School of Education Faculty and Staff

Stephanie Mahfood, PhD, is interim dean for the School of Education and an associate professor of special education in the Department of Teacher Education. She has taught K-12 learners with special needs in a variety of settings including Tunisia, North Africa, where she was assigned for two years as a Peace Corps volunteer.

Mahfood's research interests center on bridging the research to practice gap in order to support individuals with disabilities and best prepare preservice teachers. Her past research publications address interventions for dental phobia in individuals with severe developmental disabilities, library collaborations to support graduate students in applied research experiences and the use of social media communities of practice to promote preservice teacher resilience. Mahfood's current research and practice interests focus on how to design field experiences to develop teachers who are reflective, innovative, collaborative and skilled. She has designed and implemented innovative field experiences embedding applied research projects that preservice teachers co-design and implement with cooperating teachers in the field.

She is currently investigating the effects of Mursion classroom simulation technology and video-enhanced observation (VEO) on teacher reflection about instructional practice. Mahfood's teaching philosophy is anchored in teaching teachers how to teach by teaching. Her course experiences are deliberately designed to model instructional practices such as co-teaching, instructional differentiation, executive function strategies and instructional scaffolding. She has designed curricular experiences and instructional tools focusing on assisting preservice teachers in systematically assessing and developing their teacher presence in the classroom.

Mahfood has regularly provided trainings and consultation to a variety of organizations within the St. Louis community including the Down Syndrome Association of Greater St. Louis, The Soulard School and Lafayette Industries.

Webster Hall 200I
Phone: 314-246-8610
Email: smahfood03@webster.edu

Dani Pizzella, PhD, is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst-Doctoral (BCBA-D) level practitioner. She received her PhD in Education with an Emphasis in Teaching and Learning Processes from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Aside from teaching at the university level, she has worked in the public school system as a Special Education Coordinator, coordinating behavior analytic services. She currently works at a local private company in St. Louis providing clinical multidisciplinary services.

Pizzella's areas of interests include behavior analysis in schools, multidisciplinary collaboration, acceptance and commitment therapy, and remote training and supervision, including international dissemination. She is currently conducting research on collaboration between school professionals, as well as training school professionals on behavioral principles in developing nations. She is passionate about culturally responsive behavior analysis and special education, and conducts training and research in the area of making behavior analysis more accessible to all populations. 

Webster Hall 200J
Phone: 314-968-7638
Email: dpizzella76@webster.edu

Tara J. Plachowski, PhD, a visiting assistant professor, has spent the last 20 years as a writer and educator across the PK20 spectrum. She is devoted to coaching and mentoring aspiring and inservice teachers through the lens of teacher care and equity and excels at supporting educators in improving/developing their critical consciousness and inclusive pedagogy. Her passion for community-based research is due to the students, families, and educators she worked alongside in Los Angeles’s South L.A. and Pico-Union areas in the first decade of her career as a high-school English and theatre teacher.

Her research interests are teacher diversity, critical race studies in education, critical research methodology, multicultural teacher education, mentoring, and school climate. She holds an MFA in Writing from Sarah Lawrence College, an MA in Educational Leadership and Administration from California State University, Los Angeles, and a PhD in Teacher Education from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Webster Hall 200K
Phone: 314-968-7971
Email: taraplachowski@webster.edu

Rena Rockwell, EdD, is a lecturer in the Department of Teacher Education at Webster University, where she teaches courses in education and innovations, educational technology and special education. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Special Education, her Master of Arts in Reading and Educational Technology, and her Educational Specialist in Educational Leadership all from Webster University and her EdD in Educational Administration from William Woods University.

Rockwell has over twenty years teaching in higher education, both online and in person. She has developed online courses in the Educational Technology EdS and in the Special Education MA programs. She has over twenty-five years in the educational field teaching as a special educator, reading specialist, technology specialist and educational administrator overseeing professional development and technology integration.

Rockwell has influenced change in St. Louis area school districts by leading and designing curricula and programs for diverse learners, integrating technology in classrooms, school libraries and a high school radio station. She has coordinated, planned, and facilitated numerous workshops, summer institutes and strategic planning events for teachers, administrators and several communities. Rockwell has written and received numerous federal, state and local grants in her K-12 leadership roles, and she is an international Making I.T. Happen award winner of the International Society of Technological Education. She is also an Army veteran who served in the Army Reserve for over a decade and was mobilized for active duty in Desert Storm.

