MEET THE TEAM
We have a wide variety of skills and talents on our team from a variety of backgrounds!
Teacher-Scholars
Teacher-Scholars are Professors and Instructors from across DePaul University that have a passion for Civics Education and merging that with their own areas of interest.

Molly Andolina (She/Her)
Professor of Political Science
Faculty Co-Director

Benjamin Epstein (He/Him)
Associate Professor of Political Science
Faculty Co-Director

Avery Goldman (He/Him)
Associate Professor of Philosophy

Caroline M. Kisiel (She/Her)
Associate Professor in the School of Continuing and Professional Studies

Christine Gimbar (She/Her)
Associate Professor of Accounting and Management Information Studies

Diane Claussen (She/They)
Associate Professor in the Theatre Studies department and Head of Theatre Management

Hilary Conklin (She/Her)
Professor of Education

James Rudyk (He/Him)
Full-Time Non-Tenure Track Faculty, Lecturer

JJason Martin (He/Him)
Professor, Journalism Program Chair, Sports Communication BA Coordinator

Jay Baglia (He/Him)
Associate Professor of Communication Studies

John Shanahan (He/Him)
Associate Dean, Director of Liberal Studies, and Professor of English

Julia Lippert (She/Her)
Public Health Researcher

Kate Cooper (She/Her)
Assistant Professor of Communication Studies

Kristen Pengelly (She/Her)
Instructor of Communication Studies

Lien Tran (She/Her)
Assistant Professor of Games and Design

Malia Bowers (She/Her)
Professional Lecturer

Margaret Poncin Reeves (She/Her)
Senior Lecturer in Writing Rhetoric and Discourse

Margaret Storey (She/Her)
Professor of History and Associate Dean of LAS

Martha Martinez-Firestone (She/Her)
Associate Professor of Sociology

Matthew Girson (He/Him)
Associate Professor of Art

Michael Gallaway (He/Him)
Professional Lecturer in Writing, Rhetoric, and Discourse

Paige Treebridge (She/Her)
Associate Professor in the School of Design, College of Computing and Digital Media

Quinetta Shelby (She/Her)
Associate Professor of Chemistry

Salli Berg Seeley (She/Her)
Part-Time Lecturer and Adjunct Teaching Professor

Samantha Close (She/Her)
Assistant Professor of Communication

Scott D. Moringiello (He/Him)
Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Catholic Studies

Scott Paeth (He/Him)
Professor of Religious Studies

Sydney Dillard Bland (She/Her)
Associate Professor of Public Relations and Advertising

Tara Betts (She/Her)
Author, Teaching Artist, Mentor and Poetry Editor

Timothy Elliott (He/Him)
Assistant Professor in the Writing, Rhetoric, and Discourse Department

Tracey Lewis-Elligan (She/Her)
Associate Professor in the Sociology Department

Valerie Johnson (She/Her)
Assistant Professor of Political Science and Professor of Urban Diplomacy

Verena Graupmann (She/Her)
Associate Professor of Psychology

Victoria Hohenzy (She/Her)
Assistant Director of Writing and Lecturer in the Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and Discourse.

Vincent Peña (He/Him)
Assistant Professor in Sports Communication and Journalism


About Our Team
The Teacher-Scholars working with the DePaul Civics Initiative come from a wide variety of backgrounds and areas of study across DePaul University.
Each Teacher-Scholar has their own area of interest that they are connecting with the ideas of lived civics and the social construct to create an engaging curriculum for students.
Our Student Team

Aarya Balaji (She/Her)
Student Research Assistant

Kali Lachner (She/They)
Student Media Assistant

Celeste Nunez (She/Her)
Student Assistant for Website Development

Rachel Kubicek (She/her)
Student Assistant