PRESENTER BIOGRAPHIES
alphabetically by last name
Jason Brewer
AV/IT Support Supervisor - Georgia Institute of Technology
Jason's background in music and audio engineering helped pave the way for a career in higher education. He has worked as an audio and IT professional with Davidson College, Harvard Business School and Emory University. His professional interests include designing collaboration and media production spaces, faculty development, and IT customer service. Jason lives with his wife and three cats in Atlanta and hopes live music will make a comeback one day.
Dr. Kevin Cantwell
Associate Provost & Dean of Graduate Studies - Middle Georgia State University
Kevin Cantwell is the founding dean of graduate education at Middle Georgia State University where he serves as SACSCOC Liaison. As Professor of English he has chaired the Department of Media, Culture, and the Arts. As a writer he has published three books of poetry and is currently editing a selection of letters by the American poet William Dickey.
Dr. William Cole
Assistant Professor of Education - Middle Georgia State University
Dr. William Gary Cole currently serves as Assistant Professor of Education at Middle Georgia State University in Macon, Georgia. A 20-year veteran educator, Dr. Cole previously worked as a high school History teacher, high school principal, and college administrator. His areas of specialty include History Education, Classroom Management, and field supervision.
Dr. John Girard
Professor of IT - Middle Georgia State University
Dr. John Girard holds the Peyton Anderson Endowed Chair at Middle Georgia State University where he focusses on student success through high-quality, engaging teaching and learning. His current research interests include how technology, leadership, and culture enable knowledge management, innovation, and education. He has traveled to over 100 countries to witness globalization in action.
Kimberly Goler-Stubbs
Event Coordinator - Georgia Institute of Technology
Kimberly works in the GA Tech library as an Event Coordinator where she plans a verity of different event and supports library services with reservation management and logistics. She is passionate about event planning and providing memorable experiences.
Kimberly has a Bachelor of Science [Degree] in Technology Education from Georgia Southern University and a Master of Science in College Student Affairs and Conflict Analysis and Resolution from Nova Southeastern University. She has also received a Meeting and Event Management Certificate from Kennesaw State University. In her spare time she enjoys crafting, dyi projects and spending time with family.
Dr. Tammy Haislip
Assistant Professor of Education - Middle Georgia State University
Assistant Professor of Education at MGA. Former K-12 teacher who has spent 16 years training educators in higher education. This is Dr. Haislip's 2nd year at Middle Georgia State where she works with undergraduate and graduate students in Teacher Education and Social Work.
Dr. Alex Koohang
Dean & Professor - Middle Georgia State University
Dr. Alex Koohang is Peyton Anderson Endowed Chair in Information Technology, Professor, and Dean of the School of Information Technology at Middle Georgia State University. In addition to leading the School of Information Technology in providing graduate (Master and Doctoral) and undergraduate programs, he spearheaded the School of Information Technology and the faculty in earning the university designation as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the National Security Agency (NSA). Dr. Koohang holds both the Accelerated Leadership Certificate and the Executive Leadership Certificate conferred by the University System of Georgia. As an active researcher, he has authored numerous manuscripts, three training manuals, and seven books. Expanding the impact of his work beyond the United States, he has presented his research findings at conferences throughout the world, including Slovenia, Portugal, Poland, Bulgaria, Serbia, Italy, England, Mexico, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Spain, and Canada. Dr. Koohang currently serves as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Computer Information Systems. He is the Past President of the International Association for Computer Information Systems and a Fellow at the Informing Science Institute.
Dr. Jamillah McDaniel
Director, Graduate Education - Morehouse School of Medicine
Dr. McDaniel is a strategic thinker and collaborative in her leadership approach. She is passionate about student success and retention higher education. She has been invited to speak at local and national conferences, to include Beta Kappa Chi’s National Institute of Science Annual Meeting, the Empower 2 Conference and the general meeting for the International Association of Administrative Professionals. She holds professional memberships with the Association for the Study of Higher Education, American Education Research Association, the American Public Health Association and was recently appointed as an executive committee member to the Conference of Southern Graduate Schools for a 3-year term.
