Faculty News & Achievements

Dr. Agnes Conaty Awarded Two NASA Robert H. Goddard Honor Awards

Dr. Agnes Conaty, adjunct faculty member for Trinity Washington University’s College of Arts & Sciences, has won not one, but two NASA Robert H. Goddard Honor Awards. Dr. Conaty was awarded the Exceptional Achievement for Outreach for both the GLOBE Observer Program and the Goddard Eclipse Engagement Partnership on September 24, 2024 at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD. Congratulations to Dr. Conaty for this achievement!

Professor Bezil Taylor is Selected to Deliver Keynote Address for the Regional College Hunger Conference

Professor Taylor is the Director of Fieldwork & Asst. Professor with Trinity Washington’s Nursing and Health Professions. Professor Taylor has been selected to deliver the keynote address at this year’s Regional College Hunger Conference. The conference will gather leaders in Washington, D.C. metro area to share practices and ideas to combat food insecurity for students. Congratulations to Professor Taylor!

Dr. Kimberly Monroe Awarded the Proud Shoes Book Fellowship

Dr. Monroe is a prolific writer, researcher, teacher and leader in the development of Trinity’s curricula and programs in Africana Studies, History and Global Affairs. She has recently been awarded the Proud Shoes Book Fellowship. The fellowship supports scholars who are developing their first full academic book manuscript in history, social justice, politics, law, race, gender, and sexuality studies or related fields. Many congratulations to Dr. Monroe for this amazing achievement.

Dr. Nicole Betschman has Become President of the D.C. Public Health Association

Dr. Nicole Betschman, Program Director of Trinity’s Public Health and Health Services Programs, has become President of the D.C. Public Health Association (DCPHA). An affiliate of the American Public Health Association (APHA), DCPHA protects and promotes personal, public and environmental health, shares knowledge and expertise to resolve health problems, advocates for governmental action to meet health needs, and promotes continuing education for the allied health workforce. Dr. Betschman has been a member of Mayor Bowser’s Healthcare Workforce Task Force. She has built the Community Health Worker certificate and degree programs as well as the baccalaureate and master’s programs in Public Health. She has joined forces with the D.C. Department of Employment Services to open more pathways for D.C. residents to earn credentials in healthcare, particularly in Wards 7 and 8.

Dr. Carrie O’Reilly & Professor Khafi Muhammad Publish an Article in the Teaching and Learning in Nursing Journal

Program Director and Associate Professor of Practice, Dr. Carrie O’Reilly, and Assistant Professor Khafi Muhammad of the School of Nursing and Health Professions recently co-published “Integrating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Nursing Simulation and Clinical” in the Teaching and Learning in Nursing Journal.

The article specifically addressed DEI in nursing education and specific approaches that can be used to improve DEI in the simulation and clinical settings. Access to the full article can be found using the link below.

Alrimari, I., El-Banna, M. M., O’Reilly, C., Muhammad, K. (2024). Integrating diversity, equity, and inclusing in nursing simulation and clinical. Teaching and Learning in Nursing, 19(2), e439-e443. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.teln.2024.01.010

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1557308724000234

Dr. Agnes Conaty Joins the American Geophysical Union as a Community Science Fellow

The Thriving Earth Exchange is a fellowship program offered through the American Geophysical Union. Dr. Conaty has been accepted to this fellowship program and will be continuing her work in serving communities in need of environmental justice. This is yet another milestone in Dr. Conaty’s dedication to environmental activism.

Dr. Agnes Conaty Publishes an Article with The Laurel Independent to Encourage Citizen Science

Dr. Agnes Conaty serves as a Senior Research Scientist and Science Lead for the GLOBE Observer Program with NASA. Dr. Conaty has published an article in The Laurel Independent, a community newspaper in the city of Laurel, MD. The article, “Be part of something big: The joy of citizen science” details information about the NASA GLOBE observer program and how the community can get involved in learning more about the earth and environment and even contribute to learning through citizen science.

Access the full article here

Trinity Faculty Contribute Chapters to “Fostering Communities of Transformation in STEM Higher Education: A Multi-institutional Collection of DEI Initiatives”

Trinity faculty in Biology and Chemistry contributed two chapters to a new book, “Fostering Communities of Transformation in STEM Higher Education: A Multi-institutional Collection of DEI Initiatives”, in collaboration with HHMI cohort colleagues. Cindy DeBoy, Kaitlin Wellens, Patrice Moss, Mia Ray and Anette Casiano-Negroni produced Chapter 11: Creating a Space in the Curriculum for Effective Mentoring to Foster Student Connections and Agency (with a figure by student Adriana Pino-Delgado!)  Cynthia DeBoy also contributed to Chapter 15:  From the Soul: Learning and Leading Together toward Inclusive Excellence.

The text is indexed on Google and available for purchase on Amazon, and on VTechWorks as a free PDF and ePUB.  Many congratulations to the team!

