1980s
Woodie Thomas III (PhD '86) is an education advocate. He produces a family talk show for podcast and a television show called American Family Life. Thomas is also the author of The Public School Curriculum Revolution: The Public School System Has Failed Us and What We Must Do to Fix the Public School System.
Throughout the past four decades as an educator and Iowa legislator, Mary Seelman Mascher (BA '75, MA '82) has aspired to make her community and state a better place. She has left an indelible legacy of advocacy for education, mental health, family housing, and other issues important to her constituents. That’s why Mascher is the recipient of the 2024 University of Iowa Distinguished Alumni Service Award. This honor recognizes graduates or former students who demonstrate specific and meritorious service to their university, community, state, or nation. She will receive the award at a ceremony during UI Homecoming 2024.
1990s
Jhoon “Jake” Chung (BA '96) has been appointed the next president of the Education League of Illinois (ELI). This group is the oldest educational organization in the state of Illinois. Chung is the first Korean American and minority to serve as president of the organization. ELI members work with all educational leaders to promote public education focused on student learning and growth to ensure that students reach their potential as individuals, and we collectively meet our potential as a nation.
Sandy Cornish (MA '90) of Leesburg, Florida, is still teaching as a volunteer at age 86. She says she is known as the “IT guru – or nerd” at church, the library, and senior center, helping senior citizens with their devices.
Rebecca Crow (BA '90, IED '90), a second-grade teacher at Jacobson Elementary School in Chandler, Arizona, was one of 500 teachers who received $2,500 from the Fiesta Bowl Charities as part of the Palo Verde Fiesta Bowl Charities Wishes for Teachers Draft Day. Crow used the funds to support her school’s "Science of Reading" program and to purchase resources for students.
Alison Konkol (BA '90) retired after serving as an alternative high school English teacher for at-risk youth for Minneapolis, Minnesota, area schools for 26 years.
William McComas (PhD '91), a professor of science education and inaugural holder of the Parks Family Endowed Professorship in Science Education in the University of Arkansas College of Education and Health Professions, was named an honorary member by the National Association of Biology Teachers. This is the highest honor bestowed by the organization at the annual conference in Baltimore on Nov. 4, 2023. McComas earned the award for a lifetime of exemplary service to the organization and its peer-reviewed journal, The American Biology Teacher, as editor for the past 10 years.
Erin Tatel Stein (BA '98) is an educational consultant/owner at Tatel Stein Educational Consulting and manager at National Louis University. She has worked in education for more than 25 years as a teacher, dean of students, assistant principal and principal of middle schools and a PreK – 8 building. Tatel Stein then became a district level administrator as a director of human resources. In her consulting role, she helps current and future educators with their resume, cover letter, application and interviewing support, coaching and assistance in finding a position through networking. Additionally, she works for National Louis University as a manager in the Office of Field Experience helping graduate students prepare for the workforce.
Heather Stevens (BA '97, IED '97, MA '02) is the new principal at Wickham Elementary School in Coralville, part of the Iowa City Community School District.
Billie Townsend (MA '95, MA '95) was selected as the 2024 Women Build Honoree by the Iowa Valley Habitat for Humanity. IVHFH’s Women Build exists to empower and celebrate women who are too often underrecognized for their accomplishments. Women of color face even greater challenges in receiving recognition for their achievements. IVHFH is committed to better celebrating and uplifting the many diverse women of our community and acknowledges that naming Billie Townsend as Women Build’s first Black honoree is an important step towards fulfilling that commitment.
Carlos Zamora (BA' 93, CER '96) is an Advanced Placement Spanish Language and Culture, Spanish Honors and Heritage courses teacher at the Phoenix Union High School (PXU) District, since August 1993. Thirty of his continuous 31 years have been at Central High School, home of the Global Studies Magnet Program, which supports global awareness. He has taken students to Spain, Mexico, and Costa Rica as part of a cultural exchange magnet program. Last fall 2023, PXU honored Zamora by presenting him its 30 years-milestone award of service, dedication, and commitment to the community.
2000s
James Bethea (PhD '04), associate professor of counselor education and coordinator of the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program in the Department of Counselor Education at St. John’s University in Queens, New York, received the Faculty Excellence in Inclusive Service and Outreach Award during the September faculty recognition ceremony.
Nick Sauers (BA '00) is associate professor of educational leadership at Georgia State University.
