Meet Our Team

Dr. Samantha L. Strachan serves as Associate Professor and Program Coordinator of Secondary Education. She has an earned doctorate in Science Education from Morgan State University (Baltimore, MD), a Master of Secondary Education (Biology) degree from Alabama A&M University (Normal, AL), and a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Mount Allison University (New Brunswick, Canada).  Prior to becoming a faculty member at Alabama A&M University, Dr. Strachan served as a science education research assistant where she conducted research focused on improving how urban students, particularly those of African descent, are taught science. As a teacher educator, she has served as a faculty representative for NASA’s MSI TEN Network and a faculty mentor for NASA’s MUREP Educator Institutes. She is a certified AMSTI (Alabama Math, Science and Technology Initiative) trainer for pre-service educators, and has sat on the Board of the Alabama Science Teachers Association (ASTA).  Dr. Strachan’s current research is focused on improving African American males’ participation in the teaching profession. Her work also focuses on pedagogical practices in science classrooms. In addition to publishing her work, she serves as Project Director of the M.A.L.E. (Males for Alabama Education) Initiative, a state-sponsored program, and as co-Principal Investigator on a grant funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). She has presented her research, both nationally and internationally, at several professional education conferences. She is two-time Jhumki Basu Scholar, a 2018 Association of Teacher Educators (ATE) Clinical Fellow, and the 2019 recipient of Alabama A&M University’s Excellence in Faculty Advising/Mentoring award. 

Ken Brown is Associate Professor of Chemistry at Winston Salem State University.

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.

Kimberly Clarida, Ph. D., is a postdoctoral fellow in the College of Education, focusing on developing external partnerships and providing insights into rural communities. She earned her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy from the University of Texas at Austin, with a portfolio in applied statistical modeling. Raised in the rural Southeast as a first-generation college student and former College Adviser in a Title I school in NC, Kimberly is deeply aware of the strengths and opportunities in rural education. Kimberly’s dedication to educational access and opportunity is a driving force in her work. She excels in qualitative research methodologies, including case development, interviews, and data analysis. Her work has been published in the Bloomsbury Handbook of Rural Education in the USA, Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership, and Leadership and Policy in Schools. She holds a B.A. in Public Policy from UNC-Chapel Hill and an M.Ed. in Educational Administration and Policy from the University of Georgia.

Darren “dee” Dubose, a native of rural Alabama, is a doctoral student in Educational Policy at Michigan State University. His research interconnects at the junction of race, rurality, and rankings. More distinctly, his research seeks to understand the social implications of the school report cards on predominantly Black rural schools in the Black Belt of Alabama. Prior to his scholarly pursuit in East Lansing, dee served as a 9-12 physical education teacher in Lowndes County, Alabama and a 6-7th grade reading teacher in Harris County, Texas. While the involvement in the classroom shaped his pedological aims as a teacher, he credits these rich experiences for centering the most vulnerable (students, families, and communities) in his emerging critical scholarship as a scholar.

Katie Ward is a Ph.D. student in Curriculum, Instruction, and Teacher Education at Michigan State University. Her community-engaged research works with Catholic schools serving culturally and linguistically diverse students, particularly Native American Catholic schools. Prior to pursuing her doctorate, Katie was an elementary school educator and worked with dual language schools in research and teacher professional development. Katie holds a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master of Education degree from the University of Notre Dame and a Master of Theological Studies degree from the Boston College Clough School of Theology and Ministry. 

Claire Smith is a senior undergraduate student studying Social Relations and Policy in the James Madison College at Michigan State University. She also has minors in Portuguese, Educational Studies, and Latin American and Carribean Studies. Her primary research interest is equitable higher education access.

As an educational technology and chemistry teaching researcher, Ehud’s interest lies in the fields of remote teaching and learning, disruptive education, and the personalization of education for both students and teachers. In that capacity, he has also helped disseminate a novel LMS for the personalization of teaching and learning in chemistry schools across Israel, supported teachers as they implemented the system in their classes, and developed teaching resources and materials within it. He has 13 years of experience teaching high-school chemistry and 4 years of experience leading teacher’s professional development courses. He earned his B.Sc. in Science Education (in chemistry and environmental studies) from the Technion – Israel’s institute of Technology and is graduate of the Rothschild-Weizmann Program for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (non-thesis M. Sc. program for science teachers). He has completed his M.Sc. (with full thesis, which was awarded The Dean’s Prize for MSc.) and Ph.D. in Science Teaching (in chemistry education) at the Weizmann Institute of Science. 

