Dr. Stacy Gherardi, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the School of Social Work within the College of Health, Education, and Social Transformation. Dr. Gherardi is a Licensed Clinical Social Work and prior to coming to NMSU was a school social worker and a fourth-grade teacher in the Chicago area. Her experiences in PK-12 education inform her university teaching and research. Her current research is largely focused on creating, implementing, and evaluating equity-centered trauma-D edigucation. This commitment to trauma-informed practice goes beyond her research, and she is passionate about infusing these principles into teaching and student engagement. Dr. Gherardi has taught across the social work curriculum using in-person, hybrid, synchronous, and asynchronous online models and has gone through the internal Quality Matters review process for five different courses.  Dr. Gherardi credits the Teaching Academy with much of her development as a scholar and educator. She is thrilled for the opportunity to support the work of her colleagues across the university in her work as a Digital Faculty Fellow.

Dr. Chadrhyn A. Pedraza, Ph.D., is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the School of Teacher Preparation, Administration, and Leadership (TPAL) at New Mexico State University. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles, her Master of Education in Risk and Prevention from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and her Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Leadership and Administration from New Mexico State University. She has sought to promote access to and equity in educational opportunities for two decades and believes education is not restricted to the walls of an institution nor limited to the hours of a school day. She has designed asynchronous courses and workshops with the learner in mind, ensuring a balance between structure as evident in her success in completing the Quality Matters internal review process for her Management of Student Services in Higher Education course and dialogue through constructive and frequent feedback. In addition, she has implemented a variety of technological tools such as Miro, Google Jamboard, Padlet, Sli.do, and Microsoft Whiteboard to enhance and encourage active engagement in her courses. During the early days of the pandemic, she successfully transitioned from face-to-face to Zoom synchronous courses to reach students across Europe and worldwide. She believes that as educators we must use the tools available to support the diverse learning preferences of our students.

Patricia MacGregor-Mendoza, Ph.D., is a Professor of Spanish and Linguistics. She has been teaching with web support since about 1997, but has taught wholly online courses since 2008. What she loves about online teaching and learning is the opportunity to provide education that is accessible to people who work full time, who live in remote locations, and who are entering or re-entering academia at different points in their lives. As a Digital Faculty Fellow​ since 2021, she has worked with faculty to create solid learning objectives, develop assessment activities and provide feedback to streamline their course prep, improve their students’ experience and reduce the time faculty spend on grading.