Prior Engaging Eurasia Teacher Fellows

2023- 2024

Victoria Downey is a full time faculty member in Geography at Anoka-Ramsey Community College in Coon Rapids, Minnesota, where she has taught for twelve years in in-person, hybrid and online formats (synchronous and asynchronous). Currently, she teaches Introduction to Sustainability, Physical Geography, World Regional Geography, and U.S. Geography. In addition to her teaching, she also serves as the Co-Chair for the Sustainability Committee at the college and is passionate about advancing sustainability on campus and in the world. Victoria's sustainability work includes the development of a Certificate in Sustainability, and twice acting as a Co-Advisor for the Minnesota GreenCorps Program for which ARCC has served as a host site. She was the recipient of a Course Enhancement Grant through Boston University's African Studies Center (2021) to incorporate Africa-specific content into her Human Geography course. Victoria earned her BA and MA in Geography as well as a Certificate in African Studies from the University of Kansas. Outside of school, Victoria enjoys spending time with her 3 year old son, her cats and chickens, gardening, biking, swimming, practicing and teaching yoga.

Craig Gaslow is a curriculum writer and history instructor from Plainview, New York. He has taught at Great Falls High School in Montana and Westlake High School in Austin, Texas.  In addition, Craig served as the on-camera world history instructor for a Los Angeles-based (Netflix-style) education technology company called Subject. Throughout his career, he has taught a variety of courses including AP World History, AP US History, AP Human Geography, a global leadership elective, and Intro to Spanish. Craig believes an inquiry-based classroom culture is fundamental to learning. As a result, his courses stress the practice of student-led Harkness discussion and Visible Thinking Routines. He has presented on Curriculum Frameworks & Classroom Strategies to Build Global Competence at the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) conference, and Global Education & Technology at the Trinity University Graduate School of Education Master of Arts in Teaching Program. Craig was selected to be a panel speaker on The Importance of Listening at the SXSW.edu conference — a discussion on the use of tools like podcasts, radio, and the education platform Listenwise to promote literacy in the classroom. He was a Mentor Educator for the University of Texas at Austin’s UTeach-Liberal Arts Program. Craig earned his MA from New York University. His graduate work focused on the history of 19th and 20th century eastern Europe, centering on the late Ottoman Empire and Yugoslavia. He is a lifelong fan of FC Barcelona.

Wanda Pothier-Hill is an Associate Professor of Gender and Women’s Studies, as well as First Year and Foundational Literacy at North Shore Community College. She holds an MFA from Goddard College, a BA from Mount Holyoke College, and an AA from Mount Wachusett Community College. Pothier-Hill has taught writing and literature courses for more than eighteen years, including Creative Writing, Composition 1 and 2, and Writing About Literature and the Environment. Additionally, she developed two new courses for the Gender and Women’s Studies department: Revolutionary Women–Combating Inequality, Poverty, and Power  and Women and War. In 2021, she was the liberal studies lecturer for the Liberal Studies Lecture Series at North Shore Community College where she discussed the evolution, challenges, and accomplishments of women serving in the United States military. At North Shore Community College, she serves on the following committees: Forums on Tolerance, the Diversity Leadership Council, and the National Coalition for Building Institutions. In addition to her teaching, Pothier-Hill is a writer of fiction, short stories, and poetry. Her work has appeared in publications, such as Gravel Magazine and The Pitkin Review. Furthermore, she has written a novel, The Road Home, and is working on new fiction.

William Daniel I am originally from South Carolina, but have called Colorado home for over thirty years. My BA is in government from Oberlin College and my MA is International Relations from the University of Denver. My greatest joy are my two children, one out of college and working in Hawaii and the other just starting college this fall. I have been a high school social studies teacher in Littleton, CO for 26 years at Littleton High School where I teach World History, and IB European History and IB Global Politics. I am a soccer coach in both girls and boys soccer programs. Department Chair. Union representative. I am also a workshop leader for the IB Educators Network. President-elect of the Middle East Outreach Council (MEOC). NEH workshop participant. QFI. TED. TCAB. Gardener. Hiker. Birder. Baker. Brewer. Travel is a joyful privilege - although it has been a while since the challenges of CoVid. I have been to what was the Soviet Union twice - Estonia, Ukraine, Russia, and Uzbekistan. So my true motivation to participate in this program is to reconnect with Central Asia. China twice with stops in Japan and South Korea. Philippines, Belize, Mexico, Bonaire, for scuba. England, France, Switzerland, Germany, Finland, Italy. 48 of 50 states, Hawaii has become a must now. And most

