Stephanie Mahfood, PhD
Interim Dean, School of Education; Associate Professor
Stephanie Mahfood, PhD, is interim dean for the School of Education and an associate professor of special education in the Department of Teacher Education. She has taught K-12 learners with special needs in a variety of settings, including Tunisia, North Africa, where she was assigned for two years as a Peace Corps volunteer.
Mahfood's research interests center on bridging the research to practice gap in order to support individuals with disabilities and best prepare preservice teachers. Her past research publications address interventions for dental phobia in individuals with severe developmental disabilities, library collaborations to support graduate students in applied research experiences and the use of social media communities of practice to promote preservice teacher resilience. Mahfood's current research and practice interests focus on how to design field experiences to develop teachers who are reflective, innovative, collaborative, and skilled. She has designed and implemented innovative field experiences embedding applied research projects that preservice teachers co-design and implement with cooperating teachers in the field.
She is currently investigating the effects of Mursion classroom simulation technology and video-enhanced observation (VEO) on teacher reflection about instructional practice. Mahfood's teaching philosophy is anchored in teaching teachers how to teach by teaching. Her course experiences are deliberately designed to model instructional practices such as co-teaching, instructional differentiation, executive function strategies and instructional scaffolding. She has designed curricular experiences and instructional tools focusing on assisting preservice teachers in systematically assessing and developing their teacher presence in the classroom.
Mahfood has regularly provided trainings and consultation to a variety of organizations within the St. Louis community, including the Down Syndrome Association of Greater St. Louis, The Soulard School and Lafayette Industries.
Yupa Saisanan Na Ayudhya, EdD
Coordinator of Recruitment and Communication
Stephanie Mahfood, PhD
Interim Dean, School of Education; Associate Professor
Stephanie Mahfood, PhD, is interim dean for the School of Education and an associate professor of special education in the Department of Teacher Education. She has taught K-12 learners with special needs in a variety of settings including Tunisia, North Africa, where she was assigned for two years as a Peace Corps volunteer.
Mahfood's research interests center on bridging the research to practice gap in order to support individuals with disabilities and best prepare preservice teachers. Her past research publications address interventions for dental phobia in individuals with severe developmental disabilities, library collaborations to support graduate students in applied research experiences and the use of social media communities of practice to promote preservice teacher resilience. Mahfood's current research and practice interests focus on how to design field experiences to develop teachers who are reflective, innovative, collaborative and skilled. She has designed and implemented innovative field experiences embedding applied research projects that preservice teachers co-design and implement with cooperating teachers in the field.
She is currently investigating the effects of Mursion classroom simulation technology and video-enhanced observation (VEO) on teacher reflection about instructional practice. Mahfood's teaching philosophy is anchored in teaching teachers how to teach by teaching. Her course experiences are deliberately designed to model instructional practices such as co-teaching, instructional differentiation, executive function strategies and instructional scaffolding. She has designed curricular experiences and instructional tools focusing on assisting preservice teachers in systematically assessing and developing their teacher presence in the classroom.
Mahfood has regularly provided trainings and consultation to a variety of organizations within the St. Louis community including the Down Syndrome Association of Greater St. Louis, The Soulard School and Lafayette Industries.
Dani Pizzella, PhD
Assistant Professor
Pizzella is a board-certified behavior analyst-doctoral level (BCBA-D). She received her PhD in Education with an emphasis in Teaching and Learning Processes from the University of Missouri St. Louis. Aside from teaching at a university level, she also has worked within the public-school system as a special education coordinator, coordinating behavior analytic services. In addition to her role as a lecturer at Webster University, she also works clinically at a local company in St. Louis providing multidisciplinary services privately.
Pizzella's areas of interests include behavior analysis in schools, multidisciplinary collaboration, acceptance and commitment therapy, and remote training and supervision including international dissemination. She is conducting research on collaboration between school professionals as well as training school professional on behavioral principles in developing nations. Pizzella is very passionate about culturally responsive behavior analysis and special education. She conducts training and research in the area of making behavior analysis more accessible to all populations.
