing at the University of South Florida. www.bdienes.com

E.J. Ford, B.A., M.A., Ph.D. 

University of South Florida (Cultural Anthropology); University of South Florida (Applied Urban Anthropology); University of South Florida (Applied Urban Anthropology). Dr. Ford is an award-winning teacher and cultural anthropologist who has worked on community groups and democratic participation; mental health research; medical research; gay, lesbian, bi- and transgender issues; and Central Florida politics. He has presented numerous scholarly papers on politics and community organization and has published articles on classroom pedagogy. He teaches at the University of South Florida, University of Tampa, Hillsborough Community College, and Eckerd College. He lives in Tampa with his wife and children and is currently working on a book about the anthropology of comic books. 

Karla Gore, B.S., M.M.A.

Western Washington University (Biology with Marine Biology emphasis); University of Washington, School of Marine Affairs (Marine Affairs). Professional experience: Instructor, NOAA Fisheries Protected Species Workshops; Fisheries Biologist/Natural Resource Management Specialist, NOAA Fisheries Service, St. Petersburg, FL; Natural Resource Management Specialist, NOAA Fisheries Service, Honolulu, HI; Outreach/Education Coordinator, NOAA Fisheries Service, Honolulu, HI. 

Cynthia McMullin, B.A., PA, NCARB, LEED AP
 
Syracuse University (Architecture). Ms. McMullin is a nationally and state registered architect and LEED AP (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). She has over thirty years’ experience in all aspects of architecture, from initial feasibility studies and space planning to construction monitoring and sustainable design/education. She produces online and in classroom green building courses for design professional training. She has 3 passions: Sustainable architecture, art and helping women and is very active in all three areas. As a member of USGBC (US Green Building Council) and Florida House, she participates in committees that educate the Public about sustainable construction, through lectures, media and tours.  As an artist, she has had continuing studies at the University of Wisconsin and Maine College of Art. Artist Residencies include Fellowships at the Virginia Center for the Arts and at The Hambridge. Extensive painting throughout the U.S., Europe, Russia, Yugoslavia, Turkey, the Aegean, Caribbean and Mediterranean have broadened and deepened her painting experience.  As a volunteer, Ms. McMullin works every week in some capacity with organizations that help women and girls including as a Safe Place And Rape Crisis Center (SPARCC) advocate and hotline monitor. http://sarasota.anythingarts.com/profile/CynthiaMcMullin

Christopher Nank, B.A., M.A., Ph.D. 

Ohio University (English); Florida State University (Literature); Florida State University (Literature). Dr. Nank’s teaching experience includes University of Maryland-University College, College Park, MD; Prince George’s Community College, Largo, MD; Beacon College, Leesburg, FL; Florida State University, Tallahasse, FL; Tallahassee Community College, Tallahassee, FL. While teaching at Beacon College, Dr. Nank had the opportunity to work with programs created exclusively for mentoring students, many with learning disabilities and diverse cultural backgrounds, through a college-level curriculum. 

Ania Nazarian, B.A., M.A., M.F.A. 

University of Chicago; Indiana University; University of Illinois at Chicago; Indiana University. Ania is currently pursuing her Ph.D. from Indiana University. Past teaching experience: Instructor [History of Graphic Design], Indiana University; Instructor [Graphic Design I & II; Introduction to Two-dimensional Design], University of Illinois at Chicago. She is the recipient of numerous awards and grants. Conferences and presentations include Albrecht Durer’s “Saint Jerome in His Study” of 1514; A Reflection of Contemporary Times, Evan F. Lilly Memorial Biennial Lecture Competition, Indiana University; The Mask as an Unresolved Self-Portrait in the Work of Witold Wojtkiewicz and Stanislaw Witkiewicz, Midwest Slavic Conference, Ohio State University. She is a member of the College Art Association.

Beth Newman, B.A., M.B.A., Ph.D.

University of Wisconsin (South Asian Studies); University of Wisconsin (Health Services Administration); University of Wisconsin (South Asian Languages & Literature). Courses on cultures and civilizations of Southeast and North Central Asia, Small Business Planning and Management. Experience in planning and marketing for health care, architecture, and interior design firms. Publications: The Tale of the Incomparable Prince (translation and study); "The Tibetan Novel and Its Sources" (chapter in Tibetan Literature: Studies in Genre). Adjunct in Cultural Beliefs and Topics in Liberal Arts.

Dan O’Reilly-Rowe, B.A., M.A.
 
 Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD (Humanities); University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW (Digital Communication & Culture). Dan’s resume chronicles a 15+ year work history as an educator, researcher and media practitioner. At the University of New South Wales, he worked as a lecturer, tutor, research assistant and web coordinator, where he incorporated innovative teaching approaches to address a wide range of issues in media, arts and design. A documentary filmmaker, Dan’s body of freelance work is focused on human rights and social justice issues in the United States, Australia, the Middle East and Asia.