Dee Schultz has been teaching a variety of English classes at Osseo-Fairchild High School in Osseo, WI since 2002.  She also teaches dual-credit writing courses through the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and Chippewa Valley Technical College.  Dee and her students have participated in the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Great World Texts grant for the past 15 years, and this year they are participants in Harvard University’s The Good Project. Before teaching in Osseo, she taught as a full-time English Education instructor at the University of Central Florida, which is also where she received her B.S. and M.Ed. degrees in English Education. Through Staff Development for Educators, Dee traveled throughout the country to work with teachers to create strategies to help students gain necessary literacy skills in a variety of subject areas. During the past 15 years, she has completed extensive coursework with the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia at the University of Indiana – Bloomington. Dee also serves as the co-founder and Education Director of The Heartbeat Center for Writing, Literacy, and the Arts, a non-profit organization that offers courses and workshops for people of all ages to explore and hone their artistic skills through various mediums.

Robert Soza is Ethnic Studies, Contemporary Literature, and Composition faculty at Chandler-Gilbert Community College in Arizona. Robert is in his 2nd year at CGC, and in his 26th year teaching.  For the past seven years, he has been working to internationalize his curriculum; he's participated in a Fulbright-Hays to Bosnia and Albania, as well as faculty delegations to Mexico, Pakistan, Central Asia and Palestine. Robert holds a PhD in Ethnic Studies from UC Berkeley, and an undergraduate degree in English from Arizona State University. Outside of the classroom, he hikes, cooks, reads, and travels.

Lori Smith is from Hillsboro, Missouri and has been a registered nurse for over 20 years. She is certified to teach medication aide courses, and she is a certified trainer for nurse assistants. She is passionate about educating future healthcare workers, especially showing them how to connect to people of all backgrounds to make healthcare more inclusive and dignified. Lori has 2 amazing children and a Shih Tzu named Sophie who are constant reminders of the importance of love and compassion. 

Parag Bhuva is an Upper School World History, AP Human Geography, Meditation, and African American Studies teacher and Department Head at Washington Latin Public Charter School in Washington, DC. He has taught there for the past seven years and is in his 11th year as an educator. In addition to teaching, he is actively involved in DC's education politics through EmpowerEd, serves on the board of Technology for Tomorrow, and is currently a GeoCivics fellow. In the past he has also participated in Fulbright's Teachers for Global Classrooms Fellowship, National Geographic's Grosvenor Teacher Fellowship, 4.0 Schools' Tiny Fellowship, and has taught as an adjunct professor at UConn's School of Education. He is thrilled to have the opportunity to participate in the Engaging Eurasia Fellowship, where the required readings have already taught him so much. He is excited to bring his newfound knowledge to the classroom as he continues to learn about his numerous historical blind spots in order to teach a truly world history to his students. 

Kristen Larson has enjoyed 18 years of teaching Middle School Social Studies in the Elk River School District in Minnesota.  This is her second time as an Engaging Eurasia Fellow. She holds an undergraduate degree in Social Studies Education from St. Cloud State University and a Master’s Degree in Literacy Education from Bethel University in St. Paul, along with an additional licensure in Family Consumer Sciences from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.  Kristen is her middle school’s AVID Coordinator and believes in the mission of serving underrepresented students by working to close opportunity gaps. Kristen has also served on several district-wide leadership committees as well as her local education association (Elk River Education Association) where she is the governmental relations chair. In 2016 she was able to travel to Japan with the Five College Center for East Asian Studies and in 2017 participated in a seminar in Tokyo with the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia.  Since then she has done many summertime enrichment opportunities such as a WWII seminar at UC Berkeley and a week on the USS Midway. In December 2020 she was able to present on her use of Harvard’s Japan’s Disasters Digital Archive for NCSS. In 2023 she presented at the Minnesota Council for the Social Studies conference highlighting digital archives and how these tools can be an asset in the social studies classroom. These opportunities have greatly enriched her teaching and learning practice and she has been able to directly integrate these experiences for her students’ benefit. Kristen also spends time with her husband and two daughters biking, kayaking, and traveling as much as she can. 

