Meet Our Team

Elizabeth (she/her) is a behavioral nutrition PhD student in the Department of Health & Behavior Studies at Teachers College. She earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Johns Hopkins University, a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University, and a master’s degree in clinical nutrition from New York University. Early in her career, Elizabeth was on staff as an editor for a national food and wine magazine before studying to become a registered dietitian. She then worked for several years as a clinical nutritionist in both an in-patient hospital and outpatient clinic as well as in private practice. After her twins were born in 2004, she transitioned to community-based nutrition work and adjunct teaching at several colleges and universities including Hunter College, Montclair State University, American University, and the BSN Program at Saint Peter’s University in Jersey City where she has lived for 20 years. Throughout her almost 15 years of teaching, Elizabeth has written several textbook chapters related to nutrition and human development, maintained the role of co-editor of a professional practice newsletter with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and assisted a wide variety of students, from traditional undergraduates to mid-life career changers, with their research and writing skills. She is extremely excited to be the most recent writing fellow to join the GWC staff, and now that her children are leaving for college, Elizabeth is looking forward to focusing on her doctoral work and expanding on her own writing experiences. She hopes to successfully help other students at TC tap into their potential and produce their best work!

Felicia is currently a doctoral student in the English Education department. Both her undergraduate and Ed.M degrees were on Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL). Before embarking on her doctoral journey at Teachers College, she served for 9 years in the Education Ministry in Malaysia. She spent her first four years as an English teacher in both the rural and urban settings in Sarawak, Malaysia, before becoming an English language instructional coach. During her five years as a coach, Felicia worked closely with ESL teachers in 101 schools in the district she was assigned to as well as teachers in the entire state of Sarawak to support language learners in the classroom. This led her to develop a keen research interest in narrative inquiry, teacher development, and rural education. Felicia balances her academic life with interests such as analog film photography, music, and baking. Her tutoring strengths include the different phases of the writing process (prewriting, drafting, revising, and editing), qualitative research writing, and APA formatting.

Lauren is currently a graduate student studying Arts Administration. She is excited to develop her leadership skills to promote socio-economic equality within the writing and performing arts community through the ARAD program. Before starting at Teacher's College, she worked in New York City as a producer and writer. She loves to work within the diverse artist community in the city and bring creative visions to life. When not busy with school, Lauren loves reading in parks, collecting passport stamps, and playing with her cat, Mister Mistoffelees.

Marissa (She/her) is a graduate student in the Counseling and Clinical Psychology department at Teachers College. She is currently focusing her studies on maternal mental health in pursuit of one day working within a hospital or primary care setting as a reproductive psychologist. Before she was an MA candidate here at TC, she studied women and gender studies and psychology at the University of Vermont in Burlington and was both an editor and columnist on her school’s student run, award-winning newspaper The Vermont Cynic. She is excited to return to an environment that loves and appreciates the art of writing and how it can move both people and mountains. Outside of Teachers College, Marissa loves to do yoga, paint with watercolors, and bake pies.

Neha (she/her) is a doctoral student at Teachers College, Columbia University. She is a Zankel Fellow and works with TCCS, providing math intervention across various grades, especially grades 7 and 8. She worked as a research assistant to the vice dean of teacher education, assisting in conducting a literature review on professional development schools. In the past year, she was a research assistant on a project focused on Civil Rights History in New York. Her primary role was to conduct a literature review on disability history in New York. Her expertise includes: writing an IRB, writing literature reviews, conducting interviews, coding qualitative data, and data analysis. She has taught over ten master's and undergraduate-level courses on inclusive education and disability at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In addition, she has taught in-person, remote, and hybrid courses at the higher education level. Neha is a special educator from India who works with students with disabilities and advocates for the whole-class approach to teaching and learning. She incorporates her experiences and perspective from the Indian context in her work as a researcher and educator in the US. As a bilingual learner, she is passionate about working with teachers to create an inclusive space for bilingual learning with and without disabilities. In her free time, Neha likes to paint, try new recipes, and watch movies in different languages (with subtitles, of course!). You will also find Neha sleeping in till 10 am on the weekend and enjoying a hot cup of filter coffee while some old 80's music plays in the background!

Pavita (she/her) is a health education doctoral student in the Department of Health and Behavior Studies at Teachers College. During her studies, she hopes to explore narrative writing and storytelling as a health education modality. She has her Master in Public Health in Social and Behavioral Sciences from Yale University and a Bachelor of Arts in Gender & Sexuality Studies, Linguistics, and Child & Adolescent Mental Health from New York University. Outside of Teachers College, Pavita is the Executive Director of Girls Health Ed, an instructor at Johns Hopkins University, a freelance writer and editor, and the award-winning international bestselling author of To All the Magic in Me, a poetry collection on mental health, emotions, and self-care. Pavita's mission is to spread light, love, learning, and laughter and to make the world better and have fun doing it. She revels in travel, yoga, dance, creative arts, vegan cooking and baking, reading, Netflix, napping, and time with family and friends.

