President, Cat Mahaffey

Term of Office: July 2022 to June 2024

<president@gsole.org> | Full Member Profile

Cat Mahaffey is a Teaching Professor in the Writing, Rhetoric and Digital Studies (WRDS) Department at UNC Charlotte. She teaches first-year writing and courses such as Digital Design Theory and Practice and The Rhetoric of Digital Design. She currently serves as the President of the Global Society of Online Literacy Educators (GSOLE), and as a Quality Matters Master Reviewer (QMMR). Her research interests include online privacy, accessibility, digital rhetoric, and technical and professional writing. Her work and research are published in PARS in Practice: More Resources and Strategies for Online Writing Instructors (2021) and Emerging Technologies in Virtual Learning Environments (2019).

Vice President, Amy Cicchino 

Term of Office: July 2022 to June 2024

<vice-president@gsole.org> 

Amy Cicchino is Associate Director for the Center of Teaching and Learning Excellence at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida. Her research takes up high-impact practices—especially ePortfolios—educator professional development, and multimodal teaching and communication across the disciplines and has appeared in venues such as the International Journal of ePortfolios, WPA: Writing Program Administration, and the Online Literacy Open Resource Effective Practices. In addition to her work with GSOLE she has leadership roles in AAEEBL, AWAC, and HIPs in the States.

Treasurer, Megan Von Bergen

Term of Office: June 2023 to June 2026

Megan Von Bergen is an Assistant Professor and Director of Writing at North Carolina Wesleyan University. Her dissertation research focuses on the history of grades and grading, and institutional initiatives to support more equitable forms of writing assessment in first-year composition courses. Megan teaches developmental writing, first-year composition, and specialized composition courses, including multimodal composition. Outside of work, Megan enjoys being outdoors –– hiking, kayaking, and running long distances through the woods.

Secretary, Meghan Velez

Term of Office: July 2022 to June 2024

Dr. Meghan Velez is an Assistant Professor of Communication at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Worldwide, where she co-directs Embry-Riddle’s Virtual Communication Lab, an online writing, speaking, and multiliteracy center, and teaches online courses in first-year composition, rhetorical theory, and the history of communication technologies. Her research interests include writing program administration, writing assessment, WAC/WID faculty development, and digital media policy and law. Her work has appeared in Across the Disciplines, Communication Center Journal, and Women’s Studies in Communication. In addition to her role as GSOLE Secretary, Meghan is currently the co-chair of the IDEA Committee and the Affiliates Co-Liaison. She previously served as an At-Large Executive Board Member.

Immediate Past President Proxy, Kevin DePew

Term of Office: July 2022 to June 2024

Bio coming soon

At-Large Board Member, Wonderful Faison

Term of Service: July 2022 to June 2024

Bio coming soon

At-Large Board Member, Kenna Grove

Term of Service: July 2022 to June 2024

Kenna Grove serves as a Department Chair and English Instructor at The Career Academy in Lincoln, Nebraska. She is a graduate of the University of Nebraska with a Master of Arts in English, specializing in composition and rhetorical studies. Most of her research explores knowledge transfer theory, writing across contexts, and high school-college partnership programs. Currently, Kenna serves as an At-Large Board Member and the K-12 Liaison for GSOLE.  

At-Large Board Member, Beatrice Mendez Newman

Term of Service: July 2022 to June 2024

Dr. Beatrice Mendez Newman is Professor in rhetoric/composition/literacy at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, one of the largest Hispanic Serving Institutions in the country. Her scholarship reflects the translingual, bicultural, rhetorically rich environment of the region. Additionally, she has published articles in The English Journal and HETS Online Journal on students’ learning agility in online settings. As a certified teacher in Texas with supplemental certification in ESL, she has written several study guides for teacher certification exams in Texas. In 2019, she received UTRGV’s Excellence in Online and Hybrid Teaching and Learning award. A special strand of Beatrice’s research has been collaboration with a high school history teacher on disciplinary literacy and high school to college intersections of learning, the results published in The English Journal and presented at national and regional conferences. Beatrice is an extremely active member of NCTE, serving as a reviewer in CAEP accreditation and judge in the National Achievement Awards in Writing and REALM—Recognizing Excellence in Art & Literary Magazines. In summer 2020, Beatrice was privileged to be named to The English Journal Editorial Review Board.

At-Large Board Member, Nitya Pandey

Term of Service: June 2024 to June 2026

Nitya is a doctoral candidate in the Rhetoric and Composition program at Florida State University and will be joining Ohio University in Fall 2023 as Assistant Professor of Instruction. She studies the care ethics of multimodal pedagogy in asynchronous online courses and is interested in supporting professional development and training programs that can have long-term positive outcomes in virtual pedagogical cultures.

At-Large Board Member, Mary Lourdes Silva

Term of Service: June 2024 to June 2026

Mary Lourdes is an Associate Professor of Writing and Director of First-Year Composition at Ithaca College specializing in Language, Literacy, and Writing Studies. She has been active in GSOLE, serving on numerous committees, including the Conference Planning Committee. She is also a musician who plays Flamenco guitar and Spanish classical music and a dancer, specializing in Argentine tango.

At-Large Board Member, Michelle Stuckey

Term of Service: June 2024 to June 2026

Michelle is Clinical Associate Professor and Writing Program Administrator at Arizona State University, where she directs a large, fully online first-year writing program. At ASU, she mentors faculty and peer tutors in OWI, collaborates with faculty to design curricula and assesses course outcomes, and innovates in the field of OLI to meet the needs of diverse student populations.