Sonja Czarnecki I have been teaching for twenty-four years, and currently teach world history, U.S. History, U.S. Politics and Government and Global Studies at Bishop Seabury Academy in Lawrence, Kansas. For fifteen of those years I also was in administration but recently went back to the classroom full time. I graduated with a distinguished major in history from the University of Virginia and completed a masters degree in American History and Government from Ashland University as a James Madison Fellow. Outside of school I am active with the local chapter of the League of Women Voters, and am currently president-elect. I also serve as the site manager in Lawrence for the American Exchange Project. 

Marina Outwater teaches seventh grade Social Studies at Long River Middle School in Prospect, CT. After earning a B.A. from Bowdoin College in Maine and a M. Ed. from Bank Street College of Education in New York City, Marina has pursued a career in education for twenty-eight years. She also received a M.A. from Adams State University, where she focused on American history. A recipient of two Fund for Teachers fellowships, Marina traveled most recently to Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan in order to focus on the six essential elements of geography. Marina is passionate about travel and photography, plays ice hockey, and, most importantly, raises twin teenage boys in a house with far too many pets. 

2022- 2023

Amy Palo has taught for 15 years at Cornell High School in Coraopolis, PA and is a graduate of the University of Illinois Springfield (M.A. Political Science) and Penn State University (B.A. Secondary Education- Social Studies). She is Pennsylvania’s 2018 James Madison Fellow, a 2017 Barringer Fellow, a 2017 Fund For Teachers awardee, a World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh George C. Oehmler awardee, and a member of the iCivics and National Constitution Center educator networks. At Cornell Amy teaches AP US History, US History, and World History to 10th and 11th grade students. She is the Student Council sponsor at Cornell and Union President. Outside of school she enjoys traveling and spending time with her husband Jon, dog Fin, and twin boys Theodore and Lincoln.

Marian Smith is an Upper School History Teacher and academic advisor at The Baldwin School in Bryn Mawr, PA, an all-girls school for grades pre-Kindergarten through 12, where she has been teaching since 2020. Marian teaches 9th grade Modern World History and an interdisciplinary course on animal fables in world history and literature, and will teach electives on the Soviet Union and the Holocaust in the fall 2022 and spring 2023, respectively. In addition to teaching history and serving as the advisor to 12 amazing juniors, Marian also serves as a faculty advisor to Baldwin’s Model UN and Linguistics Olympiad clubs. She holds a B.A. from Mount Holyoke College and an M.A. from Harvard, and pursued a PhD in Middle East Studies at the University of Michigan, where she specialized in the history and culture of early modern Iran and Central Asia. At Michigan, she was the graduate student instructor for a History of Modern Central Asia course in 2018 and 2020, an experience that ignited her passion for teaching about the region’s history. Her graduate studies afforded her many opportunities to live, study, research, and travel throughout Eurasia, including in Russia, Turkey, Tajikistan, Iran, Uzbekistan, and India. She is passionate about incorporating these global experiences into her teaching, and introducing her students to peoples and places not commonly found in high school history curricula.

George Dalbo currently teaches high school social studies in Clinton, Wisconsin. Previously, George has taught social studies in every grade from 5th through 12th in public, charter, and private schools in Minnesota and Wisconsin, as well as two years in Vienna, Austria. George is also a Ph.D. candidate in Curriculum and Instruction and Social Studies Education at the University of Minnesota. His research interests center broadly on Holocaust, genocide, and human rights education in middle and secondary social studies curricula and classrooms. George earned an M.Ed. in Social Studies Education from the College of St. Scholastica, spent two years studying East European History at the University of Vienna as a Fulbright scholar, and completed a B.A. in History and German from the University of Buffalo.