Webster Hall 227C
Phone: 314-968-7582
Email: renarockwell@webster.edu

Basiyr Rodney, EdD, is an associate professor of educational technology at Webster University where he prepares a new generation of caring, reflective and innovative teachers. His main areas of expertise are the professional development of educators and the enhancement of learning environments with digital-age technologies. Rodney also researches strategies for improving technology pedagogy and content knowledge (TPACK) using mobile and cloud-based technologies.

Rodney is recognized as a visionary who continually explores ways in which digital-age technologies accelerate self-regulation and student learning. An evangelist for the advancement of democratic learning environments, Rodney is passionate about the role technology plays in supporting the thinkers of tomorrow. Of additional importance to him is the equity of access and the level of personalization that mobile technologies provide for traditionally underserved and marginalized learners.

Webster Hall 200E
Phone: 314-246-8718
Email: basiyrrodney@webster.edu

Joseph Sencibaugh, PhD, is an associate professor of education at Webster University. His research primarily focuses on strategy instruction in the areas of reading, writing and mathematics, and he has published peer-reviewed articles on topics, which include techniques for improving reading comprehension, effective approaches of cooperative learning, and inclusive practices.

Sencibaugh has presented extensively at state, national and international conferences, and he regularly conducts professional development workshops for teachers in school districts at all grade levels on strategies and techniques for improving student performance in language arts and mathematics, co-teaching and differentiated instruction.

Webster Hall 227B
Phone: 314-246-7072
Email: jsencibaugh77@webster.edu

Paula Witkowski, PhD, is a full professor in the School of Education, working in both the Graduate Department of Education and the Department of Teacher Education. She is currently the director of both the Reading master’s degree program and the Dyslexia graduate certificate program. She also teaches classes on the science of reading, structured literacy and assessment and intervention for dyslexia.

Witkowski began her career as a speech-language pathologist and worked in both public and private settings before coming to Webster University. Her PhD is in the area of literacy, and she has a graduate certificate in dyslexia from the Dyslexia Training Institute in San Diego. Her research has focused on assessment and intervention strategies for children and adults with dyslexia, the implementation of content area literacy classes for struggling adolescent readers in high school settings, and on issues of motivation and engagement in adolescent and adult learners. She has presented numerous workshops for area schools and has presented at both regional and international conferences on these topics.

Webster Hall 200B
Phone: 314-968-7070
Email: paulaw@webster.edu

Lee-Johnson is the Director of EdD at Webster University. She graduated from Ohio State University in 2012 with a PhD in Foreign, Second and Multilingual Language Education. As a first- generation immigrant, she has a passion in serving the minoritized populations via research, teaching and service. She aspires to become a voice and advocate for transforming the status quo for minoritized populations in the educational systems of the world.

Lee-Johnson has research experiences in international educational settings, including China, Hong Kong, Italy and the United States. For example, her research study with 11 researchers in Reggio Emilia, Italy, resulted in an upcoming book, "Affirming the Rights of Emergent Bilingual and Multilingual Children and Families:Interweaving Research and Practice through the Reggio Emilia Approach," in which she is one of the co-editors. The book will be published by Routledge in Summer 2023. Some of the highlights of her works include a $2.7 million National Professional Development Grant from the U.S. Department of Education as a Co-PI, she was an invited speaker at a Harvard Conference in 2021, and an invited guest editor for Journal of Asian Pacific Communication.

Her research interests include intersectionality, critical pedagogy, discourse analysis, Bakhtinian theories and teacher education in K-12 public schools. She has published articles in peer-reviewed journals, such as TESOL Quarterly, Urban Education, TESOL Journal, Journal of Asian Pacific Communication and many others.

Personal Information

Publication Information

Webster Hall 249
Phone: 314-246-7643
Email: yleejohnson31@webster.edu

Brittany Smotherson is a St. Louis-born scholar and practitioner who holds a PhD in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis from the University of Missouri. Prior to academia, Smotherson taught English and Math in PK-12 before transitioning to Academic and Student Affairs as a practitioner for almost 10 years, serving in recruitment, retention and residential life roles.

Her research interests center on Black populations, internationalization and critical research methodologies. Smotherson recently completed a yearlong research study in Ghana concerning study abroad experiences of U.S. Black women undergraduate students. In her leisure time, she is watching "Suits" for the first time and spending time with family and friends, domestically and abroad.

Webster Hall 247
Phone: 314-246-8683
Email: bsmotherson@webster.edu

Paula Witkowski, PhD, is a full professor in the School of Education, working in both the Graduate Department of Education and the Department of Teacher Education. She is currently the director of both the Reading master’s degree program and the Dyslexia graduate certificate program. She also teaches classes on the science of reading, structured literacy and assessment and intervention for dyslexia.