Billy is interested in multicomponent interventions that can be used by educational practitioners to support students within their classrooms. He’s also particularly interested in students’ sense of belonging, how it correlates to teacher practices, and how it contributes to achievement motivation. 

Angie Valbuena Rojas, a Fulbright scholar from Colombia, is a Ph.D. student in Curriculum, Instruction, and Teacher Education at Michigan State University. Her research centers on culturally relevant chemistry teaching, investigating the intersection of scientific practices with ancestral and community knowledge to foster inclusive, decolonial, and equitable education. Before beginning her doctoral studies at MSU, Angie worked as a Chemistry high school teacher and an assessment specialist, acquiring extensive expertise in science teaching, education policy, curriculum development, and large-scale assessment. She earned her Bachelor of Education in Chemistry from UDFJC and her Master of Education in Assessment and Evaluation from Universidad Externado de Colombia.

Özlem is a dedicated learner, researcher, and educator driven by a passion for discovering innovative solutions to challenges in education. Her work focuses on fostering inclusive, equitable, and relevant sense making for all students in multicultural settings. She brings extensive experience in K-12 science teaching and learning, teacher professional development, and the design of curriculum and assessment materials and research in science education. She holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from Florida State University, an M.S. in Secondary Science and Mathematics Education from Boğaziçi University (Turkey), and an integrated B.S. and M.S. in Teaching Chemistry from Boğaziçi University.

Lucky has taught physics for 3 years in Nigeria and as well, worked as the Project Lead for Chevening Science Literacy project funded by the foreign Commonwealth Development Office in Nigeria. He holds a Master’s Degree in International Education and Development from the University of Sussex, England. His research interests include culturally relevant physics science, decolonization of physics education, social justice issues in science education, and indigenous science learning.

Mathilda Smith is a post-bacc who graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University with a major in Environmental Biology and Zoology and a minor in History, Philosophy, and Sociology of Science in 2024. She is interested in research regarding the study of interactions between societies and their natural environments, focusing on how social factors influence environmental issues like biodiversity conservation and how these issues are addressed.

Kylie Gorney is an Assistant Professor of Measurement and Quantitative Methods at Michigan State University. Her primary research interests include test security (i.e., detecting and preventing cheating on tests), item response theory (i.e., the dominant paradigm for scoring and analyzing tests), and computerized adaptive testing (i.e., the type of test that adapts as one progresses).

Daihui (David) Xiao’s research interests span a broad spectrum, including methodologies such as item response theory, multilevel modeling, causal inference, and machine learning, and their applications in test security, education policy, and healthcare. Before coming to Michigan State and commencing his master’s program in education policy, he served as an academic English/statistics teacher and academic director in international high schools in Pasadena, California, and Guangzhou, China. Additionally, he collaborated with education companies and organizations as an educational consultant. David is a Ph.D. Student in Measurement and Quantitative Methods (MQM) and M.S. Student in Statistics at Michigan State University. He also holds an M.A. Education Policy (Data Analysis and Research Methods) from Columbia University Teachers College and a B.A. from University of California, Los Angeles.

Raghavi Ravi is a data science student and a researcher specializing in the intersection of data-driven methodologies and STEM education. She earned a B.E. in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Anna University, PSG iTech, India, in 2021, graduating in the top 1% of her class with a state rank of 22 among 9,542 students. Currently, she is pursuing an M.S. in Data Science at Michigan State University. Raghavi’s research focuses on improving STEM learning through bayesian analysis, machine learning, and adaptive feedback systems. As a Graduate Research Assistant, she has investigated how challenge levels influence student engagement and behavior, contributing actionable insights to enhance STEM education. Her work includes designing and implementing data pipelines, data management systems, and creating dynamic, interactive dashboards to deliver real-time, data-driven insights.