Tricia Seifert (PhD '06) was selected as the new dean of Montana State University (MSU) after a national search. She began her new position April 4, 2024. Seifert has been at MSU since 2014, when she joined the faculty in the College of Education, Health and Human Development. Since then, she has served as a program leader in adult and higher education, as interim director of the Science Math Resource Center, as head of the Department of Education and, since Aug. 2022, as interim dean of the College of Education, Health and Human Development. In addition to her work as a professor and administrator, Seifert researches the experiences students have while attending college, along with the role the college environment plays in students’ learning, growth, development, and success. Seifert is co-author of the widely cited book How College Affects Students: . Seifert has published articles in a wide variety of scholarly journals and is the recipient of numerous awards.
Caleb Thomas (BA '01, MA '03, IED '04) recently published a new book Be Porn Free, an introduction to helping men struggling with addiction to pornography. Thomas designed a more in-depth, online curriculum that accompanies the book. Thomas has a private practice in Iowa City, Thomas & Associates Counseling and Consulting, a faith-based, Christ-centered counseling agency. The practice takes a holistic therapy approach, which incorporates emotional, spiritual, and mental well-being.
Heather Wallace (BA '04, IED '04), an English as a Second Language teacher at Camelback High School in Phoenix, Arizona, was one of 500 teachers who received $2,500 from the Fiesta Bowl Charities as part of the Palo Verde Fiesta Bowl Charities Wishes for Teachers Draft Day. Wall is using the funds to purchase cameras and equipment to enhance the student-run yearbook.
Michael Young (BA '01, '01, PhD '20) joined the School of Teaching and Learning at Illinois State University as assistant professor – elementary literacy. Prior to this, he was an assistant professor and associate department head at the University of Minnesota Duluth, where he was awarded the Blehart Distinguished Teaching Award.
2010s
Janice Byrd (PhD '16), assistant professor at Penn State University, is serving as the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES) Member-At-Large designee for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. She is the first member to serve in this position. ACES is the premier organization dedicated to quality education and supervision of counselors in all work settings. Byrd credits her time at the University of Iowa College of Education and Professor Susannah Wood specifically as key to getting involved in the organization at a leadership level.
Brock Cavett (BA '16, CER '16, MA '19) was recently appointed to the California Department of Education’s LGBTQ+ Statewide Advisory Task Force to identify the needs of LGBTQ+ students and to make recommendations to assist in implementing supportive policies and initiatives to address LGBTQ+ student education and well-being. Cavett also works as the director of programming and career development in the Alumni Engagement Department of the University of California, Riverside. He recently also started a new contract position as the convener/coordinator of the Systemwide Alumni Career Network for the University of California Office of the President. In this new position, Cavett will work with all 10 University of California campuses on implementing engaging and dynamic alumni career programs. He also serves on the University of Iowa’s Hawkeye Pride Alumni Network. This network serves as a supportive and professional network for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and allied (LGBTQ+) alumni. This group will foster a sense of pride in and commitment to the University of Iowa; provide educational resources on LGBTQ+ issues; offer networking and social events; and support current LGBTQ+ students at Iowa.
Will Coghill-Behrends (MA '03, CER '05, PhD '19) was named the dean of global education at Minnesota State University, Mankato, in May after a national search. Coghill-Behrends joined Minnesota State Mankato after serving since 2014 as the director, Global Education Initiatives at the Linda R. Baker Teacher Leader Center at the University of Iowa College of Education. In 2023, Coghill-Behrends was appointed as the UI College of Education’s associate departmental executive officer in the Department of Teaching and Learning. Coghill-Behrends also held faculty positions at Iowa as program coordinator, Multilingual Education since 2022; clinical associate professor, Multilingual Education since 2019; and program coordinator, Master of Arts in Teaching, Leadership, and Cultural Competency since 2016.
Amy Lynn Conrad (PhD '04, MA '17), UI associate professor of pediatrics – psychology in the Stead Family Department of Pediatrics, was awarded a Research Project R01 grant from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), starting July 1, 2024. This four-year grant funds a study to evaluate the potential impact of exposure to anesthesia and airway obstruction on early brain and language development of infants with and without oral cleft.
Travis Dyer (BA '12, IED '12) is the new principal at Garner Elementary School in North Liberty, Iowa, part of the Iowa City Community School District.
Tiffany Flowers (MA '00, PhD '15) is an associate professor of education at Georgia State University Perimeter College. She was awarded the 2023 Judy Richardson Literacy as a Living Legacy Award by the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers. Flowers received the award for her project titled #EliminatingBookDeserts. The project is an ongoing project aimed at eliminating book deserts in communities surrounding the Georgia State University Perimeter College campus community at three partner sites. The sites include Jolly Elementary, Salem Middle School, and Clarkston High School. The schools use the book donations for classroom libraries, little free libraries, and distribute the books to students for their personal library collections.
