BHCC Faculty and Staff Welcomed Back at Convocation 2019

Tuesday, September 3, 2019

On Thursday, August 29, 2019, Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) faculty and staff members convened in the gymnasium for the College’s annual Convocation celebration to kick off the 2019-2020 academic year.

Following a welcome by BHCC President Pam Eddinger; keynote address by Dr. Karen Stout, President and CEO of Achieving the Dream, Inc.; and updates from vice presidents John Pitcher, CFO, and James Canniff, Provost; new faculty and staff members were introduced and welcomed to the BHCC community.

New faculty and staff members (beginning May 1-September 1, 2019) include:

New Faculty

Dennis Burke
Associate Professor, Biology and Chemistry Department
A.S. Excelsior College; B.S.; Ph.D. Palmer College

Dennis is an avid Boston sports fan originally from Charlestown, MA. His professional career in health care began as a nurse and a chiropractor; most recently, he was Dean of Natural and Health Science at Quincy College. He is interested in the use of digital and online education in the life sciences.

Amy Clinard
Assistant Professor, Behavioral Science Department
B.A. College of the Holy Cross; M.A. Sacred Heart University

Amy grew up in Massachusetts and lives on the North Shore. She has two sons, 7 and 9, and a newly-adopted puppy. She has been teaching Psychology for about five years now, mostly here at BHCC, and her specific areas of expertise center around Child & Adolescent Development.

Melissa Colon
Assistant Professor, Behavioral Science Department
B.A. Boston College; M.P.P., Ph.D. Tufts University

Melissa was born and raised in the Boston area. As a child, she had the amazing opportunity to live in a rural community in Puerto Rico where her family has lived for generations. Her work largely employs feminist, critical race and sociocultural perspectives to examine what the educational lives of Black and Latinx students can teach us about how ideologies, policies, and practices are mechanized.

Michael Curry
Assistant Professor, Mathematics Department
B.S., M.S., Ph.D. Stony Brook University; M.A.T. Northeastern University; M.A. Simmons College

Emily Healy
Assistant Professor, Behavioral Science Department
A.A. William Rainey College; B.S., M.S. Illinois State University

A Chicagoland native, Emma is a sociologist with a background in community development. She moved to Boston in 2014 and taught her first class at BHCC that same year. After five years as an adjunct faculty member, she looks forward to her new role in the Behavioral Sciences department. Emma’s experience as a community college student shaped her deep love of both learning and teaching. From 2010 to 2012, she served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in a small village in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia. She returned with a greater understanding of intercultural engagement and her cat, Kago.

Joli Kane
Assistant Professor, Mathematics Department
B.S. San Diego State University; M.S. University of Texas, Arlington

Joli and her husband have recently moved to the Boston area to be closer to their son. Prior to living in Boston, they lived in Virginia Beach and San Diego. Her hobbies include hiking, kayaking, the beach, reading and spending time with family.

Marc Lapierre
Assistant Professor, Criminal Justice and Public Safety Department
B.A. UMass Lowell; M.S. Fitchburg State College

Marc grew up in Central Massachusetts. He has two college-aged children that he loves spending time with, along with a newly adopted yellow Labrador Retriever. He enjoys cycling, swimming and yard work. Marc spent twenty four years in the field of corrections with the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office, and specialized in staff training, inmate programs, harassment prevention, facilities and custody.

Sharon Nelson
Assistant Professor, Nurse Education Department
A.S. Northern Essex Community College; B.S. Fitchburg State College

Abouhamed Saberi
Assistant Professor, Engineering and Physical Sciences Department
B.S. The Isfahan University of Technology, Esfahan Iran; M.S. Tehran Polytechnic, Tehran, Iran; Ph.D. University of Maine

Two years ago, Hamed moved from Long Island, NY, to Boston, MA, to start his Adjunct position at BHCC. He loves hiking the scenic areas in New Hampshire and Maine. His research interest is: smart materials, structures and systems; biomechanics and biophysics of cancer cells; Biologically-Inspired Engineering Systems (BIES); and Biologically-Inspired Robotic Devices and Systems (BIRDS).

Harris Williams
Assistant Professor, Computer Science Department
B.A., M.B.A. Boston College

Alicia Gallego Zarzosa
Associate Professor, Foreign Language Department
B.A., M.A., Ph.D. Complutense University of Madrid

New Professional Staff

Mary Booth
Learning Specialist, Center for Self-Directed Learning
B.A. Marlboro College; M.A. UMass Boston

Molly grew up on the North Shore and is a BHCC alumna. She loves teaching, Shakespeare, taking care of her two cats and dog. Her areas of expertise and interests include self-directed learning, dramatic literature/Shakespeare and pedagogy, with a newfound interest in trauma theory.

Robert Carvajal
College Transition Assistant, High School and Community Partnerships
A.A. Bunker Hill Community College; B.A. Salem State University

Rob’s family emigrated from the Dominican Republic to Boston’s South End neighborhood. He attended Boston Public Schools and later became a first-generation college student at BHCC. He is currently a graduate student at BU studying Educational Leadership & Policy Studies.

Bethany Croteau
Instruction and Research Support Librarian, Library and Learning Commons
B.A. Emerson College; M.S. University of Kentucky

Beth spends much of her spare time reading or cooking and is working towards her goals of visiting all 50 states (37 so far) and all 61 national parks (only 16 so far). As an Instruction and Research Librarian, she sees her role as being an advocate for information literacy education, for teaching in the library and for student success. She is particularly interested in active learning and excited to collaborate on innovative ways of delivering library instruction.

