Dr. Omer Ari

Outstanding Faculty Teaching Award for Undergraduate Teaching

Dr. Omer Ari is the 2024 recipient of the Outstanding Faculty Teaching Award for Undergraduate Teaching, which recognizes a full-time faculty member in the college for outstanding achievement in the area of undergraduate teaching.

Dr. Ari is a clinical associate professor in the Department of Middle and Secondary Education and program coordinator for the college’s B.I.S. in Human Learning and Development program. He holds a master’s in applied linguistics/ESL and a doctorate in reading, language and literacy education from Georgia State University. After completing his doctoral work at Georgia State, Dr. Ari worked with young struggling readers at Appalachian State University’s (ASU) renowned Reading Clinic while teaching courses on the foundations of literacy and psychological processes of reading as a clinical instructor at ASU’s Reading Education and Special Education Department.

His major research interests include cognitive processes of reading and ways to increase the efficiency of this process in struggling readers. As part of this research agenda, Dr. Ari has designed measures of differential exposure to print, examined the utility of various reading assessments with readers and designed reading fluency interventions using instructional components that have been found effective in the literature.

Dr. Erin Mason

Outstanding Faculty Teaching Award for Graduate Teaching

Dr. Erin Mason is the 2024 recipient of the Outstanding Faculty Teaching Award for Graduate Teaching, which recognizes a full-time faculty member in the college for outstanding achievement in the area of graduate teaching.

Dr. Mason is an associate professor in the school counseling program in the Department of Counseling and Psychological Services. She is also the program coordinator for the counselor education and practice doctoral program. Prior to Georgia State, she was an associate member of the counseling faculty at DePaul University in Chicago for nine years. As a school counselor, Dr. Mason worked for 13 years at the middle school level in the metro-Atlanta area. She has presented at state, national and international conferences, and published numerous research articles and book chapters. She is the co-author of “101 Solutions for School Counselors in Challenging Times” and is currently co-authoring a book on school counselor leadership to be published in 2026.

Her volunteer service includes the Georgia and Illinois School Counselor Associations, the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision and the American School Counselor Association, and spans more than 20 years. Dr. Mason’s research has focused primarily on school counselors’ professional identities. Her scholarship has resulted in a body of work on topics including leadership, advocacy, antiracism, anti-oppression, outcome research and the use of technology in counseling. Of all the work she does, Dr. Mason’s favorite activities include those that involve mentoring, working with and learning from students.

Dr. David Houchins

Outstanding Faculty Research Award

Dr. David Houchins is the 2024 recipient of the Outstanding Faculty Research Award, which recognizes a full-time faculty member in the college for outstanding achievement in the area of scholarship.

Dr. Houchins is a professor of special education in the Department of Learning Sciences. He is the past president of the Council for Exceptional Children’s Division for Research. He has been the principal investigator on more than $10 million in federal grant funding from organizations such as the Office of Special Education Programs and the Institute of Education Sciences. His areas of interest include literacy interventions for secondary students with high-incidence disabilities, particularly in alternative schools. He has an extensive publication record in literacy instruction, professional development and high-quality research for students with high-intensive needs. Most recently, he authored publications on mixed methods research in special education and evidence-based, literacy multi-tiered systems of support in juvenile corrections.

Dr. Feng Yang

Outstanding Faculty Research Mentoring Award

Dr. Feng Yang is the 2024 recipient of the Outstanding Faculty Research Mentoring Award, which recognizes a full-time faculty member who fulfills in an exemplary way the college’s commitment to providing mentoring in the conduct of research to faculty colleagues and doctoral students.

Dr. Yang is an associate professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Health. He holds a Ph.D. in ergonomics from Beihang University. He and his team conduct research on biomechanics, motor disorders and rehabilitation. Currently, his research focuses on fall prevention among older adults and individuals with neurological dysfunctions, such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease.

Dr. Yang has been instrumental in the success and growth of numerous students and early-career colleagues, including 10 doctoral students, 12 master’s students and more than 50 undergraduate students. His graduate students have published 34 peer-reviewed journal articles in prestigious journals, including the Journal of Biomechanics, the flagship journal in biomechanics. His students have also presented 44 abstracts at regional, national and international conferences and received 40 grants, awards, scholarships and recognitions at the department, college, university and national levels. Many of his mentees have been accepted to highly competitive graduate programs, postdoctoral fellowships and prestigious faculty positions after graduation.