Alexis Orgera, B.A., M.F.A.

New College of Florida (British and American Literature); Emerson College (Creative Writing). Ms. Orgera is currently the Assistant Director of the Writing Center at New College where she occasionally teaches poetry workshops and publishing courses. She is the author of a recent full-length collection of poetry, two chapbooks, and numerous reviews and essays. She is a regular contributor to HTMLGiant.com and edits New CollAge Magazine. 

Danielle Rich, B.A., Ph.D. 

George Washington University (American Studies); University of Iowa (American Studies). Dr. Rich's dissertation project is titled "Global Fandom: The Circulation of Japanese Popular Culture in the U.S." Her research interests include fandom subcultures, Japanese anime and Manga, U.S. comic books and graphic novels, new media and digital cultures, and sexuality studies. 

Elinor Rogosin, B.A., M.A.

University of Pennsylvania (English; Minor - Dance); Columbia University, Teachers College (English). Teaching experience: University of South Florida Academy for Lifelong Learning; the Berlitz Language Schools, Santa Monica, CA, and New York [ESL]; New York Public High Schools [English]; New York University School of Continuing Education. Elinor’s past professional experience includes work as an Independent Radio Producer/Interviewer with NYC’s WBAI-FM’s program Dance Focus, and as a journalist for various publications, including Longboat Observer, Dance Magazine, and Dance Scholars Newsletter. Her public relations has included the American Choreography Awards [Los Angeles, CA], Marcel Dekker, Inc. [NYC], Capezio Ballet Makers [NYC], and the International Committee for The Dance Library of Israel [NYC].  She is the author of The Dance Makers: Conversations with American Choreographers. Elinor is currently working on a memoir, Chasing Love: A Mother’s Journey. 

Meg Stack, B.A.

Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, FL (Anthropology).  Ms. Stack’s professional experience includes work as a research assistant and collaborator with the Florida Public Archaeology Network in Tampa, FL, on a public archaeology project, “Rancho Regattas.” She has also been an online teaching assistant for the University of South Florida, Tampa, FL.  Ms. Stack is an occasional Field Technician with Archaeological Consultants, Inc., Sarasota, FL. Her main focus of interest is in Mesoamerican Archaeology, and she recently conducted fieldwork in Roatan, Honduras.  She is currently a full-time master's student, looking to pursue her Ph.D. in 2011.

Fiona Stewart, M.A., Ph.D.  
 
Goldsmiths College, London, UK (Cultural Studies); York University, Toronto, Canada (Humanities). Dr. Stewart’s research interests revolve around the development of cultural and intellectual modernism in late 19th/early 20th century Europe within its socio-political milieu. Her work focuses on cultural resistance and transformation, while paying particular attention to issues of race and gender. Her doctoral dissertation examined the work of little-known Hungarian poet, illustrator and philosopher Anna Lesznai and the development of aesthetic modernism in Hungary at the fin-de-siecle.

Maria Thacker, B.A., M.A.T., M.A. 

Denison University (International Relations); Antioch-Putney Graduate School of Education (Multicultural Education); University of Virginia (Anthropology). Ms. Thacker has previously taught at Seisen University in Tokyo; the University of Maryland; City College of Chicago; Roanoke College; Hollins College; Long Island University; and West Virginia University. She lived as an expatriate in three countries for seventeen years, which has enabled her to convey anthropological/intercultural skills from a position of experience. In 2010 Ms. Thacker was elected serve a three-year term on the Board of Directors of SIETAR (Society of Intercultural Education Training and Research)-USA. https://webspace.ringling.edu/~mthacker/  

Eleanor Wachs, B.A., Ph.D.

Hunter College (English Literature; Minor - Education); Indiana University (Philosophy). Dr. Wachs is a professional folklorist, writer and teacher and has taught folklore, writing, literature and anthropology at universities in the Greater Boston area, including Brown, U-Massachusetts-Boston, and MIT. She is currently the President of Florida Cultural Resources, a non-profit group dedicated to bringing folk art to the public.  She is also President-Elect of the Florida Folklore Society, an academic organization in which professional folklorists present their research interests. Dr. Wachs has taught writing for several years, has been a museum curator, a grants administrator, and a technical writer in the software industry. Her background in writing includes academic publications, writing for the public sector and the software industry. She moved from Boston to Sarasota in 2003.

Alan Wittbecker, B.S., M.A., Ph.D.
 
University of Delaware [Biology/Psychology/Anthropology]; University of Idaho [Psychology/Philosophy]; International College, Los Angeles [Human Ecology]. Dr. Wittbecker has worked as an Ecologist for many different institutions including G.P. Marsh Institute and Central Balkan National Park. He was the Director and Senior Ecologist at Ecoforestry Institute in Portland, Oregon. He coordinated the management of nine forests in Oregon, Idaho, and Washington and was also the editor of the journal Ecoforestry.