Narke Norton
Assistant Director of Recruitment - University of Georgia -
Narke Norton serves as the Assistant of Recruitment in the Graduate School’s Office of Recruitment & Diversity Initiatives at the University of Georgia Narke has an Associate’s in Political Science from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, a Bachelor’s in Political Science from UGA, a Master’s in Higher Education Administration from UGA, and is pursuing a PhD in Education with an emphasis in College Student Affairs Administration at UGA’s Mary Frances Early College of Education. His recent accomplishments include being a 2014 UGA TED TALK Speaker, receiving the 2020-2021 Black Male Leadership Society Faculty/Staff Member of the Year Award receiving the 2021 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. President’s Fulfilling the Dream Award, which the highest diversity award at UGA. As a presenter, Narke believes in dynamic content, which engages the expertise of his audience while building authentic interactions to passionately engaged participants in learning and development. Some of Narke’s presentation topics include diversity, personality assessment, communication, debate, leadership and professional development.
Fred Rascoe
Scholarly Communication Librarian - Georgia Institute of Technology
Fred Rascoe is the Scholarly Communication Librarian and Aerospace Engineering (AE) and Graduate Studies liaison at the Georgia Tech Library. He received his MSIS from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He supports user engagement for curating digital collections of locally created scholarly content, and provides support and service for the scholarly communication needs of faculty, students and researchers. He also serves the research instruction needs of AE faculty and students, and helps to develop the library collection of resources and services to serve the research and curricular needs of AE.
Dr. Neil Rigole
Assistant Professor - Middle Georgia State University
Dr. Neil Rigole has decades worth of instructional technology, online learning, and information technology experience teaching and leading initiatives and programs in higher-ed, k12, and adult/technical education. He is currently an Assistant Professor in the School of Information Technology at Middle Georgia State University where he is the Coordinator for the Masters of Science in Information Technology program. He has also been named a USG Chancellor's Learning Scholar for the 2019/2020 academic year.
Dr. DeQuan Smith
Associate Director of Graduate Education -Morehouse School of Medicine
Dr. Smith is a globally-recognized author, strategist and contributor in the fields of higher education, corporate learning, and development. As an instructor, he employs an integrated mix of educational and practical approaches to his work, using a variety of modalities, while encouraging critical thinking, personal growth, teamwork, and cultural diversity. Whether in the classroom or as an industry executive, he strives to inspire students and employees to become dynamic leaders. As a servant leader, his commitment to collaboration, dedication to inclusion, data-informed decision making, creativity and ability to unmask hidden potential within individuals allows him to provide motivation to the current and emerging leaders entering the workforce.
Charlene Watkins
Assistant Director, Graduate Student Experience- Georgia State University
Charlene Watkins is an Assistant Director of Graduate Student Experiences and joined the Graduate Recruitment and Student Services Team in 2014. She has been a GSU employee since 2008. Charlene has a wealth of experience in academic advising, admissions/ recruitment, program management and student services with undergraduates and graduate students. She is a member of GSU Executive Leadership Academy for Women, ACPA (American College Personnel Association) and NBMBAA (National Black MBA Association). Also, she was elected and served on the GSU Staff Council. Overall, she has over 20 years in higher education at public and private institutions. Originally from Springfield, Ohio, Charlene completed her undergraduate degree in communications at the University of Cincinnati and master’s in higher education administration at Indiana State University. She is passionate about working with students and facilitating student events.
Dr. Johnathan Yerby
Department Chair & Associate Professor - Middle Georgia State University
Johnathan taught security, forensics, and networking courses at the undergraduate level since 2009 and graduate level since 2016. He earned his Ph.D. at Georgia State University in Instructional Technology, MBA and MMIS from Georgia College, and undergraduate degree in IT. He has been the chair of the Department of IT in the School of Computing since 2019. He works with a team to maintain accreditation from SACS-COC, ABET, CDFAE, and NSA-DHS CAE. The department that he chairs is launching the institution's first doctoral program the summer of 2021.