Early College Educator Advisory Group

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

Jonathan Boyar is entering his ninth year of teaching; this will be his sixth 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 fifth year teaching English 101 and 102 through the Early College High School program at BHS in partnership with Quinsigamond Community College. He also serves as an unofficial mentor to other concurrent enrollment Early College instructors in his building. He is thrilled to be on the EAG for a third year. When not teaching, Jonathan loves spending time with his almost-three-and-a-half-year-old son, as of mid-October newborn, 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/hers
Title: Visiting Senior Instructor and Academic Advisor in the McKeown School of Education
Institution: Salem State University
Subjects taught: Psychology and education courses including Child Growth and Development, Childhood and Adolescence, Language and Literacy Development, Premise of School and Childcare, Teaching, Learning, and Assessment, Practicum Supervision in Elementary and Early Childhood, and Developmental College Reading

Rachel is a staff associate and visiting senior instructor in the McKeown School of Education at Salem State University where she has worked for 18 years in a variety of capacities. She directly supports students through her teaching and academic advising. In her current role, she uses data analytics and targeted interventions to identify strategies to help students reach their academic and career goals. She is the education “point person” for transfer students, and she is on the student support team for the School of Education. Prior to her role at Salem State, she taught at Middlesex Community College and was a fifth grade teacher in Lynn, MA. After a decade-long hiatus from teaching, Rachel is enjoying her return to the classroom teaching Early College, reconnecting with what she considers the most rewarding and impactful aspect of her career.

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: they/them/theirs
Title: Associate Professor; Coordinator of the Composition Program; Faculty Liaison, Early College Programs
Institutions: Westfield State University
Courses taught: Composition I and II; Critical Nonfiction Literacy

Wyatt Hermansen is an Associate Professor in the English Department at Westfield State University, where they also serve as the Coordinator of the Composition Program. They have been teaching Composition I in the Westfield Promise Early College Program for eight years; most of that time has been at Westfield High School, though they’ve also taught at Westfield Technical Academy, Springfield High School of Commerce, and Northampton High School. Wyatt loves teaching Early College courses and helping high school students grow into confident college writers. Along with colleagues Jen DiGrazia and Joe Courchesne, they have a forthcoming publication in Composition Studies about their experiences teaching in early college programs.

Pronouns: she/her/hers
Title: Assistant Professor of English and ESOL Faculty Coordinator
Institution: Roxbury Community College
Courses taught: English Composition I & Academic English for Multilingual Students

Carly Martino is an English Professor and the ESOL Faculty Coordinator at Roxbury Community College (RCC). This will be her third year teaching Early College classes at RCC. The Early College Program at RCC is geared toward English Language Learners and Multilingual students and provides a pathway to college-level coursework to students who wouldn’t otherwise qualify for Dual Enrollment programs. Through this program, Carly teaches Academic English for Multilingual Students and Composition I. She loves watching students build their confidence over the course of the semester and seeing their English Language skills develop over time. When she’s not teaching, she enjoys hiking with her dog, Parker, or traveling to other countries.

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 fairness in education and life. He is passionate about student success and has been actively involved in several initiatives at BHCC such as the Ethnography of Work and INSPIRE among others. He has an A.A. in Social Science, B.A. in Sociology and Psychology, M.A. in Applied Sociology and a Ph.D. in Education. 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/hers
Title: Early College 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 the Early College Coordinator and a faculty member at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Jessica supports the enrollment, administration, and day-to-day operations of the Early College Program within the Office of Academic Partnerships. In this role, she collaborates with university faculty, partner high schools, and on-site Early College Coordinators to ensure students receive comprehensive support and a successful transition into the university experience. Jessica continues her longstanding partnership with Argosy Collegiate Charter School in Fall River. She is entering her fourth-year teaching CAS 103: Introduction to the College of Arts & Sciences to Early College students, where she is passionate about preparing students for success in higher education. In her free time, Jessica enjoys spending time with her family, especially her two grandchildren, Capri and TJ.

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

Renée has been a professor for over eleven years and has over thirty years teaching experience for Franklin/Hampshire Employment and Training Consortium, Cathedral High School, and local public schools. She holds an AS, in Executive Office Administration from STCC, a BS in Business Education from Salem State University and two M.Eds. from Framingham State University. She has been part of the SI and Early College Program for several years. She is an active board member for Hispanic Association of Higher Education (HAHE) and serves as secretary for several Standing Committees.

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.