Center for Evaluation and Research Services

CEHD Interdisciplinary Team Award

The Center for Evaluation and Research Services is the 2024 recipient of the CEHD Interdisciplinary Team Award. This award recognizes an interdisciplinary faculty team with outstanding achievements who have made a significant contribution to the university’s research, scholarship and/or teaching mission through successful interdisciplinary collaborations.

The Center for Evaluation and Research Services improves the educational and developmental experiences of students, teachers and other program clients by providing program evaluation and research services to local, state, national and international agencies and educational institutions. Established in 2014, the center conducts evaluation activities with multiple funded activities at Georgia State University and with school systems and nonprofit organizations located in counties throughout the state. It provides evaluation services for its clients’ needs, including advanced quantitative analysis and multiple qualitative approaches. Center staff have decades of experience working with researchers and agencies to design evaluation plans that help them determine the evidence they need to improve their programs and to report to funding agencies. They also provide advice regarding Institutional Review Board applications.

Pictured: Dr. Susan Ogletree, center director. Several staff members, affiliate faculty and graduate research assistants in the college and across the university also work in the center.

Ms. Katie Palmeri

CEHD Customer Focus Award

Ms. Katie Palmeri is the 2024 recipient of the CEHD Customer Focus Award, which recognizes a staff member in the college who demonstrated concern for meeting internal and external customer needs in a manner that provided satisfaction for the customer. (“Customers” can be co-workers, peers or managers, as well as external customers of a service, such as students, parents or community members.)

Ms. Palmeri is the business manager in the Department of Counseling and Psychological Services (CPS). With an impressive 24-year tenure, she collaborates closely with faculty and staff within her department and oversees various financial aspects, including budgeting, purchasing, payables and disbursements. Her contributions extend beyond financial management; she played a pivotal role in establishing a fiscal grants specialist within the department to provide crucial support for CPS faculty engaged in funded research projects. Ms. Palmeri has demonstrated her versatility by spearheading diverse initiatives. She has developed registration platforms for departmental events and training sessions, ensuring seamless organization and participation. In addition, she has coordinated with the university to ensure all CPS classrooms function optimally with updates to classroom technology, enhancing the learning environment for students and faculty alike. Ms. Palmeri’s dedication to the broader university community is evident through her involvement in Staff Council, where she has served as both a member and chair. Her commitment to staff development is exemplified through the planning and execution of numerous staff development events and retreats, fostering a culture of continuous growth and collaboration within the university.

Mr. Stephen Rosner

CEHD Staff Innovation Award

Mr. Stephen Rosner is the 2024 recipient of the CEHD Staff Innovation Award, which recognizes a staff member in the college who generated novel and valuable ideas and used these to develop new or improved processes, methods, systems, products or services. The award recognizes creative ideas that improved any area of the college and made the CEHD a better place to work.

Mr. Rosner is the college financial officer in the College of Education & Human Development and plays a pivotal role in overseeing the college’s financial operations. His responsibilities encompass various tasks, including coordinating day-to-day financial activities, such as reconciliations, audits, forecasts, budgets, compliance, grants, purchases and expenditures. In addition to managing financial operations, Mr. Rosner serves as a liaison between departments within the college, providing guidance and support on financial matters. His role involves training and supervising staff to ensure efficient processing and handling of financial issues within the college.

One of Mr. Rosner’s notable improvements to the business office is creating a payroll query, which has significantly streamlined the payroll reporting process for departmental personnel. This initiative demonstrates his commitment to finding effective and efficient solutions to improve financial processes within the college. With his comprehensive understanding of accounting principles and university processes, he continuously seeks opportunities to enhance the CEHD’s financial operations. His dedication and expertise contribute to the college’s overall success and efficiency in financial management.

Ms. Krystal Jones-Smalley

CEHD Staff Community Builder Award

Ms. Krystal Jones-Smalley is the 2024 recipient of the CEHD Staff Community Builder Award, which recognizes a staff member who demonstrates a record of building and fostering collaborations within the college and the university community to bring about a positive transformational change.