Webster Hall 200J
Phone: 314-968-7638
Email: dpizzella76@webster.edu
Tara Plachowski, PhD
Visiting Professor
Webster Hall 200K
Phone: 314-968-7971
Email: taraplachowski@webster.edu
Rena Rockwell, EdD
Assistant Professor
Rena Rockwell, EdD, is a lecturer in the Department of Teacher Education at Webster University, where she teaches courses in education and innovations, educational technology and special education. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Special Education, her Master of Arts in Reading and Educational Technology, and her Educational Specialist in Educational Leadership all from Webster University and her EdD in Educational Administration from William Woods University.
Rockwell has over twenty years teaching in higher education, both online and in person. She has developed online courses in the Educational Technology EdS and in the Special Education MA programs. She has over twenty-five years in the educational field teaching as a special educator, reading specialist, technology specialist and educational administrator overseeing professional development and technology integration.
Rockwell has influenced change in St. Louis area school districts by leading and designing curricula and programs for diverse learners, integrating technology in classrooms, school libraries and a high school radio station. She has coordinated, planned, and facilitated numerous workshops, summer institutes and strategic planning events for teachers, administrators and several communities. Rockwell has written and received numerous federal, state and local grants in her K-12 leadership roles, and she is an international Making I.T. Happen award winner of the International Society of Technological Education. She is also an Army veteran who served in the Army Reserve for over a decade and was mobilized for active duty in Desert Storm.
Basiyr Rodney, EdD
Chairperson, Department of Teacher Education; Professor
Joe Sencibaugh, PhD
Associate Professor
Paula Witkowski, PhD
Professor; Director, MA Reading
Paula Witkowski, PhD, is a full professor in the School of Education, working in both the Graduate Department of Education and the Department of Teacher Education. She is currently the director of both the Reading master’s degree program and the Dyslexia graduate certificate program. She also teaches classes on the science of reading, structured literacy and assessment and intervention for dyslexia.
Witkowski began her career as a speech-language pathologist and worked in both public and private settings before coming to Webster University. Her PhD is in the area of literacy, and she has a graduate certificate in dyslexia from the Dyslexia Training Institute in San Diego. Her research has focused on assessment and intervention strategies for children and adults with dyslexia, the implementation of content area literacy classes for struggling adolescent readers in high school settings, and on issues of motivation and engagement in adolescent and adult learners. She has presented numerous workshops for area schools and has presented at both regional and international conferences on these topics.
Yin Lam (Nicole) Lee-Johnson, PhD
Associate Professor; Director of EdD Program
Lee-Johnson is the Director of EdD at Webster University. She graduated from Ohio State University in 2012 with a PhD in Foreign, Second and Multilingual Language Education. As a first- generation immigrant, she has a passion in serving the minoritized populations via research, teaching and service. She aspires to become a voice and advocate for transforming the status quo for minoritized populations in the educational systems of the world. Lee-Johnson has research experiences in international educational settings, including China, Hong Kong, Italy and the United States. For example, her research study with 11 researchers in Reggio Emilia, Italy, resulted in an upcoming book, "Affirming the Rights of Emergent Bilingual and Multilingual Children and Families:Interweaving Research and Practice through the Reggio Emilia Approach," in which she is one of the co-editors. The book will be published by Routledge in Summer 2023. Some of the highlights of her works include a $2.7 million National Professional Development Grant from the U.S. Department of Education as a Co-PI, she was an invited speaker at a Harvard Conference in 2021, and an invited guest editor for Journal of Asian Pacific Communication. Her research interests include intersectionality, critical pedagogy, discourse analysis, Bakhtinian theories and teacher education in K-12 public schools. She has published articles in peer-reviewed journals, such as TESOL Quarterly, Urban Education, TESOL Journal, Journal of Asian Pacific Communication and many others.
Ralph Olliges, PhD
Chairperson, Graduate Department of Education; Professor
Deborah Stiles, PhD
Professor
Debbie Stiles, PhD, is a professor, licensed psychologist, Fulbright scholar, human rights fellow, researcher, author and professional trainer in school crisis prevention and intervention. She has dedicated her professional life to understanding and responding to the needs and rights of children and adolescents from diverse backgrounds. Over the years, Webster University gave her opportunities to visit schools, consult, and conduct research in thirteen countries of the world.
She recently finished her fortieth year at Webster University. Her goals now are to “give back” to Webster in her roles as a professor of applied educational psychology and school psychology, a fellow in the Institute for Human Rights and Humanitarian Studies, and the Director of the Intercultural Research Center. Stiles is passionate about empowering graduate students to work collaboratively, conduct research, and make original contributions to the knowledge base of applied psychology. The title of a recent student-faculty collaborative presentation at the conference of the International Council of Psychologists was, The Impact of COVID-19 on PreK -12 Teachers, School-Based Mental Health Professionals, and Their Abilities to Support International Children’s Rights.
