Early College Educator Advisory Group

Pronouns: she/her/hers
Title: Visiting Professor
Institution: Wentworth Institute of Technology
Subject taught: Mathematics

Angelique grew up in Brockton, Massachusetts where she attended and graduated from Brockton High School. She completed both her Masters and bachelor’s at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, and is currently working towards completing her Doctorate in STEM Education there as well. She previously worked as a mathematics teacher in Fall River, Massachusetts at BMC Durfee High School. Angelique has always had a passion for helping others and it has been her longtime dream to become an educator, so that she may encourage others to follow their own dreams!

Pronouns: he/him/his
Title: Teacher and Adjunct Professor
Institution: Quinsigamond Community College
Subject Taught: English

Jonathan Boyar is entering his sixth year of teaching; this will be his fourth year at Burncoat Senior High School (BHS), where he has been teaching predominantly English Language Arts IV (Senior English) and English 101/102. This will be his third year teaching English 101 and 102 through the Early College High School program at BHS in partnership with Quinsigamond Community College. When not teaching, Jonathan loves spending time with his 15-month-old son and his wife, reading dystopias, or designing and building some new woodworking project in his garage (sometimes with the help of his math teacher friends).

Pronouns: she/her/ella
Title: Instructor
Institution: North Shore Community College
Courses taught: Composition 1&2, Understanding Higher Education and Public Speaking

Emily L. Cakounes is an Instructor of Liberal Arts at North Shore Community College, with a focus on the Early College population. Prior to her current position, Emily taught 9th grade English at Greater Lowell Vocational High School in Tyngsboro, MA, and earned a B.A. and an M.A.T in Secondary Education from the University of New Hampshire. Emily joined the Early College program as an Instructor in September of 2021, and now works on the NSCC Early College team full-time to make high quality, academically rigorous courses accessible to high school and college students across the North Shore. When not on campus, Emily can be found assembling Lego models with her husband, Chris, their two children, Evan and Libby, and Leonard the Wonder Dog.

Pronouns: she/her/hers
Title: English Professor
Institution: Westfield State University
Subjects taught: Composition (all levels) and queer lit/theory

Jen joined WSU in 2005 and teaches all levels of composition and upper-division writing courses. She has taught comp for over 25 years and will probably continue to teach it for at least 20 more!! She started teaching a co-taught, year-long stretch Composition 101 class with a former student at Holyoke High School in 2018, and she loves this model of dual enrollment as it is mutually beneficial and provides students with more classroom support. She particularly enjoys working with students from under-represented populations and helping to turn them on to writing!

Pronouns: she/her
Title: Assistant Professor of Practice
Institution: Merrimack College
Courses taught: Politics of the U.S.; Comparative Politics; Democracy, Development, and Violence; MA State and Local Politics and the Environment; Rebels, Riots, and Revolution; Youth to Power: Activism and Research

Dr. Kirstie Lynn Dobbs is an Assistant Professor of Practice in the Department of Political Science, Public Policy, and History. She is the Director of the Early College Program and Faculty Community Engagement Strategy at Merrimack College in North Andover, MA, and the Special Assistant to the Vice President of Enrollment for Community Engagement at Merrimack. Her research specializes in youth development and inclusion across society, the economy, government, and politics.

Read more from Kirstie: Curriculum And Instruction: Three Frameworks For Engaging Students

Pronouns: he/his/him
Title: Visiting Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Ethics
Institution: Framingham State University; MetroWest College Planning Collaborative
Subject taught: Ethics

Jason Happel is an itinerant lawyer and teacher in the MetroWest area, where he has embarrassingly deep roots (although he was born in New Mexico); he and his wife have one daughter in college and one in high school. His teaching career has focused on high school age student learning at Hebrew College, Brandeis University, and Framingham State University, following his start in community education programs for young men in Jamaica Plain at Bromley-Heath in the 1990s. Jason also teaches writing and legal reasoning at Massachusetts School of Law, leads weekly reading groups for adults engaged in lifelong learning, and will be field testing a new program on Constitutional law this Fall.

Pronouns: she/her
Title: Professor
Institutions: Salem State University, Endicott College, Bunker Hill Community College
Subjects taught: Philosophy, World Religions, Special Topics: Study Abroad

Mandy Lobraico is a Philosophy and Religion Professor, an Early College Social Ethics Professor, and a Study Abroad Faculty Leader.  A native of Chicago, she now resides in Marblehead with her wife, daughter (12), three dogs, and bearded dragon.

Pronouns: he/his/him
Institution: Bunker Hill Community College
Courses taught: Principles of Psychology; Principles of Sociology; Sociology of Race & Ethnicity (taught in Early College); HUM 120 (Learning Community Seminar); LC Cluster with American Literature; Sociology of the Family; Sociology of Organization

Carlos L. Maynard is a Professor of Sociology in the Behavioral Science Department at Bunker Hill Community College. He is an Afro-Latino Educator who advocates for equity, justice, and fairness in education and life. He is passionate about student success and has been actively involved in several Equity oriented initiatives at BHCC such as the Latinx Student Success Initiative (LSSI), the HOPE Initiative, and the Center for Equity and Cultural Wealth (CECW). He has been a faculty member of BHCC Early College Program since 2015.

