Julia Kathryne Daine, President
Greetings! My name is Julia and I am a doctoral candidate in Educational Studies. I received my BA in English from Pepperdine University and my MA in Museum Studies from the University of Oklahoma. My research interests include but are not limited to new media and education, online education, women in higher education, and experiential learning. When not studying or working, I enjoy sailing, foreign films, and traveling.
Goldie Thompson, President- Elect
The 2010-2011 academic year is beginning and opening the door to new and exciting opportunities in education! I am thrilled to be appointed this year’s President Elect of the University of Oklahoma Educational Studies Association (OESA), and I invite you to be a part of this wonderful organization as well.
Please allow me this opportunity to introduce myself. I am Goldie Thompson; this is my third year in the EDS Doctoral program. I graduated from the University of Oklahoma with my Bachelor of Arts degree in African and African American Studies in 1998 and my Master of Human Relations degree in 2000. While matriculating as a graduate student in Human Relations, I worked for the OU Admissions office. Soon after graduation, I left to explore a career in corporate America. After working in this capacity for three and a half years, I returned to academe and assumed my current position as the Minority Teacher Recruitment Coordinator for the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.
My research interest focuses on the ethic of care (as opposed to the ethic of duty). Inspired by the writings of Jane R. Martin, Nel Noddings and Carol Gilligan, I find it quite engaging to explore questions such as: What constitutes care? How can we teach a care ethic to help improve the education of our K-12 students? By what moral foundation should we support the care ethic? I find that in most situations the formal curriculum does little to support this notion of caring which often results in the marginalization, stratification and academic failure of certain student groups.
Needless to say, my schedule is pretty busy as I am a mother of three. I have been married 15 years and I enjoy the balance between education, work and family life. In my spare time (which is quite lacking these days) I enjoy travelling, reading, cooking and spending quality time with my family.
I enjoy the EDS program and am blessed to have such a wonderful group of peers, colleagues and friends to support me through this Ph.D. process. I welcome my fellow OESA members back to engage in another fulfilling year of fellowship and academic growth. For those of you who are not yet members of OESA, I encourage you to consider this organization as a fundamental entity in helping you to achieve your academic goals.
I look forward to working with all of you in 2010-2011!
Sincerely,
Goldie Thompson, B.A., M.H.R
OESA, President Elect
Joy Thomas, Secretary
Joy Thomas is a doctoral student in the Educational Studies program who holds a BA in Mass Communications from Northeastern State University and a Master’s in Human Relations from OU. Her doctoral work focuses on bringing restorative practices, and concepts from the restorative justice movement to bear on marginalized populations as it relates to morality, social issues, and forgiveness in order to produce enhanced cultural understanding. Her other interest include intensive research studies, American pragmatism and social justice. She is the mother of three daughters, two are currently in college and one is in high school. An avid sports fan, Joy enjoys attending professional football and basketball games.
Kendra Davis, Treasurer
Kendra Davis is currently a full-time student pursuing her doctoral degree in EDS. She graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2007 with a bachelor’s in fine arts, majoring in studio arts with emphasis on painting and sculptural ceramics. A year later, Davis obtained her master’s degree in arts education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. During her own pursuits of acquiring knowledge, she has been an educator in a variety of volunteer and professional roles, such as a dance teacher and choreographer, a high school mascot instructor, a tutor for a music-integrated after school program, and a substitute teacher for Fort Smith Public schools. Her current EDS interests include the philosophy of education, arts education, arts integration, and art history (particularly that of women and indigenous cultures), women and gender studies, and Native American studies. Davis enjoys spending time with family and friends, learning about her Choctaw Indian culture, bowling, karaoke, traveling, tap dancing, playing Rock Band, and of course, the arts… just to name a few things.
Melissa Brevetti, Program Chair
I am a doctoral student in Educational Studies. I've taught 5th grade for about 6 years after receiving my Bachelor's in Elementary Education. My Master's is in Instructional Leadership and Academic Curriculum. My research interests focus on moral education and religious identities. In my "free" time, I love playing soccer, kickball, sand volleyball, the piano, and running marathons.
