The Conference on Inspiring College Teaching Staff

Aaron Hughey

(graduate student team, recruiting, transportation & activities team)

Dr. Aaron W. Hughey is a University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Counseling and Student Affairs at Western Kentucky University, where he oversees the graduate degree program in Student Affairs in Higher Education. Before joining the faculty in 1991, he spent 10 years in progressive administrative positions, including five years as the Associate Director of University Housing at WKU. He was also Head of the Department of Counseling and Student Affairs for five years before returning to the faculty full-time in 2008. Dr. Hughey has degrees from the University of Tennessee at Martin, the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Western Kentucky University, and Northern Illinois University. He has authored (or co-authored) over 70 refereed publications on a wide range of issues including leadership and student development, counseling, standardized testing, diversity, legal issues, and educational administration. He regularly presents at national and international conferences and consults extensively with companies and schools. He also provides training and professional development programs on a variety of topics centered on enhancing student success.

Barb Kerr

(founder, program team, NEO)

I'm a Distinguished Professor of Counseling Psychology at the University of Kansas and a graduate of the University of Missouri. My special research areas are creativity, talent development, and gender issues. I taught most core psychology courses, with my favorite being History of Psychology, and Study Abroad courses all over Europe. I recently was an NSF Fulbright Arctic Scholar in Iceland. My latest book is Psychology of Liberty: Reclaiming Everyday Freedom.

Andrew Long

(future faculty team leader)

Paducah School of Art and Design

Claire Raabe

(undergrad conference)

Claire Raabe currently serves as the Director of the Business Honors program at Mays Business School at Texas A&M University where she works to help students form their intellect and character while thinking about the unique contribution they can make in the world. Claire grew up in the small town of Poth, TX, attended Texas A&M University, and graduated with a BBA in Business Honors and Accounting in 2016. After graduation, Claire decided to pursue an MS in Educational Administration with a specialization in Student Affairs at Texas A&M, which she completed in 2018. Previously, Claire served as Deputy Director of the Business Fellows program and an advisor to students in the Business Honors program. Additionally, Claire has worked for the Tim Tebow Foundation, Southwest Airlines, and the Leadership and Service Center at Texas A&M. On any given day, you can assume Claire is excited about something. Most recently, it’s the Jane Austen themed trip she took to England this summer and the upcoming Aggie football season. Most days, it’s a book she’s reading, a podcast she’s listened to, a conversation she had, or simply the nice weather. Claire loves the people she works with, her students, writing, and being on the shores of Lake Michigan at Camp Miniwanca.

Ginger Loggins

(transportation & activities team leader)

Dr. Ginger Loggins works in Hays, Kansas as an associate professor of Digital Media and Journalism at Fort Hays State University. She worked in television news for almost ten years and taught at universities for the next ten. As an academic, she’s earned the Scripps Howard Visiting Professor in Social Media and her primary research interests relate to news and viewer prejudices. She teaches courses in journalism, research methods, and informatics.

Crystal Bohlander

(recruiting, activities & transportation team)

Crystal Bohlander is a faculty member of the WKU Mahurin Honors College (MHC), where she teaches HON 251, a course designed to prepare MHC citizen scholars-leaders for active, democratic engagement within their communities. Her teaching philosophy is deeply influenced by her extensive background in public service and the justice system, primarily with the Kentucky Court of Justice (COJ) Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC). Before retiring in 2017, Crystal held various roles with the KY COJ, including Court Designated Worker (CDW), Supervisor for the Training and Development Team, and Director of the Court Improvement Program. She also served as the Training and Program Coordinator for the Center for Civic Education, where she promoted civic education initiatives across Kentucky. Crystal’s academic credentials include a Master of Public Administration and a Graduate Certificate in Instructional Design, both from Western Kentucky University. Crystal enjoys spending time with her adult children, Will, Maggie, and Elizabeth Ann, and aspires to one day add goats to her very small farm in northern Tennessee. Her passion for education extends beyond the classroom, as she has continued to support helping professionals through private consulting and programming for the Cabinet for Health and Human Services and AmeriCorps. She also serves on the Advisory Council for the Warren County Regional Detention Center and is a Junior Achievement volunteer. Albert Camus: “In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.” This quote resonates with her journey through life’s challenges, and her commitment to transforming both herself and others.

Jay Gabbard

(activities & transportation team)

Wesley Jay Gabbard, Ph.D., MSW is a Professor Social Work at Western Kentucky University. His practice background is in the areas of mental health, public child welfare, forensic social work, and work with homeless individuals and families. He has extensive experience in program evaluation, diversity pedagogy, and community advocacy. Dr. Gabbard, a proud Samoan-American, is a former Minority Research Fellow with the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), a board member of the CSWE Global Commission on Social Work Education, and currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of Phi Alpha Social Work Honor Society International. His teaching and scholarship expertise include diversity pedagogy, research methods, statistics, HBSE, child welfare, and homelessness. He has presented research at numerous national conferences in the US, as well as in South Korea, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Mexico, and Uganda. He currently facilitates an on-campus support group (in collaboration with NAMI) for students with mental health issues and recently finished a national study on university faculty mental health

Joe Johnston

(director emeritus)

Joe Johnston is a founding member of Wakonse and a retired counseling psychology professor from the University of Missouri - Columbia. He is married, four grown kids, five grandchildren. Teaching has been the cornerstone of his long career and Wakonse helps you discover your strengths and how to better use them to help you find better balance in your life, and more fully appreciate and celebrate your life as a teacher.

Jon Hess

(art & tech team, hospitality team)

Jon is a professor of Communication at the University of Tennessee.