Amy Laug (MA '14) is the new principal at Brody Middle School, following seven years as principal of Walnut Street School, both part of the Des Moines Public School District. Laug started her career at Des Moines as a first-grade teacher and later became an international baccalaureate coordinator and dean of students at Walnut Street School.
Elisa Marie Lyons (BA '11, MA '13) recently celebrated the fifth anniversary of establishing her group mental health practice, Iowa Family Counseling, based in Riverside, Iowa.
Meredith Rausch (PhD '15), associate professor in the Augusta University Department of Research, Counseling and Curriculum in Augusta, Georgia, won one of two 2024 National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) Servant Leadership Awards. The NBCC awards honor outstanding individuals who are shaping the future of counseling. These awards were created for counselors, by counselors to recognize individuals who exemplify professional excellence in counseling and whose contributions have significantly helped to expand access to mental health services, strengthen the profession, and promote equity in health and education, advancing counseling and counselors domestically and globally.
Caitlin Schlesser (BA '13, IED '13) is the new Elementary Title 1 teacher at the LeMars Community School District in LeMars, Iowa. She has previous teaching experience as a fourth-grade teacher with Sioux City Schools and as a third-grade teacher with the Ankeny Community School District.
Scott W. Wojciechowski (MA '12) defended his PhD in Educational Leadership (higher education concentration) at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (Professor Sherry Watt's alma mater) with a dissertation titled I’m Really Sorry You Joined Us, But Welcome to the Club: The Impact of Parental Death on College Students.
Yi-Wen Su (MA '14), an assistant professor of counselor education at Portland State University, began serving on the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES) Governing Council as the Member-at-Large for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion-Elect beginning July 1, 2014. She is a nationally certified counselor and a licensed school counselor in Iowa. Her research interests include school counseling, bullying/cyberbullying prevention, mindfulness, and multicultural issues.
Corey Topf (BA '04, MA '19) is the innovation diploma coordinator at the American International School of Budapest and the director of the Innovation Academy Online, a program that connects high school students around the world. “I continue to be grateful for the opportunity to learn and work in the College of Education at the University of Iowa. Teaching Technology in the Classroom while finishing my master's was such a unique and fulfilling opportunity. Thank you for making that possible!”
2020s
Emma Christensen (BA '24) began work this fall as a fifth-grade teacher at Highland Elementary School in Riverside, Iowa, where she did her student teaching.
Abi France-Kelley (PhD '22) is the associate dean of housing at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Emma Freyermuth (BA '23, MAT '24), is a junior high/high school science teacher at Pleasant Valley High School in Bettendorf, Iowa.
Lauren Irwin (PhD '23) was awarded the Marylu McEwen Dissertation of the Year Award from College Student Educators International in 2024. Irwin is now an assistant professor in Higher Education and College Student Personnel programs at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Irwin’s research uses critical organizational perspectives and critical theories of race, racialization, and whiteness to examine whiteness in higher education. Specifically, Irwin draws on her past work as a student affairs practitioner and leadership educator to translate research into more equitable and inclusive leadership education practice.
Karla Madrigal (BA '22, CER '22, MA '24) began working as a school counselor this fall at West Liberty Elementary School in West Liberty, Iowa.
Milad Mohebali (PhD '22, CER '22) joined the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as an assistant professor in the Educational Administration department.
John Reasoner (BA '22, BA '22, IED '22) is an academic advisor at Iowa State University’s Agricultural Business undergraduate program. He plans to begin a master’s program to advance his career in higher education and student affairs.
Emily Katie Rodriguez (BA '23) works as a tutor coordinator and success coach with Trio Student Support Services in the University of Iowa Office of Access and Support. She was involved with the Upward Bound program in West Liberty, Iowa, and Trio Student Support Services while a student.
Mackenzie Streveler (BA '23) began working as a second-grade teacher at Highland Elementary School in Riverside, Iowa, this fall. While at Iowa, she was a varsity rower and team captain for the women’s team, and she was named an Academic All-Big Ten Conference honoree.
Benjamin (BJ) VanVleet (MA '21) is a training specialist for the state of Iowa.
Yuqing Zou (CER '19, MA '20, PhD '24) began her new career as a tenure-track assistant professor of psychology at the University of New Mexico – Gallup, in fall of 2024.