James Yang, Academic Chair
(Artwork by James Yang)
James Yang is a Ph.D student in the Educational Studies Program who holds a Master degree of political science from OU. His research interest mainly focuses on a comparative analysis between educational systems and philosophies of the West and the East Asia. At the same time, James used to be a part-time cartoonist. Today he still keeps on drawing lots of funny pictures to relax himself and people he knows. Since new semester, James is looking for a chance to make a contribution to OESA and learn something new from his academic lives.
Johnnie-Margaret McConnell, Publications Chair
Johnnie-Margaret McConnell currently serves as the Associate Director of Residence Life at the University of Oklahoma. She holds adjunct and lecture appointments in the College of Education and University College at the University of Oklahoma. Johnnie-Margaret is also a freelance fine arts reporter/theatre reviewer and owner of McConnell Music Studio, specializing in clarinet instruction.
Johnnie-Margaret serves as the Editorial Manager for the ejournal Educating Women. Her academic interests include media’s coverage of public education, arts education and feminism among undergraduate women.
Johnnie-Margaret is active in the Norman community, serving currently as the Vice-Chair of the local non-profit CASP, Community After School Program. Her personal interests include reading, college women’s basketball and attending Zumba classes. She is married to Cody Ponder, planning and grants specialist for University of Oklahoma’s CART system, Cleveland Area Rapid Transit, which is the public transportation system for the city of Norman. They have one four-legged Maltese daughter, Greta Mae McConnell-Ponder.
Jennifer Cox, Historian
Jennifer Cox is a first year Masters student in the Educational Studies Program at the University of Oklahoma with a focus on sexuality and consent education among peers. She graduate from the University of Oklahoma in 2009 with a Bachelor of Arts in Women’s and Gender Studies and plans to pursue doctoral studies after completion of her Masters. Jennifer works at the Women’s Outreach Center at OU where she helps manage the office, coordinate programming for sexual assault prevention initiatives, and keep everyone happy. Jennifer is also a volunteer for the Women’s Resource Center and has been an advocate for women in rape crisis for the last two years. She hopes one day to design and investigate new sexuality and consent curricula for non-profit or community organizations.
Todd Loftin, Chief Technical Director
I received my undergraduate degree in philosophy from OU and then went into the master's program for Educational Studies. Having completed my master's, I am now in the doctoral program for Educational Studies. My interests in EDS include the philosophy and politics of education. The focus of my work in these areas is the relationship between democracy and public schooling. I am also interested in school reform, especially during the last half of the 20th century. I also teach special education (history) and FUSE leadership at Moore High School. This is my fourth year of teaching. Outside of education, my interests include reading Asimov books, playing guitar in a local band, sailing, watching stand-up comedy, spending time with my wife and family, and wishing I could figure out how to use my telescope.
Catherine Kinyon, Technical Director
Hello, I am Catherine Kinyon. I am a mother of six children, 5 boys and one girl. The oldest is nearly 27 and the youngest is 11. I have been an instructor at a community college from 1986. I earned a BFA from the Atlanta College of Art in painting and printmaking, a MA in curriculum and instruction from Xavier University of New Orleans, a MFA in painting and printmaking from the University of North Dakota, and I am currently working on my PhD in Educational Studies. I held a tenured position at Murray State College as art and humanities instructor for13 ½ years before becoming Director of Curriculum and Assessment at Oklahoma City Community College. I enjoy all forms of art, travel, reading and cooking.
Brent Sykes, Orientation Officer
After working in clinical research for a decade I elected to return to higher education to get my masters and doctoral degree. Luckily, I found a scholarly program in which I am able to pursue my interests in the philosophy of adult learning, program development, and Native American education. I have also been fortunate to find work relevant to my academic pursuits. I work as program developer and coordinator of a tribal learning community at OU and adjunct at Oklahoma City Community College. I enjoy tennis, yoga, reading, spending time with my wife and daughter, and fantasy football ;-)