Amelia Jones is a first-year M.A. student at Teachers College in the Teaching of English program. Currently, she is the Administrative Fellow for Orientation and Academic Engagement in Graduate Student Life & Development. Before moving to NYC, she recently graduated from West Virginia University with a bachelor’s in English and minors in Theatre and German. As a first-generation student, Amelia is passionate about the first-gen experience and the pursuit of social action. In addition, Amelia serves on TC Student Senate as the senator for the Arts & Humanities department. In her free time, Amelia enjoys reading, drinking way too much coffee, and exploring the city on the weekends.

Primary areas of focus: New Student Orientation (NSO) and Academic Engagement

Alise Katrina Pundure is a second-year M.A. student in the Arts Administration Program at Teachers College, Columbia University. Currently, she is the Administrative Fellow for Digital Strategy in Graduate Student Life & Development.  Before joining Teachers College, she graduated Summa Cum Laude from Drexel University with a B.S. in Entertainment and Arts Management in 2021. She has interned in art museums in the U.S. and Latvia, and her professional interests include marketing and digital technology in arts organizations. Most recently, Alise worked as the Social Media Coordinator for the Arts Administration Program at Teachers College. In her free time, you can find Alise taking street photos around the city, visiting museums, or jogging in Riverside park. 

Primary areas of focus: student communications and social media

Primary area of focus: Community programming, annual events, student organizations

Maya is a first-year M.A. student at Teachers College in the Art and Art Education program. In college she majored in psychology and education and minored in art history. She grew up in New York City and returned after college. As the Covid-19 pandemic upended all sense of normalcy, she reassessed her priorities and career goals. She is passionate about innovative education practices, DEIB initiatives, museum education programs, and art offerings in schools. In her free time, Maya likes visiting art exhibitions and trying out different restaurants and coffee shops. This year she wants to learn how to indoor boulder, and she also wants to sightsee within NYC more. She is eagerly looking forward to becoming part of and connecting with the TC community.

Sign-up to be paired with Maya or any other Student Life Ambassador: https://bit.ly/TCSLAreg

Randal is a first-year M.A. candidate in Elementary Inclusive Education (Gifted) with Initial Certification in Childhood Education, Teaching Students with Disabilities and NYS extension in Gifted Education for grades 1-6. One of his research interests includes the ethnic-racial socialization of Asian-American children and how the pandemic era has contributed to their experience.

He was born in the Philippines, but raised in Southern California for most of his developmental stages, this will be his first time living out of state. In his late teen years, he picked up a hobby in photography and has been a freelance photographer since!

Sign-up to be paired with Randal or any other Student Life Ambassador: https://bit.ly/TCSLAreg

Ricardo Phillips is an upperclassmen entering into his third year of the EdD in Art & Art Education through the Art & Humanities department at Teachers College. His academic interests include the public library as an informal place of learning and socio-cultural anthropology, art, storytelling, photography, sound and self-efficacy. As an open-minded gay Latino, Chicago is where he calls home. He is one of four boys and the only person in his immediate family to pursue higher education by obtaining a post-secondary degree from the School of Social Policy & Practice at the University of Pennsylvania. 

His strengths include being an advocate for the arts, civic engagement, volunteerism and building alliances with the public in its broadest sense. On a lighter note, he is a perfume fanatic and also enjoys preparing and sharing well known Mexican dishes like Pico de Gallo (fresh salsa) or Guacamole... and oh yeah, his tater tots on Tuesdays are FIRE.

Sign-up to be paired with Ricardo or any other Student Life Ambassador: https://bit.ly/TCSLAreg

Sarah is a first-year M.S. student at Teachers College in the Communication Sciences and Disorders program with a Bilingual extension in Korean. She was born in Queen, NYC but moved to Maryland during middle school. She attended the University of Maryland College Park, where she got her B.A. in Hearing and Speech Sciences. She chose TC because of its bilingual extension program and because of the many research opportunities. Her research interests are in fluency, swallowing, and language development. In her free time she enjoys drawing portraits, listening to music (usually Korean music), and finding good food. She used to be a bubble tea barista (a boba-rista) and frequents bubble tea shops.

Sign-up to be paired with Sarah or any other Student Life Ambassador: https://bit.ly/TCSLAreg