Shaun Nelms – William and Sheila Konar Director
(Ed.D., University of Rochester)
Dr. Nelms is Associate Professor in Educational Leadership at the Margaret Warner Graduate School of Education and Human Development at the University of Rochester. He is also the Superintendent of the University of Rochester-East Educational Partnership Organization (EPO), responsible for creating a replicable reform model for urban secondary schools. A former district administrator and principal in other urban and high needs districts, Dr. Nelms has extensive experience with improving student achievement and closing equity gaps. His work on professional development for principals and teachers has led to improvements in leadership capacity and instructional delivery. A sought after speaker on cultural competence, differentiation, and administrative leadership, Dr. Nelms maintains a career-long focus on helping students to be successful. View University profile.
Joanne Larson – Associate Director
(Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles) is the
Dr. Larson is the Michael W. Scandling Professor of Education at the Margaret Warner Graduate School of Education and Human Development at the University of Rochester and Associate Director of Research at the Center for Urban Education Success. Her research examines how language and literacy practices mediate social and power relations in literacy events in schools and communities. She has been a part of the University of Rochester-East Educational Partnership Organization (EPO) since the beginning. She was able to spend a full year doing participatory ethnography at East with the support of a sabbatical and a grant from the Spencer Foundation. View University profile.
Valerie Marsh – Assistant Director
(Ph.D., University of Rochester)
Dr. Marsh is Associate Professor at the Margaret Warner Graduate School of Education and Human Development at the University of Rochester and the Assistant Director for the University’s Center for Urban Education Success. She is responsible for the Center’s research on best practices in urban education, both to inform the University of Rochester’s Educational Partnership Organization (EPO) with East High School and to document the EPO implementation. Her research takes the challenges, experiences, and successes of urban schools and brings those into conversation with academic scholarship to provide resources to universities, urban secondary schools, and other organizations interested in pursuing best practices and innovations in urban education across the country. View University profile.
Steve Uebbing – Affiliated Faculty
(Ed.D., University of Buffalo)
Dr. Uebbing is Clinical Professor in Educational Leadership at the Warner Graduate School of Education at the University of Rochester. He is also the Project Director of the University of Rochester-East Educational Partnership Organization (EPO). He led the UR-EPO planning process and served as Superintendent for the East EPO for several months prior to the school opening under U of R supervision. Uebbing oversaw the collective bargaining process with the new East faculty and the hiring process for all faculty and staff. A former school superintendent, principal and high school teacher, Uebbing has extensive experience working with practicing administrators interested in whole school reform. View University profile.
Nahoko Kawakyu O’Connor – Affiliated Faculty
(Ph.D., University of Rochester)
Dr. Kawakyu O’Connor is Assistant Professor at the Margaret Warner Graduate School of Education and Human Development at the University of Rochester and Assistant Director for Program Evaluation at the Center for Professional Development and Education Reform. Dr. Kawakyu O’Connor is coordinating a team of East/EPO staff in engaging in embedded program evaluation practices, with the goal of leveraging data already collected by staff to analyze and review for reflective practice and continuous improvement. View University profile.
Tanya Wilson-Thevanesan – Affiliated Staff
(Ed.D., St. John Fisher College)
Dr. Wilson-Thevanesan is an adjunct professor at the Margaret Warner Graduate School of Education and Human Development at the University of Rochester. She is also the Deputy Superintendent for School Improvement and Community Engagement in Fairport Central School District. A former middle school principal in an urban setting, Dr. Wilson-Thevanesan co-led the writing of Monroe County Inquiries, a curricular project that uses Rochester’s history of racial inequities to empower social studies students across the area in social justice change and advocacy. She leads professional development across the region in culturally responsive and sustaining pedagogy.
Eleni Duret – Postdoctoral Fellow
(Ph.D., University of Rochester, Rochester, NY)
Eleni Duret is the inaugural Center for Urban Education Success (CUES) Postdoctoral Fellow at the Warner School of Education and Human Development. Prior to moving to Rochester from Los Angeles, CA, Eleni facilitated informal and formal learning experiences for k-12 youth and teachers with the national after-school college preparation program, College Track, and at the J. Paul Getty Museum. Her research is grounded in Critical Aesthetic Pedagogy and Positive Youth Development as she seeks to understand how minoritized adolescents experience identity development and expression in public school settings. She is an avid houseplant mother and vegetable gardener, as well as a visual artist with acrylic and mixed-media materials.