Born in Houston, Texas, and raised in Southern Europe, Maria Blake earned her B.A. in English from Aristotle University in Thessaloniki, Greece, and an M.A. in English from the University of Arizona, in Tucson, AZ. Currently, she teaches Sophomore English/World Literature, and Cultural Relevant Literature at Cholla IB High School.  She also works part-time as an Instructor of Modern Greek at the University of Arizona. Over the years, her educational paths have taken her to numerous conferences, seminars, and institutes on a variety of subjects ranging from Asian, Asian-American literature and cultural studies, Holocaust and WWII studies, history, media  and film studies, ethnic studies, second language learning and teaching, to religion, art,  and pedagogy. In the summer of 2019, she visited China on a Fulbright-Hays fellowship with the University of Arizona.

As a First Generation American, a singular thread in Katherine Bielawa-Stamper's career has been advocacy. She attributes this to her working-class roots and gratitude to those who helped her find her way educationally and professionally. With a BA in History, a Study Abroad Scholarship in Eastern Europe, and an MPA, she has worked as a civil rights investigator, legislative liaison, consumer advocate, prison educator, college instructor, newspaper columnist, and nonprofit development & communications director. She hosts a local radio show in Burlington, Vermont—Present Time—on WBTV LP, 99.3 FM in which she strives to bring the voices of those less represented in our culture to the airwaves.  Teaching at the Community College of Vermont and writing creative nonfiction represent her deepest passions.

Kenneth J. Yin is a full-time faculty member in modern languages, literatures, and linguistics at the City University of New York, LaGuardia Community College. His scholarly work focuses on the oral and written literature of the Dungans, the Sino-Muslims of Central Asia, and the literatures of the indigenous peoples of Russia, in particular the Tungus peoples of the North, Siberia, and the Russian Far East. He has received fellowships and awards from the American Council of Learned Societies, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the City University of New York, and the Research Foundation of The City University of New York. His publications include Dungan Folktales and Legends (Peter Lang, 2021) and Mystical Forest: Collected Poems and Short Stories of Dungan Ethnographer Ali Dzhon (Peter Lang, in press). He holds degrees from Cornell University and Georgetown University.

Brett Vance has been interested in Eurasian history and culture since his time as an exchange student in the former Soviet Union. He stayed active throughout the 1990’s by engaging naturalized American citizens from the former Soviet Union and by participating in forums held by the Russia Society of New Hampshire. Brett has been able to apply his passion for the history and culture of this region by designing and co-teaching curriculum, including a Russian Studies program, for students at Alvirne High School.  Prior to arriving at Alvirne in 2008, Brett taught AP European History and Twentieth Century World History at Merrimack High School. Since 2017, Brett has been sharing his experiences and curriculum with fellow educators in the state of New Hampshire.  Brett currently organizes professional development conferences as Vice-President (2021) and now President-Elect of the New Hampshire Council for the Social Studies.

Brenda Boehler currently serves as Social Studies Department Chair for Cholla High School in Tucson, Arizona, where she teaches IB Theory of Knowledge, GATE Western Civilization and World History. She has taught for more than two decades in diverse settings. Throughout the years, she has shared her passion for civil discourse, civic engagement and travel. She has taught in Brighton, England, Ukraine and Russia.  Brenda encourages students to interact with the world beyond their community.  Beyond teaching, Brenda enjoys reading, hiking, helping animals and practicing mindfulness.  Most recently, she participated in a pilgrimage in the Sacred Forest of northern Italy.

Brian Goeselt is a twenty-year teacher of history and economics at Newton North High School in Newton, Massachusetts. Currently he is teaching Modern World and AP US History to sophomores and juniors. His special teaching interests involve integrating economic concepts and themes, as well as the use of period music, art, poetry and primary sources of all types into his courses. He's especially interested in filling the gaps in his professional knowledge, including Russian and Soviet culture and history. Brian came to teaching after two decades in the private sector in a variety of positions in consumer brand management. He holds a BA in history from Dartmouth College, an MBA and MAT from Boston College and is a US Army veteran, stationed in West Germany with the First Infantry Division during the 1980's.

