Curtis Garcia, Ph.D.
Director
Office: McD 246
719-587-8202
curtislgarcia@adams.edu
Dr. Curtis Garcia is a San Luis Valley native who earned his bachelor’s degree from Yale University, then returned home to work as an educator. He holds a Master of Arts degree in educational leadership from Adams State and a Ph.D. in educational leadership research and policy from the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. Dr. Garcia’s research focuses on teacher quality and evaluation, issues in rural education, and issues related to multicultural education and equity in schools.
Dr. Garcia served in the Centennial School District from 2008-15 as a social studies teacher, director of special programs, then as principal, a post he held from 2012-15. He was recognized in 2013 by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Cross State Learning Collaborative with the Integration Award for Outstanding Principal Leadership. He also does educational consulting work and serves as a regional specialist in the Educator Effectiveness Unit for the Colorado Department of Education.
Dr. Garcia joined the faculty of Adams State’s School of Education in 2014 and has served as project director for three Title II grants to improve teacher quality. In addition to serving as Department Chair, Dr. Garcia directs Project SERVE, a program aimed at supporting early recruitment and retention of educators in the San Luis Valley.
Bev DeVore-Wedding, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Office: McD 244
bdevorewedding@adams.edu
719-587-7984
Bev DeVore-Wedding is a Colorado native who earned both of her Bachelor of Science degrees from the University of Wyoming in Botany and Science Education. She also earned Master of Science degrees in Botany at the University of Wyoming and in Science Education from Montana State University, Bozeman. She completed her Ph. D. in Teaching, Curriculum, and Teacher Learning at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. After serving as a post doctorate for 1.75 years in Chemistry at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, she joined Adams State University School of Education in the fall of 2019. DeVore-Wedding taught secondary science and mathematics for 28 years on the western slope of Colorado, 26 of those years in a rural school district. During that time, she implemented place-and project-based instruction in both mathematics and science courses, taught dual-enrollment courses for Colorado Northwest Community College, and coached both boys & girls Track & Field, and Cross Country. She also served Colorado Association of Science Teachers (CAST) first as a District III Secondary Representative and in the presidential chain. From there, she served one term as the District XIV Director (Arizona, Colorado & Utah) on National Science Teaching Associations Council and then as the Director of High School Science Teaching on their Board. In 2011, CAST recognized here as science teacher of the year award.
DeVore-Wedding’s research interests range from native plants and their uses by indigenous peoples, indigenizing curriculum to enhance and engage American Indian/Alaskan Native students, resiliency in rural educators, literacy in science instruction and science literacy, and empowering teacher leaders. She also reviews curriculum for alignment with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), provides professional development for NGSS implementation and best practices in STEM instruction, and presents at state, regional, and national educational conferences.
Michele Mann, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Office: McD 258
mmann@adams.edu
719-587-8296
Michele Mann received her bachelor’s degree from Furman University in biology with science teacher licensure. She completed a Master of Arts degree in Biology (with an emphasis in education) from the University of South Florida. Michele earned her Ph.D. in STEM Education from the University of Texas at Austin. Her dissertation “One Leopard Gecko, Two Warrior Cats, and Three Fiddler Crabs: A Study of the Science Identity Work of Fifth-Graders Around the Science Classroom”, reflects her research interests on science identity work and how science identity supports retention in the STEM fields.
Dr. Mann taught high school science and middle school science. She served as a science coordinator K-12 for Kerrville ISD in Kerrville, Texas. Her passion was working with students doing their independent research and competing in science fairs. She has served on regional, state, and the International executive boards for science fairs.
Dr. Mann has presented research at National and International conferences and published research in several journals such as: Journal of Learning Sciences and Journal of College Science Teaching. She was the recipient of Carolyn J and John H Young fellowship, Peabody scholarship, and the Texas Nominee for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.
Dr. Mann enjoys spending her free time making cold process soap, hiking, spending time with her boys and camping with her dog.
Chrissy McKinney, M.Ed.