Julie Bruneau

(conference director)

I first attended the conference in 2003 while doing doctoral work in Medieval English Literature and Language at the University of Notre Dame, where I also taught courses for first-year writers, for lower- and upper-level readers, and for professors and graduate students at the Kaneb Center for Teaching Excellence. I have taught and learned in high schools, middle schools, and at colleges and universities. My professional focus is figuring out how to make schools at all levels excellent for all learners.

Kasey Swanke

(hospitality team)

Kasey first attended Wakonse in 2009 as a graduate student, and she has attended as a faculty member every year since 2017. At the University of Notre Dame, Kasey serves as the advisor and administrator for the undergraduate global affairs major. With interests in advising theory and practice, academic preparedness and success, engaged learning, and student group identities on campus, she regularly presents on disability, inclusive class discussion strategies, and transparent assignment design. In addition to advising, Swanke regularly teaches first-year Writing and Rhetoric. She twice won an Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award from Notre Dame’s Kaneb Center for Teaching Excellence. She serves on Faculty Senate and other university-wide committees, and she co-facilitates SEED, a year-long faculty-staff professional development series on creating more inclusive environments in the classroom and across the university.

Kevin Johnston

(foundation director, recruiting team leader)

Kevin Johnston received his business degree from the University of Missouri – Columbia and is currently working on his MBA from Boston University. He is a seasoned finance and accounting professional in the high tech industry. His connection to Wakonse through the years runs deep and he believes teachers make such a profound impact on the next generation. In his free time, he enjoys going fly fishing, playing guitar and watching Cardinals baseball.

Matt Ballou

(art & tech team leader, hospitality)

Matthew Ballou is an artist, educator, and writer living in Columbia, Missouri with his partner and four children. Educated at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (’01) and Indiana University (’05), he is a Full Teaching Professor of Painting and Drawing in the School of Visual Studies at The University of Missouri where he has taught since 2007. A passionate educator, Ballou has been consistently recognized for his teaching. He is also an eMentor with Mizzou Course Design and Technology, helping educators improve their online courses.

Jess Hylton

(art & tech team)

Jessica K. Hylton is a poet, educator, and program designer whose work bridges creative expression and pedagogy. She holds Ph.D.s in Creative Writing and English from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, an M.A. in English from Radford University, and an M.A. in Graphic Design. Currently an Associate Teaching Professor at Kansas State University Salina, she has designed and led innovative writing programs, including a reimagined first-year experience and an MFA in Creative Writing. Her poems and essays explore love, embodiment, silence, and the intersections of art and advocacy, and her work has been featured in numerous journals and public readings. Guided by a commitment to student engagement and inclusive learning, Hylton continues to build spaces where creativity, critical thought, and community meet.

Michael Diana

(social & reverential team leader, conference assistant director)

Michael is a graduate student at the University of Kansas.

Patrick Clauss

(hospitality team)

Patrick Clauss serves as the O’Malley Director of the University Writing Program at the University of Notre Dame. His scholarly work centers around argumentation theory, composition theory and pedagogy, and rhetoric. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in writing, public speaking, and debate. In 2014, he received the Rev. Edmund P. Joyce, C.S.C. Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. In 2022, he was the recipient of the Thomas P. Madden Award, honoring a member of the Notre Dame faculty who contributed the most to the teaching of first-year students.

Patrick Williams

(undergrad conference)

Texas A&M University

Shannon Deer

(undergrad conference director, website)

Dr. Shannon Deer, CPA, is the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs at Texas A&M’s Mays Business School. Her career spans public accounting, academia, and consulting, with a focus on corporate social responsibility and the energy industry. She is passionate about supporting student development as they become leaders of character, who make a significant impact. She also loves to help students find their passion. She has received numerous teaching awards and teaches students in many different settings – traditional classrooms, online, at corporations, and even in at a state prison. Shannon’s research explores how businesses can invest in women to impact business, community, and families positively. Her book, Business Doing Good: Engaging Women and Elevating Communities, outlines six principles for hiring women who have overcome a challenging past of incarceration, poverty, addiction, or engagement in the sex trade. Her book has been featured by many news outlets including: NBC News Now, Yahoo News, and People.com. She holds a BBA Accounting, MS Finance, and Ph.D. in Education and Human Resource Development from Texas A&M University.

Steve Price

(video)

Steve is a Professor of Digital Media Production at the University of Central Missouri. His BA and PhD are both in Communications from the University of Missouri. His MA is in Broadcasting from San Francisco State University. Prior to UCM, Steve taught at Georgia College and State University in a tenure-track role. He first attended Wakonse in 2005 as a graduate student. Since then, he has directed the graduate conference at Wakonse, served as dialog group leader, and produced the Wakonse in Review highlight video. He has produced award-winning films and most recently is finishing up his textbook, Single Camera Video from Pre to Post.

Kelly Warmuth

(hospitality, recruiting, future faculty, social & reverential teams)

Kelly Warmuth is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Providence College in Providence, RI. She received her B.A. (2008) in psychology from the University of Michigan and her M.A. (2013) and Ph.D. (2015) from the University of Notre Dame. As a developmental psychologist, she is interested in how family interactions contribute to children’s social and emotional development. In addition to her scholarship, teaching, and service at Providence College, Kelly also serves on the Board of Directors and is the secretary of the Rhode Island Association for Infant Mental Health (RIAIMH). In her spare time, Kelly enjoys spending time with her family, reading, going out to eat, and adventuring around Rhode Island.

Rick Zajac

(recruiting)

Kansas State University

Yasha Hartberg

(website, hospitality team leader, librarian)

My official title is Instructional Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University where I'm housed in the Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences. Whatever the title, though, I identify first as a teacher and a mentor. My background is in biochemistry and evolutionary biology, but my research is mostly within the field of cultural evolution and evolutionary religious studies. I have been attending Wakonse events since 2005.

Darlene Hampton