Rabiah Khalil has been an educator for over 15 years.  She has worked at various independent schools in the DC Metropolitan area as an educator and administrator.  She earned a doctorate in Educational Leadership at Johns Hopkins University, a Master’s in Linguistics at Georgetown University, and a Bachelor’s in English at the University of Maryland.  She is currently seeking a Master’s in English at Middlebury College.  She is a lifelong learner who enjoys experiences that pique curiosity, catalyze the imagination, expand schema, connect cultures, and elicit self-reflection.  

Alexander Uryga graduated summa cum laude from Valparaiso University with a BA in political science and history. Before graduating from Valpo he was an intern on Capitol Hill for a United States Senator, and after graduating worked at a public affairs and government relations firm and at a global, social justice, not-for-profit organization, and served at a community learning center through AmeriCorps. Alexander earned his MA in teaching and curriculum from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and now teaches history at the Cambridge Matignon School in Cambridge, MA. In 2019 he made the Michiana (southern Michigan and northern Indiana) Forty Under 40 list and was named a Distinguished Teacher from Michigan City Area Schools. In 2021 he was awarded the Carolyn & Peter Lynch Award for teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic from the Lynch Foundation; and in 2022 won the Richard Aieta Promising Teacher Award from the Massachusetts Council for the Social Studies.

Catherine Atwell (“Cathy”) is Dean of Student Research at Marlborough School in Los Angeles, California, a girls’ school for grades 7-12, where she directs Marlborough’s Honors Research Program in humanities and social sciences. Cathy is in her 17th year at Marlborough, where she has taught courses in world history, economics, and research skills, along with interdisciplinary electives including a seminar on the arts and revolution in late Imperial/early Soviet Russia. Cathy was a Russian Area Studies major at Dartmouth College, and earned an M.A. in Russian History from Stanford University. In 2018 she completed an Ed.D. from USC in International Education, studying methods to improve critical thinking instruction in humanities and social studies in Saudi Arabia.

Kathryn Black teaches Advanced Placement European History, World History, and Psychology at Hingham High School in Hingham, MA. A graduate of Villanova University (BA) and Boston College (MA), Kathryn has also served as a visiting lecturer at Bridgewater State University and a graduate teaching fellow at Boston College. She enjoys advising Model United Nations, running, and living by the ocean. 

Andres Cartagena has taught World History at Benjamin Harrison Vocational High School in Puerto Rico for the past 14 years. He earned his Bachelor's and Masters degrees in History from the University of Puerto Rico – Río Piedras Campus. He has participated in several National Endowment for the Humanities Symposia, including one on Africa in World History and one devoted to World War I in History and Literature. He loves to read good books and watch foreign films.

Nina Corley is the Science Department Chair and a teacher at O’Connell College Preparatory School on Galveston Island in Texas. Born and raised in Texas, Nina attended Beloit College in Wisconsin. She serves on the Teacher’s Advisory board for the National Energy Education Development Project and for the Offshore Energy Center, is a Teacher Ambassador for the National Center for Science Education as well as a National Geographic Certified Educator. As a lifelong learner, Nina takes advantage of any opportunity to improve as a teacher for her students.

Paul Hoelscher has been a teacher for 27 years; his experience includes leading classrooms on the Navajo reservation and in Mwanza, Tanzania. In addition to teaching AP World History, Sociology and Sports in the Western World, he also serves as the K-12 Coordinator for Social Studies in the Clayton School District just outside of St. Louis. He holds Masters degrees in US History and Cultural Anthropology as well as a doctorate that included pedagogical research on geography instruction within history curricula. When not teaching, he enjoys traveling, reading and spending time with his family.

Kathy Keffeler is a certified K-12 language teacher in both the US and Spain and has been teaching at the secondary level for over 35 years. She has worked as a translator for Médecins Sans Frontieres, an SAT essay reader, an IB examiner, and a tour guide. She is on the Advisory Council for the America Council for Teachers of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) and has served as her state’s representative. She is a member of the South Dakota World Affairs Council, the Dakota Territory International Visitors’ Program, Rotary and several other groups. She is interested in establishing new collegial friendships and learning and sharing best practices.

Kristen Larson teaches 8th grade at Rogers Middle School in Rogers, MN. She also serves as the coordinator for the AVID program, which is dedicated to helping students achieve their goal of going to college through support, academic monitoring, and tutoring.