Provost & Associate Professor of Psychology Carlota Ocampo presents at the 109th Annual Conference of the National Communication Association

Dr. Carlota Ocampo presented on a panel entitled “Race, Gender, and Leadership in the Public Imagination: The Implications and Challenges of Securing Freedom in our Post-pandemic Reality” at the NCA Annual Conference on November 16th.

Associate Dean Jamal Watson Honored at National HBCU Pre-Law Summit

Dr.  Jamal Watson, Associate Dean of the School of Professional and Graduate Studies, was awarded the Advocate Award at the 10th Annual National HBCU Pre-Law Summit and Law Expo for his journalistic work and scholarship on higher education. The summit took place on Friday, September 22, 2023, and Saturday, September 23, 2023

Dr. Mercedez Callenes Publishes Paper in the International Journal of Critical Infrastructure Protection

Dr. Mercedez Callenes, Associate Professor of Global Affairs, co-published an article titled, “Attacking the Grid: Lessons from a Guerrilla Conflict and Efforts for Peace in Colombia: 1990-2018.” The article was published in the International Journal of Critical Infrastructure Protection on July 14, 2023. Dr. Callenes and her co-authors address the ongoing internal conflict in Colombia involving leftist guerrilla groups and their attacks on the country’s power grid. Using data from key organizations, such as ISA, IX, and CINEP, Dr. Mercedez and her co-authors analyzed patterns of attacks and strategies used to exert pressure on the government.

Citation
Jennifer S. Holmes, Agustin Palao, Mercedez Callenes, Neil Ortiz Silva, Alvaro Cardenas, Attacking the grid: Lessons from a guerrilla conflict and efforts for peace in Colombia: 1990–2018, International Journal of Critical Infrastructure Protection, Volume 42, 2023, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijcip.2023.100621.

Medstar Neurological Fellow Jill Calvani Presents Capstone at National Rehabilitation Hospital

The Occupational Therapy Programs have a relationship with Medstar in which they support the Neurological fellowship program.  Jill Calvani, the Medstar Neurological Fellow in the School of Nursing and Health Professions, presented her capstone on July 27 at the National Rehabilitation Hospital. Jill’s capstone was titled, “Examining the Motor Scale Items from the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised.”

Dr. Kimberly Monroe Presents Research at the Black Europe Summer School (BESS) Symposium in Amsterdam, Netherlands

Dr. Kimberly F. Monroe, Assistant professor of History and Africana Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences, presented her research titled “Writing Toward a Black Liberation: Claudia Jones’ Black Nationalist/Internationalist Activism in Europe” at the Black Europe Summer School (BESS) Symposium in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The theme, ‘Interrogating Citizenship, Race, and Ethnic Relations” examined the African Diaspora and other people of color in Europe. The lectures concentrated on the origins of Black Europe and investigated the impact of colonial legacies, policies, social organizations, and legislation today. Black scholars from across Europe (Poland, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Italy and more) lectured throughout the two-week program, including Drs. Kwame Nimako, Olivette Otele, Rokhaya Diallo, Camilla Hawthorne, Wayne Modest, and more.

In addition to the lectures, Dr. Monroe immersed herself into Black Amsterdam by visiting the Tropen Museum “Our Colonial Inheritance” exhibit, The Black Archives “No Healing Without Repair” exhibit, and experienced a Black Heritage Amsterdam tour on the canal with Jennifer Tosch. To commemorate the Abolition of slavery in Suriname (1873) and other former Dutch colonies in the Caribbean, Dr. Monroe and fellow BESS participants took part in festivities at the Keti Koti (break the chains) parade and festival on July 1st.

Dr. Cristina Parsons Publishes Article in Portuguese Studies Journal

Dr. Cristina Parsons, Professor Emerita of Economics, In the College of Arts and Sciences, published an article titled, “Fado as Economic History: The Mariquinhas Cycle Reinterpreted”, in the Portuguese Studies Journal. The article shines a light on a new perspective on ‘A Casa da Mariquinhas’ by exploring Portuguese women’s working and social lives and the economic structures that influenced many lives in the twentieth century. 

Citation:

Parsons, Cristina. “Fado as Economic History: The Mariquinhas Saga Reinterpreted.” Portuguese Studies, vol 39 no 1, 2023, p 63-75. Project MUSE, doi:10.1353/port.2023.a900051

Dr. Agnes Conaty Presents Talk on the GLOBE Program

Dr. Agnes Conaty, Adjunct Professor of Mathematics and Science Lead of the NASA GLOBE Observer Program co-presented with NASA Engineer Larry Hilliard, to talk about the Space Geodesy Program, the Model Rocket Program and other contributions of NASA Goddard. The two spoke to an audience of 85 campers and their families from across the DC Metro area, New Jersey, and Washington state at the Greenbelt Park Campfire initiative on April 8, 2023. 

Additionally, and in recognition of Earth and Citizen Science Month, Dr. Agnes Conaty and the GLOBE Observer Program team led the Third Sunday Experiment at the Goddard Visitor Center on April 16, 2023. She also participated in the Earth Day celebration at Union Station with Trinity’s Early College Academy Program on April 21, 2023, and at the University of Maryland, College Park, MD on April 29, 2023.