Associate & Assistant Deans and Directors of Texas (ADoT)
Colleges of Education
Officers and Roles
President,
Gina Anderson
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Dr. Gina Anderson is the Associate Dean of the TWU College of Professional Education. She has over 25 years of experience in a variety of roles including elementary and middle school teacher, college professor, program coordinator, and department chair. Her honors and awards include the Academic Exchange Quarterly Journal Editor’s Choice Award, College of Professional Education Outstanding Teacher Award, College of Professional Education Outstanding Faculty Award for Academic Mentor/Advisor, Dr. G. Ann Uhlir Fellowship in Higher Education Administration, Academic Affairs Faculty Fellowship, Pioneer Teaching and Learning Academy Mentor Fellowship, and the Innovation in Academia Award. She has served on the governing council of the Curriculum and Pedagogy Group and is currently serving as the President Elect of the Associate and Assistant Deans and Directors of Texas Colleges of Education organization. She earned her bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Oklahoma and her master’s and doctoral degrees in curriculum and instruction from Oklahoma State University.
President Elect,
Christina Sinclair
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Dr. Christina Sinclair is the Associate Dean of Assessment and Accountability in the James I. Perkins College of Education at Stephen F. Austin State University.
Past President,
Jannah Nerren
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Jannah Nerren has served over 20 years in various roles in education, including elementary classroom teacher, preschool administrator, and in higher education. She currently serves as Associate Dean for Planning and Assessment at Sam Houston State University, and previously served as Associate Dean of Assessment and Accountability and Professor of Early Childhood Education at Stephen F. Austin State University. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies and Master of Science in Early Childhood Education from Stephen F. Austin State University, and a PhD in Professional Studies in Education from Capella University. She presents regularly at professional conferences, and recently co-authored ​Many pathways, one destination: Examining the various routes to becoming an early childhood educator in Early Years: Journal of the Texas Association for the Education of Young Children (Hasbun & Nerren, 2017) and Investigating young children’s perceptions of body size and healthy habits in Journal of Research in Childhood Education (Xu & Nerren, 2016).
Secretary,
Kristen Lindahl
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Kristen Lindahl is Associate Professor in the Department of Bicultural-Bilingual Studies and Assistant Dean of Professional Preparation in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Beginning her career as a K-12 ESL teacher, she specializes in teacher education for multilingual/multicultural contexts. Dr. Lindahl’s research interests focus on teacher language awareness, identity approaches to educators’ lives, and language ideologies in educational contexts. Her other leadership roles include serving as President of TexTESOL II and Chair of the Teacher Educator Interest Section for TESOL International Association. Current representative scholarly articles appear in journals such as The New Educator, TESOL Journal and English Teaching and Learning, among others..
Communications Officer, Michelle Howard-Schwind
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Biographical information forthcoming.
Technology Officer,
Christina Ellis
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Dr. Christina Ellis is the Director of Accreditation and Accountability Services in the College of Education at Sam Houston State University. Prior to serving in this role, she was a middle and high school English teacher and served Houston-area schools as Director of English Language Arts Curriculum and Instruction. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English, Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction, and Doctor of Education from Sam Houston State University.
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Dr. Ellis presents regularly at professional conferences and conducts and publishes research regarding teacher education, teacher hiring practices, novice teacher induction, and school administration. She has also received multiple grants to support her research and service. Most recently she received a US Department of Education Supporting Effective Educator Development grant to support the 4+1 TEACH program in the SHSU College of Education.
Member at Large,
Chris Cherry
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Dr. Chris Cherry is the Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Academic Affairs for the College of Education and Human Development at Texas A&M University in College Station. He got his start in student affairs and higher education administration accidentally, as a graduate assistant in academic advising (because he needed a job and it happened to be open). In addition to his experience in advising and advising administration, Chris served most recently as the Executive Director of Student Success Initiatives at the University of Wisconsin-Superior with responsibility for academic advising, peer mentoring, student support services, disability services, and multicultural affairs. Chris is the president of the board of trustees for a local parish day school, and currently serves on the board of the Associate and Assistant Deans and Directors of Texas Colleges of Education organization as a member-at-large. Chris earned his BA and MA in anthropology, as well as his PhD in sociology, from Texas A&M University.
Member at Large,
Suzanne Nesmith
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Suzanne M. Nesmith, Ph.D., joined Baylor University’s School of Education in 2009 and currently serves as the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education and Associate Professor in Curriculum and Instruction. Nesmith came to Baylor from Wayland Baptist University where she served as the Associate Dean and Assistant Professor of Elementary Education. Previously, she was an elementary and middle level classroom teacher for sixteen years.
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A specialist in science and engineering education, Nesmith has published extensively on the ways in which content, instructional strategies, and instructional contexts work together in the construction of meaning and understanding. Her research has been published in leading refereed journals including International Journal of Science Education, School Science and Mathematics, Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, Action in Teacher Education, Research in the Schools, and Journal of Latinos and Education. Her recent studies include explorations of elementary preservice and inservice teachers’ efficacy and implementation of engineering, perceptions toward the utilization of literature in mathematics, educators’ design and implementation of environmental education curricula, and the impacts of a professional development experience on educators’ application of green chemistry concepts.