Ms. Jones-Smalley currently serves as the business manager in the college’s Alonzo A. Crim Center for Urban Educational Excellence. She previously served as an administrative assistant in the Department of Early Childhood and Elementary Education. Throughout her tenure in the CEHD, she has cultivated strong relationships with Georgia State University students, graduate research assistants, staff, faculty members and project directors. By collaborating with various campus offices, she has adeptly navigated complex challenges within the center’s sponsored projects and has fostered innovative solutions. Ms. Jones-Smalley has streamlined workflow processes, facilitated smoother operations and reduced barriers that have enhanced collaboration with both internal and external partners.

Ms. Ruth Ebenezer-Cook

CEHD Staff Mentoring Award

Ms. Ruth Ebenezer-Cook is the 2024 recipient of the CEHD Staff Mentoring Award, which recognizes a staff member who exemplifies the college’s commitment to providing mentoring in the conduct of administrative support to CEHD staff. The mentor is a role model and resource for guidance toward successful outcomes for the college and the mentee’s professional growth.

Ms. Ebenezer-Cook serves as the business manager for the Department of Learning Sciences. She is a Certified Research Administrator and holds a bachelor’s degree from Georgia State University and a master’s degree from Clayton State University. She has shared her expertise with her colleagues in business manager meetings and has trained new staff. She has also spearheaded several initiatives during her tenure as chair of the College of Education & Human Development’s Staff Council.

Mr. Damien Lawrence

CEHD Rising S.T.A.R. (Early Career) Staff Award

Mr. Damien Lawrence is the 2024 recipient of the CEHD Rising S.T.A.R. (Early Career) Staff Award, which recognizes a staff member who demonstrates a record of excellence, impact and professional service in the CEHD within 2-5 years of working in the college. The awardee will demonstrate a clear record indicating a strong potential for continuing to make positive contributions to the college.

Mr. Lawrence is an administrative specialist – administrative in the Department of Educational Policy Studies (EPS). He began his career at Georgia State University in enrollment and registration services, where he helped students, staff, faculty, parents and guests with admissions, registrar, student accounts and financial aid inquiries. Since starting his current role, Mr. Lawrence has been able to assist and support EPS students with reaching their student success goals. He maintains departmental records, handles student forms/petitions, maintains student evaluation results for instructors and manages departmental needs. He has also served on Staff Council at the college and university levels.

Dr. Ashley Stewart

Amy R. Lederberg Award for Outstanding Research in Educational Psychology

Dr. Ashley Stewart is the 2024 recipient of the Amy R. Lederberg Award for Outstanding Research in Educational Psychology. Established by Dr. Carol Springer Sargent to honor her dissertation chair, Dr. Amy R. Lederberg, this award is given to a new faculty member to support the development of their research agenda and recognize research-related accomplishments.

Dr. Stewart is an assistant professor of educational psychology in the Department of Learning Sciences. She received her Ph.D. in educational psychology at the University of Southern California. Her interdisciplinary program of research examines the racialized experiences of young people from historically marginalized backgrounds in various social settings, including online and in person. She considers how risk factors, such as online racial discrimination, impact their academic and mental health outcomes, as well as protective factors, such as critical consciousness, that mitigate the effects of negative race-related experiences. Additionally, she examines teachers’ racial attitudes and practices with racially minoritized students and the roles that teachers can play in helping students cope and make sense of their negative race-related experiences. Dr. Stewart is also deeply committed to supporting students of color in higher education and has served in leadership roles and designed initiatives to create safe and supportive learning environments for them to thrive.

Dr. Joyce E. King

Innovation in International Education Faculty Award

Dr. Joyce E. King is the 2024 recipient of the Innovation in International Education Faculty Award, which recognizes a full-time faculty member in the college for their outstanding achievement in international education.

Dr. King serves as the Benjamin E. Mays Endowed Chair for Urban Teaching, Learning and Leadership in the Department of Educational Policy Studies and an affiliated faculty in the Department of Africana Studies, the Institute for Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies and the Urban Studies Institute at Georgia State University. She has served in senior academic affairs and faculty roles at both historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and predominantly white institutions. She has made a career out of examining education from a global perspective, and the concepts of “dysconscious racism,” “diaspora literacy” and “heritage knowledge” are among her most widely recognized contributions to the education field. Her co-edited award-winning book, “We Be Lovin’ Black Children: Learning to Be Literate about the African Diaspora,” features scholarship from teachers in Jamaica, Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa and the U.S.