Mikki Maddox recently completed her 22nd year of teaching and 21st at Necedah Area High School, a small, rural high school in central Wisconsin. She received her BA from Viterbo University in Sociology-Broadfield Social Studies with minors in communications, history, and music, and teaching certifications in social studies, history, and sociology.  She continued her education as a Post Bacc student at Edgewood College and completed teaching certifications in English, theater, academic speech, economics, and psychology. Her current teaching responsibilities include English 9, English 12, Practical English, AP English Literature, and Contemporary American Society.  She is very active in social studies education in Wisconsin, serving on the Executive Board of the Wisconsin Council for the Social Studies and serving on committees for Wisconsin's Department of Public Instruction. She frequently attends conferences and workshops to hone her content and skills to better her students' knowledge and experiences.

Mickey Marsee is a residential faculty member of Chandler-Gilbert Community College’s (CGCC) Composition, Creative Writing and Literature Department. She holds a PhD in English from the University of New Mexico. Prior to her time at CGCC, Mickey was an Associate Professor of English and Division Chair of English and Humanities at the University of New Mexico-Los Alamos. During that time, her projects included developing the First-Year Experience Program, participating on the New Mexico Higher Education Department’s General Education Steering Committee, and hosting Educators and students from Russia through the Los Alamos-Sarov Sister City Initiative. Mickey currently teaches freshman composition using virtual exchange. She was awarded a Council for Overseas Research Centers (CAORC) grant and spent January 2020 in Jordan for the faculty development seminar, “Jordan: On the Margins of Sustainability.” From that experience, she has brought in virtual exchange programs between her first-year students and students in MENA (Middle Eastern and North African) countries through the Soliya Connect Program and the IREX Global Solutions Business Sustainability Challenge. She is also a Maricopa Community College Learning and Research Fellow researching the effects of virtual exchange on student learning outcomes in freshman writing courses.

Tim Nikula currently teaches 9th grade Modern World History and a Jr/Sr Russian History elective at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School in Sudbury, MA. Prior to returning home to Massachusetts in 2010, Tim taught history at the Anglo-American School in Moscow for four years. A fluent, but out-of-practice, Russian speaker, Tim has spent most of his career either living in or teaching about the former Soviet Union, most recently as part of a newly developed year-long Russian History elective. This course introduces students to the early days of Kievan Rus, takes them through the Tsarist and Soviet periods, and winds up with an examination of the Putin era and the ever-changing slate of current events. Tim lives in Cambridge with his (also Russian-speaking) wife and 3 sons and dreams about the day when he can build a yurt and a banya on the family’s wooded lot in Maine.

Beverly Owens is an 11th grade chemistry teacher at Cleveland Early College High School in North Carolina. Beverly has taught science for 16 years, and is both a National Board Certified Teacher and National Geographic Certified Educator.

Michael Strong grew up in rural Pennsylvania, but now lives in Phoenix, AZ. He is a member of the residential faculty in the Department of Social Sciences at Glendale Community College where he teaches courses in world geography, sustainability, and environmental studies. He earned his Ph.D. in Geographical Sciences from the University of Maryland College Park, where he studied the relationships people form to the environment following forced resettlement. Dr. Strong has published his research in journals focused on the changing environment and global conservation. His current project explores the outcomes of illegal wildlife hunting in areas near nature parks in southern Africa. At GCC, he also serves as the faculty co-director for the campus honors program and is a member of the Open Educational Resources Committee.

Leighton Suen is in his 6th year as an ENL/ELA teacher at Franklin D. Roosevelt High School in Brooklyn, New York.  He is licensed to teach English as a New Language K-12, English Language Arts 7-12, and Russian 7-12.  He has also taught adult ESL classes in community centers since 2014.  He received his Master's in TESOL from Teachers College, Columbia University and a Bachelor's in English and Russian Studies from Vassar College.  

Joel Willihite is in his 27th year of teaching social studies in the suburban Memphis area. He currently teaches AP European History, AP World History, Honors World History, and Honors Humanities at Arlington High School in Arlington, Tennessee.