Read more from Carlos: Reading List for Early College Educators: Using Culturally-Centered Pedagogy to Create a Successful Early College Experience

Pronouns: she/her
Title: Associate Professor of Psychology
Institutions: Bard College at Simon’s Rock
Subject taught: Psychology

Anne has taught psychology in the Bard Early College and Academy programs at Simon’s Rock, located in the Southern Berkshires of Western Massachusetts, for over 25 years. She was involved in the accreditation (with NECHE) of the Bard High School Early Colleges in New York City and Newark, NJ (as branch campuses of Simon’s Rock). She currently teaches in the Southern Berkshire Regional School District Early College program partnership with Simon’s Rock.

Read more from Anne: A Day One Guide For College Faculty Teaching At A High School

Pronouns: she/her/hers
Title: Academic Advising Coordinator for Pre-Professional Programs at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
Institution: University of Massachusetts Dartmouth & Commonwealth Collegiate Academy
Subject taught: Introduction to the Arts & Sciences

As Academic Advising Coordinator and faculty member at University of Massachusetts – Dartmouth, Jessica works with Pre-Law and Pre-med/health students in various majors as they progress through their undergraduate experience in pursuit of law school or a medical program of study. In addition, she works with students in all majors within the college and connects them to appropriate resources that support their academic and emotional development. Last Fall, she began partnering with Argosy Collegiate High School in Fall River and taught two semesters of CAS 103: Intro to the College of Arts & Sciences to Early College students. She had a wonderful experience and looks forward to the upcoming school year to teach again.

Pronouns: She/Her
Title: Assistant Professor of Practice, Department of Psychology
Institution: Merrimack College
Subjects: Psychology

I considers myself truly lucky to have served in a variety of roles during my thirty years in higher education, each one an opportunity to learn, and contribute something to students and my institution. Throughout all, I taught as an Adjunct Professor in a variety of formats, while serving as Acting Dean/Director of Continuing Education & Summer Session, Director of Academic Enrichment and Associate Dean of Student Success. I began teaching for the Early College Program in 2018, and last summer I accepted a position as Assistant Professor of Practice in Psychology and joined the faculty full-time. 

I am passionate about lifelong learning both in and out of the classroom and have always seen the interaction between teaching and learning as a relationship of reciprocity and mutual respect. I am ever hopeful that my students understand how much they teach me as we learn together.

Pronouns: She/her/hers
Title: Professor of Sociology and Human Services
Institution: Mount Wachusett Community College
Subjects taught: Sociology, Psychology and Human Services

Candace earned her B.A. and B.S. degrees from American International College and her M.A. from Assumption College.She began her academic career as an adjunct faculty member at Mount Wachusett Community College’s (MWCC) Leominster Campus and Corporate Training Center. She was appointed a full-time faculty member in 2004. Prior to teaching at MWCC, Candace worked full-time at Worcester Community Action Council, Inc., as an AmeriCorps Supervisor, GEA Instructor, Employment Counselor, and a Youth Coordinator in the Reconnection Program. Professor Shivers serves as the faculty advisor for the Human Service Club and currently serves as the faculty liaison to the Student Government Association.

Pronouns: she/her
Title: Professor
Institution: Springfield Technical Community College
Subjects taught: Business, Office Information Technology, Computer Information Technology

Candace earned her B.A. and B.S. degrees from American International College and her M.A. from Assumption College.She began her academic career as an adjunct faculty member at Mount Wachusett Community College’s (MWCC) Leominster Campus and Corporate Training Center. She was appointed a full-time faculty member in 2004. Prior to teaching at MWCC, Candace worked full-time at Worcester Community Action Council, Inc., as an AmeriCorps Supervisor, GEA Instructor, Employment Counselor, and a Youth Coordinator in the Reconnection Program. Professor Shivers serves as the faculty advisor for the Human Service Club and currently serves as the faculty liaison to the Student Government Association.

Pronouns: she/her
Title: Professor
Institution: Northern Essex Community College
Courses taught: Composition, Film Studies, Children’s Literature

Elle Yarborough is a Professor in the English Department at Northern Essex Community College. Before achieving her lifelong dream of teaching at a community college in New England, she worked as Assistant Director for the Center for Film, Media and Popular Culture at Arizona State University. Elle has been involved in Early College programs for almost twenty years in various roles, including as coordinator of a program in Arizona, as a coach, and in her favorite role of all, as a teacher. Elle loves reading, writing, teaching reading and writing, and talking about reading and writing with other people.

You can learn more about the Early College Educator Advisory Group and the Alliance’s work with early college educators by contacting Marissa Cole, Director of Policy and Practice, at marissa@ma4ec.org.