Witkowski began her career as a speech-language pathologist and worked in both public and private settings before coming to Webster University. Her PhD is in the area of literacy, and she has a graduate certificate in dyslexia from the Dyslexia Training Institute in San Diego. Her research has focused on assessment and intervention strategies for children and adults with dyslexia, the implementation of content area literacy classes for struggling adolescent readers in high school settings, and on issues of motivation and engagement in adolescent and adult learners. She has presented numerous workshops for area schools and has presented at both regional and international conferences on these topics.

 

Webster Hall 200B
Phone: 314-968-7070
Email: paulaw@webster.edu

Webster Hall 200H
Phone: 314-246-6946
Email: anglinsh@webster.edu

Webster Hall 224A
Phone: 314-246-7493
Email: jessicahanses79@webster.edu

Webster Hall 200I
Phone: 314-968-7103
Email: marieisenberg38@webster.edu

Webster Hall 232B
Phone: 314-968-7479
Email: northcot@webster.edu

Webster Hall 218C
Phone: 314-246-7090
Fax: 314-968-7118
Email: lindsayschwarz54@webster.edu

Webster Hall 200C
Phone: 314-246-7097
Email: jamesstephens57@webster.edu

 

Email: soe@webster.edu

Cheryl Breig-Allen, PhD, has been a part of the St. Louis early childhood community for more than 40 years. She began her career as an early childhood special educator and has worked with children ranging from infants to children in the early primary grades in both public and private school settings. She believes that her most transforming work has taken place in the last 25 years through her collaboration with colleagues in school districts, at the university, and directly with the educators from Reggio Emilia, Italy to more deeply understand their pedagogical principles and to be inspired to adapt her practice. At Webster, Breig-Allen works with both undergraduate and graduate students and serves as coordinator for both the MA and MAT in Early Childhood Education. She has presented at conferences locally, nationally, and internationally and has co-authored an article, "The Language of Lines," in The National Association for the Education of Young Children’s professional journal, Young Children and a chapter in the book, First Steps Toward Teaching the Reggio Way.

Email: soe@webster.edu

Donna Campbell, PhD, taught graduate courses in socio-emotional development, behavior and classroom management, applied behavior analysis and global issues in special education. Her passionate interest and commitment to persons with disabilities was sparked during her undergraduate years in Toronto while volunteering in a hospital for children with orthopaedic disabilities, and continued throughout her graduate studies, as she volunteered at clinics for youth with intellectual disorders and learning disabilities in South Africa and Ottawa. She received her BA (Hon), MA, and PhD in Psychology from the University of Toronto and Carleton University, in Ontario, Canada. She is a member and regular presenter with numerous professional organizations, having made over sixty professional presentations in her career with Webster.

Email: campbedm@webster.edu

Thomas (Tom) Cornell, EdD, was an associate professor in the Department of Communication Arts, Reading, and Early Childhood. He also served as the program coordinator for the MA in Communication Arts. He has extensive experience in K-12 education having worked as a classroom teacher, reading specialist, Title I Director, and Communication Arts/Library Media Services Curriculum Coordinator before coming to Webster University. He serves as a consultant for assisting with the writing of curriculum for schools and also has received numerous grants in the area of literacy. He has presented at numerous regional and international conferences on the topics of reading, writing, comprehension strategies, and student engagement. Currently, Tom serves as a Board of Examiner with the Council for the Association of Educator Preparation. He also served as an IRB Board member for the university and was selected to serve on the Military Affairs Task Force. He is a past graduate of the Global Leadership Academy at Webster University as well. In addition, he serves on the Board of Directors for the St. Louis Suburban Council of the International Reading Association and is a past president of the Missouri State Council of the International Reading Association.

Email: soe@webster.edu

 

Email: soe@webster.edu

Ted D.R. Green, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Teacher Education, School of Education at Webster University. Green recently published a book, "Oh Freedom After While: The 1939 Missouri Sharecropper Protest," that supports the documentary of the same name. Currently Green is serving in his fourth year on the National Council for History Education Board of Directors. He is the chair of the Professional Development Committee, and has also been a consultant on more than 35 Teaching American History Grants in the United States, and five Teaching American History Grants in the St. Louis metro area. Green works with the National Park Service training park rangers and assisting with curriculum.

