Leaders in Education - Rising to the Challenges of COVID-19
Presenter Biographies
Gianina Baker, Ph.D. is the Assistant Director at the National Institute for Learning
Outcomes Assessment (NILOA), a resource-research institute founded to discover, document,
and disseminate effective assessment of student learning practices at colleges and
universities. A 2004 graduate from Illinois Wesleyan, After earning her masters degree
in counseling, she held positions at Richland Community College as Counselor, Director
of Institutional Research, and Director of Institutional Effectiveness & Planning.
In 2015, Gianina earned her doctorate from the University of Illinois in Education
Policy, Organization and Leadership. Currently, Gianina is Vice President of the Champaign
Unit 4 Board and participates in the Greater Champaign Urbana chapter of Jack and
Jill of America, Inc. and the United Way's Women United Steering Committee. Gianina
recently was awarded the Central Illinois Business Magazine’s Forty Under 40.
John Camardella '03 has taught at Prospect High School outside of Chicago since graduating
from Illinois Wesleyan. He teaches two world religion senior elective courses where
his students earn dual credit through Eastern Illinois University. Outside of the
classroom, John works as a Religious Literacy Consultant for NWEA and as an Education
Fellow at Harvard Divinity School's Religion and Public Life Program. As part of his
Fellowship, he develops and teaches graduate courses to help educators adapt their
curriculum to reflect a more pedagogically sound approach to teaching about religion
in social studies, humanities, and world language classes. This past summer, he taught
graduate courses on Christianity and Islam and is currently conducting one on Sikhism.
John is also working with a small group of international scholars to restructure the
entire World Religion course for the International Baccalaureate's Diploma Programme.
Throughout the school year, John offers free evening classes for parents and community
members to increase the religious and cultural literacy of his local community. In
2016, he was part of the team to author and publish the "Religious Studies Companion
Document" for the C3 Framework and recently co-authored the chapter "Teaching about
Sikhism" from the 2019 NCSS publication, Teaching about Religion in the Social Studies
Classroom. In his free time, John serves as the Varsity Boys Basketball Coach and
sponsor of the Ultimate Frisbee Club.
Amy DeBoer graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University in 2015 with a degree in Elementary
Education. She earned a Master's Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Olivet
Nazarene University in May of 2020. Amy currently teaches third grade in Oak Forest,
Illinois. Amy is the chair of the mentoring committee for the Council for IWU Women.
Marsha Guenzler-Stevens ’76 has worked in the areas of admissions, residential life,
campus activities, Greek Life, and student unions. Currently, Marsha Guenzler-Stevens
serves as the Director of the Adele H. Stamp Student Union – Center for Campus Life.
Dr. Guenzler-Stevens is responsible for the management of both financial and human
resources and the development campaign in this large student affairs department. Dr.
Guenzler-Stevens continues to teach a freshman course on "The Student and the University"
and an upper level Women’s Leadership course. Dr. Guenzler-Stevens is an adjunct faculty
member in the Student Affairs graduate program in the College of Education. In this
context she teaches graduate courses and advises master’s students and their theses.
Among her many awards, Dr. Guenzler-Stevens received the staff award for Extraordinary
Public Service to the University and Greater Community, the William L. Thomas, Jr.
Mentoring Award and the “Woman of the Year” at the University of Maryland. Marsha
was named a “Woman of Influence” by AAUW and NASPA and the National Conference of
College Women Student Leaders in 2013 and received the Xenobia Hikes Memorial Award
from NASPA in 2014. Marsha was the 1994 and 2008 Chair of the National Conference
for College Women Student Leaders in Washington D.C. She served as the Program Chair
for the Joint Meeting of ACPA and NASPA in 2007. Marsha serves as member of the Council
for IWU Women, former President of the Alumni Association, and as a former member
of the Board of Trustees for Illinois Wesleyan.
Erin Moran, PhD, BCBA graduated IWU in 2012 double majoring in psychology and international
studies. While at IWU, Dr. Moran worked as a teaching assistant for the Psychology
Department and volunteered in the Autism Social Skills Group. After graduation, she
spent several years teaching in Korea and Thailand. Dr. Moran then obtained her masters
degree in behavior analysis from the University of Cincinnati and obtained board certification
in behavior analysis. She has worked in schools, clinics, and home settings throughout
the world providing behavioral interventions to individuals with neurological and
developmental disabilities. She completed her Ph.D. at University College London's
Institute of Education where she researched autism services in Eastern Kazakhstan.
Her doctoral work won the 2020 UK Society for Behavior Analysis Postgraduate Student
Research Award and the Society for the Advancement of Behavior Analysis Senior Student
Award. While in London, Dr. Moran traveled across the EU and UK and trained over 1,500
parents and professionals in evidence-based interventions for individuals with autism
and related developmental disorders. She currently works at Positive Behavior Supports
Corp, one of the nation's leading providers of in-home behavioral interventions for
children and adults with developmental disorders. Dr. Moran's primary responsibilities
include overseeing the clinical work of master level clinicians and providing training
on the most recent research-based interventions. Dr. Moran currently provides consultation
for international development projects and conducts independent research to further
advance the field of behavior analysis.
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Leaders in Education - Rising to the Challenges of COVID-19