Dr. King helped reestablish a memorandum of understanding between Georgia State and the Federal University of São Carlos in Brazil, and she has sponsored many faculty and graduate students from that university. She’s also a co-PI on the Guardians of Heritage International Youth United Civic Leadership Collaborative, an externally-funded grant which provides online learning opportunities between youth in the U.S. and Brazil. She was recently elected to the National Academy of Education.

Dr. Renee’ Schwartz

Outstanding Faculty Service to the Profession Award

Dr. Renee’ Schwartz is the 2024 recipient of the Outstanding Faculty Service to the Profession Award, which recognizes a full-time faculty member who fulfills in an exemplary way the college’s commitment to service and has consistently demonstrated exemplary service to their profession at a national level.

Dr. Schwartz is a professor of science education in the Department of Middle and Secondary Education. Her research focuses on the study of epistemological views of science, specifically views of the nature of science (NOS) and the nature of scientific inquiry (NOSI). Through primarily qualitative methods, she examines preservice and practicing science teachers’ developing conceptions of NOS and NOSI in various contexts – including authentic science research experiences and classroom-based science learning – to identify effective means of fostering conceptual and pedagogical knowledge. Her work is framed by theories of situated cognition and sociocultural learning of science.

Dr. Schwartz has published over 50 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, presented over 150 conference papers and given 70 invited talks, seminars and workshops. She has served as PI or co-PI on funded projects totaling over $6 million, served on National Science Foundation and European Commission grant review panels and has been an invited mentor at the European Science Education Research doctoral summer school for the past eight years. Dr. Schwartz is past-president of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST) and was recognized for her outstanding service and research in science education as a 2024 NARST Fellow.

Dr. Rebecca Ellis

Outstanding Faculty Service to the Community Award

Dr. Rebecca Ellis is the 2024 recipient of the Outstanding Faculty Service to the Community Award, which recognizes a full-time faculty member who fulfills in an exemplary way the college’s commitment to service and has consistently demonstrated exemplary service to the community and Georgia State University.

Dr. Ellis is a professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Health and co-director of the Psychological Research on Exercise and Physical Activity Promotion Lab. Her research focuses on understanding and promoting physical activity participation among inactive and high-risk populations by assessing barriers to and potential mediators of behavior change. Given the global reach of physical inactivity, her research lends itself to interdisciplinary study. This has enabled Dr. Ellis to provide professional leadership as an affiliate faculty member, where she contributed to invited lectures, participated on expert panels and served on committees for the Gerontology Institute, the Partnership for Urban Health Research, the Center for the Study of Stress, Trauma and Resilience and the Center for Movement and Rehabilitation Research.

For over a decade, Dr. Ellis led the implementation, evaluation and dissemination of Desire2Move (D2M), an annual eight-week physical activity challenge at Georgia State University. Since its creation, more than 1,500 administrators, faculty, staff and graduate assistants from 40 different departments on the downtown Atlanta and Perimeter campuses have participated in D2M. The university’s Office of Employee Development and Wellness Services also honored Dr. Ellis in 2018 for her D2M leadership.

Dr. DaShaunda Patterson

Outstanding Faculty Mentoring Award

Dr. DaShaunda Patterson is the 2024 recipient of the Outstanding Faculty Mentoring Award, which recognizes a full-time faculty member who demonstrates an exceptional commitment to faculty mentoring through their work with clinical and/or tenure-track faculty in developing their career advancement efforts in the areas of teaching, service and/or research.

Dr. Patterson is the associate dean for faculty development and equity. Her work includes the development of faculty instructional skills across delivery formats and platforms; programming to further diversity, inclusion and equity among faculty, staff and students; development of a faculty mentoring program; professional development and evaluation for part-time instructors and assisting faculty in establishing school and community partnerships.

She is also a clinical associate professor in the Department of Learning Sciences dedicated to developing a strong teacher workforce in order to achieve positive learning outcomes for all learners. Her areas of research and inquiry include the preparation and retention of highly qualified special educators, academic strategies for students with behavior disorders, culturally relevant pedagogy and positive academic and behavior interventions and supports. She has served as project director, co-principal investigator and principal investigator on several Teacher Quality Partnership grants.