Digital Platforms Manager, Angie Carter

Term of Office: April 2023 to Present

Angie McKinnon Carter is a linguist out of Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a Senior Lecturer in the English and Literature Department at Utah Valley University. Her research interests include improving her teaching of editing and composition by examining writing conferences and undergraduate research through discourse analysis and speech-act theory. Her most recent article “‘'Why Do You Think I’m Asking?': How Misunderstood Requests Impede Student Agency in Writing Conferences” was published in the Journal of Teaching Writing. As an avid Marvel Cinematic Universe fan, she mines the films to create Marvel-derived metaphors that demonstrate her research findings and illustrate the writing process. She is currently working on a textbook for first-year composition students and a research study examining the extent to which an undergraduate research project in first-year composition improves students’ sense of themselves as writers and researchers. She loves the supportive GSOLE community and is eager to give time to this organization that has helped her so much professionally.

Lead Content Curator, Janine Morris

Term of Office: June 2023 to Present

Bio coming soon

Communication Officer, Justin Cary

Term of Office: July 2021 to present

Justin is a Senior Lecturer in the Writing, Rhetoric & Digital Studies Department at The University of North Carolina Charlotte.  He teaches a variety of First-Year Writing courses and courses in the WRDS Major/Minor sequence.  Outside the classroom, Cary engages in digital composing in a variety of ways from YouTube Content Creation to live Twitch Streaming.  Cary's research focuses on digital literacy, multimodal composing practices and ways in which video games, game theory and game design influence and intersect with writing studies practice and pedagogy.  From Podcasts to blogs, Cary has work published across a variety of platforms with his most recent video, "Designed to Fail: Embracing Failure as Commonplace Practice", featured as part of a panel at The Conference on College Composition and Communication in Spring 2021.  Currently, he is working on investigating the rhetorics of sound and planning new research into the connections between video game sound design, rhetoric and writing studies.  You can connect with Justin on Twitter @justinrcary or check out some of his writing on Medium at: justinrcary.  #gsole @gsoleducators

Membership Officer, Nikki Chasteen

Term of Office: July 2021 to present

Nikki Chasteen, MA is a full-time Instructor at Florida Atlantic University where she teaches first-year composition and professional writing and a Ph.D. student in Texts and Technology at the University of Central Florida with a focus in composition and online pedagogy, technical communication, and feminist methodologies. Nikki earned her Master’s from Nova Southeastern University (NSU) in Composition, Rhetoric, and Digital Media. Nikki obtained the OLI Certification offered by GSOLE in May 2022 and has served as a GSOLE conference committee member since 2021.

Webinar Co-Chair, Jennifer Burke Reifman

Term of Office: July 2021 to present | Full Member Profile

Jennifer Burke Reifman is an Associate Instructor in the University Writing Program and Ph.D. Candidate in the School of Education emphasizing in Writing, Rhetoric, and Composition Studies at the University of California, Davis. Before returning for her Ph.D, Jennifer received her Master’s in English Composition from San Francisco State University and taught first-year composition,    basic writing, and literature courses at several community   colleges. While teaching at these community colleges, she also helped to develop online writing course curriculums, beginning  her interest in online writing instruction. Currently, Jennifer’s research is concerned with basic writing legislative reforms, the  use of technology in writing classrooms, training teachers for online writing instruction, and writing assessment and placement. Jennifer's research has appeared in College Composition & Communication, The Learning Assistance Review, and the Journal of Basic Writing. E-mail: <webinars@gsole.org>

Webinar Co-Chair, Caitlin Field

Term of Office: July 2021 to present

Caitlin Field is a Senior Learning Advisor at Macquarie University's Learning Skills Unit in Newcastle, Australia. Caitlin holds a Master's in English Composition from San Francisco State University and has taught writing across the globe, including Taiwan, Thailand, and her home state of California. Caitlin's research focuses on Composition and Rhetoric, Critical Discourse Analysis, professional development, and critical literacy. E-mail: <webinars@gsole.org>

OLOR Effective Practices Editor, Jason Snart

Term of Office: Apr. 2016 to June 2024

Jason Snart is Professor of English and Chair of Literature, Creative Writing, and Film at College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. He teaches composition, creative writing, and literature courses in a variety of modes, including online, hybrid, and face-to-face. His research and publishing focuses primarily on hybrid teaching, learning, and development. His most recent book, Making Hybrids Work: An Institutional Framework for Blending Online and Face-to-Face Instruction in Higher Education, was published in 2016 by NCTE. In 2020/21 Snart was awarded a League for Innovation Excellence award and also won the Outstanding Full-time Faculty award at College of DuPage.

OLOR Reviews Editor, Beatrice Newman

Term of Office: December 2021 to Present

Dr. Beatrice Mendez Newman is Professor in rhetoric/composition/literacy at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, one of the largest Hispanic Serving Institutions in the country. Her scholarship reflects the translingual, bicultural, rhetorically rich environment of the region. Additionally, she has published articles in The English Journal and HETS Online Journal on students’ learning agility in online settings. As a certified teacher in Texas with supplemental certification in ESL, she has written several study guides for teacher certification exams in Texas. In 2019, she received UTRGV’s Excellence in Online and Hybrid Teaching and Learning award. A special strand of Beatrice’s research has been collaboration with a high school history teacher on disciplinary literacy and high school to college intersections of learning, the results published in The English Journal and presented at national and regional conferences. Beatrice is an extremely active member of NCTE, serving as a reviewer in CAEP accreditation and judge in the National Achievement Awards in Writing and REALM—Recognizing Excellence in Art & Literary Magazines. In summer 2020, Beatrice was privileged to be named to The English Journal Editorial Review Board.