Recently Green completed a Fellowship in the Netherlands, where he studied in Leiden and taught classes on International Education and Dutch History. Green continues to work for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, where he has been writing curriculum and training educators for over twenty years.

Email: tgreen@webster.edu

Victoria McMullen, PhD, is a professor emeritus in the Department of Teacher Education at Webster University. She continues to teach graduate courses concerning the education of individuals with significant developmental disabilities and autism and a graduate course on disabilities and ethics. McMullen is an advocate for disability services and funding at the local, state and national levels. Her research has focused on: video self-modeling; pain and medical management and positive behavior support for individuals with significant developmental disabilities; and the relationship between staff training and quality of life outcomes for individuals with complex support needs.

Email: mcmullen@webster.edu

Ralph Olliges, PhD, is a professor emeritus of technology education at Webster University in St. Louis. He is proud that during his twenty-three year career at Webster, over 750 students graduated with either a MET in Educational Technology, the MA in STEM Education, the Certificate in Online Teaching and Learning, or the EdS in Technology Leadership degrees. Olliges possesses over forty-seven years of teaching experience in the classroom and online. His area of expertise deals with how to successfully integrate technology in the classroom. He is a nationally-recognized technological educator and researcher in the field of web-based and web-enhanced learning. In addition, he loved teaching the History of Baseball and the Plants: So You Think You Killed It Cornerstone Seminars for Webster.

Email: rolliges@webster.edu

 

Email: soe@webster.edu

Debbie Stiles, PhD, is a professor emerita at Webster University, a licensed psychologist, a Fulbright scholar, a Messing Award recipient, a human rights fellow, a researcher, an author and a professional trainer in school crisis prevention and intervention. She has dedicated her professional life to understanding and responding to the needs and rights of children and adolescents from diverse backgrounds. Over the years, Webster University gave her opportunities to visit schools, consult, and conduct research in thirteen countries of the world.

Dr. Stiles recently finished her forty-third and final full-time year at Webster University. She is still passionate about empowering mental health professionals and students to work collaboratively, conduct research, and make original contributions to the knowledge base of applied psychology. The title of a 2022 student-faculty collaborative presentation at the conference of the International Council of Psychologists (ICP) was, “The Impact of COVID-19 on PreK -12 Teachers, School-Based Mental Health Professionals, and Their Abilities to Support International Children’s Rights.” Dr. Stiles’ presentation at ICP in 2024 is, “After Deadly Earthquakes, Three Countries provided Community-Based Healing Through the Arts.”

Dr. Stiles was the founder of Webster University’s school psychology program which was listed on the website of the National Association of School Psychologists and was recognized as one of the few multicultural school psychology programs in the United States. Stiles developed the applied educational and school psychology programs with the awareness that the professional ethics of psychologists who work young people should be embedded within a larger human and child rights framework. These programs are now closed, but her work in these areas continues.

Dr. Stiles often writes about and presents on the topics of cross-cultural child and adolescent development, children’s rights and well-being, and psychological trauma and resilience in children and youth. Dr. Stiles continues to be active in professional organizations for psychologists. She serves on the steering committee of the Refugee Mental Health Resource Network, which is currently housed in the Trauma Psychology Division of the American Psychological Association. In addition, she serves on the Accreditation Committee of the International School Psychology Association, and she was one of the first psychologists to join the Global Network of Psychologists for Human Rights.

In response to the COVID-19 crisis, she developed an interest in grief and loss therapy. She has been a student at the Portland Institute for Loss and Transition since 2021. She has completed the basic credentials in grief and loss counseling. In the future, she hopes to complete credentials arts-assisted grief therapy.

Email: stilesda@webster.edu

Roy Tamashiro, EdD, is professor emeritus in the Department of Teacher Education and the International Studies Program at Webster University (main campus, St. Louis, Missouri, USA). He is a recipient of the William T. Kemper Excellence in Teaching Award. He was a designer and director of the first 100% online courses and programs in Webster’s School of Education, the founding program director for the Education and Innovation Program, and has led global hybrid international study abroad courses and programs to destinations in Europe and Asia. He has served on the board of directors for the AsiaNetwork Consortium of Colleges and Universities, the International Society for Educational Biography (ISEB), and the International Network of Museums for Peace (INMP). His recent projects and publications have focused on peace pilgrimage ethnographies, museums and rituals, the oral history of survivor-witnesses of massacres and atomic bombing (hibakusha), transformative learning, and societal healing/reconciliation.

Email: tamashiro@webster.edu

 

Email: soe@webster.edu