Stiles is the founder of Webster University’s school psychology program which is listed on the website of the National Association of School Psychologists and is recognized as one of the few multicultural school psychology programs in the United States. Webster’s program is also distinctive with its focus on children with disabilities as well as children who are gifted, and “twice-exceptional.” Stiles developed the applied educational and school psychology programs with the awareness that the professional ethics of psychologists who work young people should be embedded within a larger human and child rights framework.
She often writes about and presents on the topics of cross-cultural child and adolescent development, children’s rights and well-being, and psychological trauma and resilience in children and youth. The titles of recent publications include Why a Psychologist Might Want to Become a Human Rights Fellow, Researching the Effectiveness of Tree of Life: An Imbeleko Approach to Counseling Refugee Youth, and The Psychological Impact of Separating Immigrant Children from their Families: A Report to the House Oversight Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.
Stiles is active in professional organizations for psychologists. Within the international psychology division of the American Psychological Association, she serves as co-chair of advocacy and co-chair of training and education for the COVID-19 Task Force. She serves on the steering committee of the Refugee Mental Health Resource Network, which is currently housed in the Trauma Psychology Division of the American Psychological Association. In addition, she serves on the Accreditation Committee of the International School Psychology Association, and she was one of the first psychologists to join the Global Network of Psychologists for Human Rights.
Paula Witkowski, PhD
Professor; Director of MA Reading
Paula Witkowski, PhD, is a full professor in the School of Education, working in both the Graduate Department of Education and the Department of Teacher Education. She is currently the director of both the Reading master’s degree program and the Dyslexia graduate certificate program. She also teaches classes on the science of reading, structured literacy and assessment and intervention for dyslexia.
Witkowski began her career as a speech-language pathologist and worked in both public and private settings before coming to Webster University. Her PhD is in the area of literacy, and she has a graduate certificate in dyslexia from the Dyslexia Training Institute in San Diego. Her research has focused on assessment and intervention strategies for children and adults with dyslexia, the implementation of content area literacy classes for struggling adolescent readers in high school settings, and on issues of motivation and engagement in adolescent and adult learners. She has presented numerous workshops for area schools and has presented at both regional and international conferences on these topics.
Sheila Anglin Jordan
Director of Field Experiences, Advisor, Adjunct Faculty, Department of Teacher Education
Alexandra Hage
Department Representative, Department of Teacher Education
Jessica Hanses
Coordinator of Assessment and Analysis
Marie Isenberg
Coordinator of Field Experience
Kate Northcott
Student Literacy Corps Director
Lindsay Schwarz
Department Representative, Graduate Department of Education
David Stephens
Coordinator of Educator Certification, Department of Teacher Education
Cheryl Breig-Allen, PhD
Associate Professor Emeritus
Donna Campbell, PhD
Professor Emeritus, Adjunct Faculty
Thomas Cornell, EdD
Professor Emeritus
Ted Green, PhD
Professor Emeritus, Adjunct Faculty
Ted D.R. Green, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Teacher Education, School of Education at Webster University. Green recently published a book, "Oh Freedom After While: The 1939 Missouri Sharecropper Protest," that supports the documentary of the same name. Currently Green is serving in his fourth year on the National Council for History Education Board of Directors. He is the chair of the Professional Development Committee, and has also been a consultant on more than 35 Teaching American History Grants in the United States, and five Teaching American History Grants in the St. Louis metro area. Green works with the National Park Service training park rangers and assisting with curriculum.
Recently Green completed a Fellowship in the Netherlands, where he studied in Leiden and taught classes on International Education and Dutch History. Green continues to work for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, where he has been writing curriculum and training educators for over twenty years.
Victoria McMullen, PhD
Professor Emeritus, Adjunct Faculty
Roy Tamishiro, EdD
Professor Emeritus, Adjunct Faculty
SOE's Inaugural Leadership Council: June 2022
Drs. Stephanie Mahfood, Ralph Olliges, Basiyr Rodney and Nicole Lee-Johnson
Listen to Part 1 of The Webster Learning Collective's podcast introducing the Leadership Council.