Initial Licensure Program Coordinator & Advisor, Adjunct Instructor
Office: MCD 242
719-587-7503
cmckinney@adams.edu
ePortfolio: https://cmckinney78.wixsite.com/website
Mrs. Chrissy McKinney has been advising, coaching, and teaching in public education since 2001. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Lee University and completed her Master of Education degree in Advanced Studies with a specialization in Interdisciplinary Leadership and Online Learning and Teaching from American College of Education. She holds a K-12 teaching license in Tennessee and Colorado. In the K-12 classroom, Mrs. McKinney taught Wellness, Physical Education, and Personal Finance. Additionally, she served as a Graduation Coach from 2009-2018 and worked with students from diverse backgrounds to navigate the requirements for graduation. Mrs. McKinney taught middle school and high school online courses from 2012-2018 with the BCVS virtual school. For the Adams State School of Education, Chrissy advises undergraduate and graduate students in the initial licensure programs. She also teaches courses with topics in health & safety, educational technology, and the First Year Seminar course for aspiring educators. In the extracurricular arena, Chrissy has coached soccer from club to high school varsity to collegiate level since 1999. She is an assistant coach for the Adams State Women’s Soccer Team. Mrs. McKinney and her family moved to the San Luis Valley in 2018. Chrissy enjoys traveling with her family, playing/watching/coaching soccer, camping, hiking, & kayaking.
Angela Madrid
Administrative Assistant
Office: McD 241
719-587-7776
amadrid@adams.edu
Ms. Madrid previously worked for the public school system for 13 ½ years, starting with the Centennial School District in San Luis from 1993-2004 as the district secretary, and later as the administrative assistant to the Superintendent of Schools and Board of Education.
Ms. Madrid began working for Adams State as a temporary assistant from March thru November of 2012 in the music and nursing departments. She also worked in the Alamosa School District at Ortega Middle School as the attendance secretary from 2005-2008.
In December 2014 Ms. Madrid joined the Adams State School of Education where she currently serves as the administrative assistant.
Kieran Nduagbo, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Office: McD 250
knduagbo@adams.edu
719-587-8061
Dr. Kieran Nduagbo holds a Bachelors of Science in Education in Special Education from Loyola University, Chicago, IL and a Masters of Art in Administration from Governors State, University Park, IL. She earned her doctorate in Higher Education from Seton Hall University South Orange, New Jersey.
Dr. Nduagbo has taught elementary, special and secondary education in Illinois, New Jersey and New York for 11years. She served as a school principal in K-8 setting for seven years in New Jersey and New York.
Dr. Kieran Nduagbo joined Adams State University Alamosa, Colorado in 2019. She is currently an assistant professor of education in the Adams State School of Education, where she teaches Educational Psychology, Elementary/Secondary Senior Block Assessment & Practice course, Exceptional Learner Course and Integrated Instruction & Assessment graduate level course online. Dr. Nduagbo is interested in research on diversity, equity and inclusion education.
Joaquin Vilá, Ph.D.
Professor
Office: McD 248
joaquin_vila@adams.edu
719-587-7682
Joaquín S. Vilá, PhD, has a degree in Linguistics from Michigan State University. He has been engaged in higher education for over 33 years now teaching graduate and undergraduate courses in his field. He has been granted tenure at four institutions and served in both schools/ colleges of Arts and Education. His areas of specialization are sociolinguistics and the teaching of English to speakers of other languages (TESOL). He is particularly interested in bilingualism and the teaching of STEM subjects to ESL students, e.g., use of robotics in teaching math. His professional efforts cover instruction, development, implementation and administration of ESL teacher preparation-programs and intensive English programs, having served as professional consultant to the states of Nevada and Maryland. He has extensive experience in program development, e.g., minors. bachelor’s, masters, certificate programs and doctoral programs. He has also developed and implemented successful online programs that provided increased access opportunities to students regionally/ nationally. Other related activities include grant-supported development and delivery of in-service training opportunities to school personnel in the areas of ESL methods, cross-cultural communication, diversified instruction & high-impact practices, as well as content-area instruction for ESL (over $5 million). Services/ support was provided for professional development for teachers/ staff in DE, MD, VA, NV & NM. Dr. Vilá also served as associate dean for academic affairs at Salisbury University, charged with developing an assessment plan for general education for Middle States accreditation.
He was charged with developing and implementing and assessment plan for the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) accreditation at Northern New Mexico College (A Hispanic Serving Institution) where he served as dean of the College of Education for four years. Dr. Vilá has extensive experience in meeting the academic needs of culturally and linguistically diverse populations, particularly Latino and Native American Students as well overseeing programs directed at student retention and increased graduation rates. He served as a consultant to the state of Nevada on matters pertaining to the education of English Language Learners and multicultural education. He has been an active participant in the accreditation of teacher preparation programs having served for seven years as a program reviewer (SPA) and three additional years as a program review auditor, and was a member of the team charged with revising the national professional standards for the TESOL organization. He also served for over twelve years as a member of the Board of Examiners (BOE) for the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and as a CAEP site visitor. Dr. Vilá served as Vice President for Academic Affairs at Adams State University in Alamosa, Colorado for the 2018-2019 academic year and is there presently a professor in the School of Education.