Richard Doria
Success Coach (Transfer Counselor), Advising and LifeMap
B.A. Suffolk University; M.A. Northeastern University; M.Ed. UMass Boston

Molly Hansen
Special Programs Coordinator, Food Pantry, Student Services
B.A. University of Arizona; M.Ed. UMass Amherst

Molly has worked on developing and managing campus food pantries at both the University of Arizona and UMass Amherst. She wrote her Master’s thesis on how basic needs insecurity impacts college students and the sustainability of campus food pantries. Originally from Tucson, Arizona, Molly enjoys yoga/meditation, exploring Boston, and volunteering in the community.

Kelsy Martinez
Instruction and Research Support Librarian, Library and Learning Commons
A.A. Mesa Community College; B.A. Arizona State University; M.L.S. Simmons College

Kelsy grew up in the Arizona desert, and loves to hike and practice yoga, and travel—she has been to 20 countries so far. She specializes in reference/instruction within library science and is passionate about preparing students with critical information literacy so that they will succeed in school and beyond.

Rebecca Tumposky
Special Programs Coordinator, Advising, LifeMap and Assessment
B.A. Oberlin College; M.A. Tufts University

Becca was born and raised in Boston, and has also lived in Oakland, California. She worked at BHCC in 2016 supporting the GPSTEM grant, and is happy to be back. She served most recently as a first year experience coordinator at UMass Boston in the College of Nursing and Health Sciences. She is excited to fuse her interests in student learning and success with institutional engagement in urban/regional justice.

New Administrators

John Deehan
Business Analyst, Academic Records
B.S. Stonehill College

Jake is a Massachusetts native who grew up on the South Shore. He has 16+ years of experience in enrollment/institutional research. In his free time, he enjoys playing hockey and hopes to resume practicing drums soon.

Robyn Gurria
Research Assistant, Institutional Effectiveness
B.S. University of Wisconsin

A recent graduate from the University of Massachusetts-Boston Applied Sociology Master’s program, Robyn grew up in Minnesota and went to undergrad in Wisconsin before relocating to Boston. She enjoys being outdoors with her dog.

Edith Kwok
Budget Director, Administration and Finance
B.S. Bentley University; M.B.A. UMass Boston

Edith grew up in North Andover. She enjoys spending time with friends and family. Some of her hobbies include traveling and indoor cycling.

Susan Martin
Associate Registrar of Services, Academic Records
B.S. Houghton College; M.S. Alfred University

Jenne Powers
Director, Learning Communities
B.A. College of William and Mary; M.A., Ph.D. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Jenne grew up outside of Richmond, VA, but has lived in the Boston area for 13 years. Her primary hobby has always been reading—mostly fiction–but in recent years she has taken up birding. Her academic background is in Russian literature. Her research and professional interests include pedagogical and academic support interventions that ensure equity in student success.

Cheryl Price
Director of TRIO, Student Success Program
B.S.; M.A.; Ph.D. Eastern Michigan University

Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Cheryl’s research dissertation focused on the lived experiences of African American students attending a predominately white institution and their perceptions, and identification, of challenges, barriers and successes encountered throughout their college experience.

Cynthia Smith Forrest
Interim Associate Provost, Academic and Student Affairs
B.A., M.Ed. University of South Carolina; M.Ed., Ed.D. Harvard University

Cynthia grew up in South Carolina. Her love of travel and the arts has led her all over New England and the world. Her interests include research design and methods; student success, retention, academic progress and graduation rates examined by gender, race and SES; and building higher education organizations’ capacities for success and responses to rapid change.

Vengerflutta Smith
Assistant Dean, Student Services
B.S. Highland Park Community College; M.A. Michigan State University

Vengerflutta is committed to student success and proudly shares with students that her community college education was her foundation for completing her master’s degree. Vengerflutta’s experience in higher ed includes residential life, student activities, veterans services, disability resources, admissions, recruitment, enrollment services, and judicial affairs while also serving as adjunct faculty and lecturer for Human Services, Sociology, Psychology, Biology, and Math. Vengerflutta most recently served as Director of Student Activities and Code of Conduct Administrator at Northern Essex Community College.

Juan Venegas
Associate Registrar of Operations, Academic Records
B.A. California State University; M.A. SIT Graduate Institute

Juan grew up in San Diego, California, and moved to the Boston area about six years ago. He is an avid cyclist and hopes to commute by bike to work. He enjoys traveling abroad whenever he has time.

New Classified Staff

Katerina Chlupacova
Clerk VI, Student Central
A.S. Bunker Hill Community College

Patrick Clark
Campus Police Officer I, Public Safety
A.S. Bristol Community College

Marc-Anthony Cousins
EDP Systems Analyst II, Technology Support Services
B.S. Syracuse University

Alba Diaz
Clerk VI, Student Central
A.A. Northern Essex Community College; B.A. Worcester State University

Stephen Douglas
Campus Police Officer I, Public Safety
A.S. Bunker Hill Community College; B.S. UMass Boston

Jonathan Seaton
HVAC Mechanic I, Facilities Management

Keesha Taylor
Clerk V, Test Proctor, Disability Support Services
A.A. Laguardia Community College; B.A.The City University of New York, Hunter College; M.A. The City University of New York, Baruch College; Ed.D. Northeastern University

Keesha was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. She spent most of her life there, and attended three colleges within the City University of New York (CUNY). She is interested in identifying best practices in test proctoring and exploring how we can decrease test anxiety among community college students.

Tin Than
Laboratory Technician I, Science and Engineering Department
B.S. UMass Boston