Chair of Education, Dean of School of Education
Professor of Education
Ellen Ballock started her career as a second grade teacher in Florida and then at the North Jakarta International School in the country of Indonesia. Prior to joining the Gordon College faculty in 2013, she also served as a teacher educator at Towson University in Maryland. She is passionate about the School of Education’s mission to prepare teachers, school leaders, and speech-language pathology assistants for making an impact on the individuals, ... more ➔
Professor of Biology
Chair, Department of Life, Health and Physical Sciences
Dr. Keller joined Gordon College in 2007 after teaching for five years at Eastern New Mexico University, where he was an Assistant Professor of Wildlife Ecology.
Essays written by Keller for a general audience include: "Denizens of the Autumn Air" and "A Sense of Shared (Avian) Presence." ... more ➔
Professor of Linguistics
Professor of Classics
Linguistics Program Director
Dr. Bird is a native of New Zealand and has been teaching full-time at Gordon since 2001. His interests include Greek and Latin language and literature, Indo-European linguistics, and early English literature. He is a participant in the Harvard-affiliated Homer Multi-text Project, with a chapter in a book due out in the fall dealing with a celebrated medieval manuscript of Homer's Iliad. He enjoys exploring the connections between ... more ➔
Professor of Psychology
Dr. Bobb joined the Gordon faculty in the fall of 2015, coming from Northwestern University where she had been a Research Associate working on the neural correlates of bilingual language processing and cognitive control. Dr. Bobb’s research program is broadly developmental, using both behavioral methods (e.g., eye-tracking; response times) and neuroscience methods (e.g., EEG) to investigate the process of learning a first or second language ... more ➔
Adjunct in Graduate Education
Blair has taught at Gordon since 2001. He has taught Educational Technology at the undergraduate and graduate levels, as well as methods courses in Physics. Blair currently teaches Integrating Science in the Classroom for the graduate education program. He also teaches a vocational high school Physics course, and is a full-time Physics and Astronomy teacher at Melrose High School. Blair lives in Georgetown with his family.
Instructor in Education
Julia D'Onofrio enjoyed teaching in an early childhood classroom for a number of years in the city of Lynn before moving on to work as the Director of Student Services at North Shore Christian School. This position enabled Julia to work with students from Pre-K through Eighth Grade, specifically students with special needs. Julia also has experience as a Reading Specialist, and brings a passion for teaching reading and English Language Lea ... more ➔
Adjunct in Graduate Education
Ian has lived and worked on the North Shore since 2002, having originally moved here to attend seminary. He has taught undergraduate history and Latin at Gordon College since 2006, and in the graduate education program since 2012, teaching independent studies in ancient and modern history, as well as photography. Ian is also Associate Director of New Hope Tutorials, Inc., an education non-profit in Boxford that offers full-year coursework to middle- ... more ➔
Retired Professor of Education and English
Both a composition and English education specialist, Dr. Flint-Ferguson began teaching at Gordon in 1990. Her additional areas of interest and scholarship include adolescent literature, women's literature, literacy, and rhetorical theory. Dr. Flint-Ferguson is a widely sought-after educational consultant. She is also the editor of The Journal of the New England League of Middle Schools, a refereed publication focusing on strategies ... more ➔
Professor in the Practice of History
Teaching Fields:
Museum Studies, Public History, Early American Maritime and Intellectual
Research Fields:
Museum Studies, New England Puritanism, American Revolution, New England Maritime
Selected Publications:
The Salem Witch Trials: A Reference Guide. (Westport: Greenwood Press, 2008).
Salem: Cornerstones of a Historic City. (Commonwealth ... more ➔
Instructional Coach and New Faculty Mentor
Graduate Education Adjunct Faculty and Advisor
Michael moved to the North Shore in 2004 to teach at Landmark School and pursue a master’s degree in the area of moderate disabilities and literacy. He taught at Study Skills and Language Arts at Landmark until 2012 and continues to lead workshops and classes for students, parents, and teachers. Michael’s doctoral work allowed him to develop his research and practice in the areas of self-regulated learning and executive function deficits ... more ➔
Adjunct in Education
Mariann Illingworth brings a wealth of teaching experience to the Gordon College Department of Education. Mariann currently teaches the English as a Second Language courses at Gordon and previously taught at North Shore Community College. She is a teacher of history, French, and ESL at Danvers High School. Her early teaching experience included teaching middle school (social studies, French, and Spanish) at North Shore Christian School in Lynn ... more ➔
Adjunct in Graduate Education
Kimberly Leonard, Class of 1989 (Sociology), is licensed in Early Childhood Education, Special Education, Reading, and English as a Second Language. Kim has been in the field of education for over 20 years. She has experience within all four disciplines and currently serves as Elementary Education Coordinator for Georgetown Public Schools and consults as a reading specialist at Covenant Christian Academy. She has seven years of ... more ➔
Adjunct Faculty in Graduate Education
Paul has taught for 30 years in public, private, urban, suburban and international schools as well as at the college level. He also spent four years in the country of Haiti training teachers.
Adjunct in Graduate Education
Heidi Mongeau's passion for teaching and learning has inspired her to teach at various levels in public education. She started her career as a middle school social studies teacher where she taught World History, American History and Civics. After 12 years at the middle school level, she took a new position as a high school teacher. During her four year tenure in this position, Heidi taught various courses including; American History, Youth ... more ➔
Associate Professor of Education
Todd served in the San Diego Unified School District as an elementary teacher, middle school science and US history classroom teacher, and as a school site administrator. He joined the faculty at Point Loma Nazarene University full-time in 1998 and held the positions of director of literacy development and single- and multiple-subjects coordinators. He earned his doctorate in applied socio-linguistics/TESOL from Alliant International University ... more ➔
Adjunct in Graduate Education and Secondary Education
Kathy has been teaching at Gordon since 2008 and currently serves as the Director of Curriculum and Training with Standards of Excellence in Short-Term Mission and DELTA Ministries International. For over thirty years Kathy worked in public middle and high schools in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. She has served in various administrative positions including district-wide professional development coordinator, assistant principal ... more ➔
Richard F. Gross Endowed Professor
Director of Graduate Education, Professor of Education
Priscilla Nelson, Class of '74, returned to Gordon's Education Department after twenty years of combined experience as a public school classroom teacher, an elementary Christian school principal, and an adjunct professor at Gordon. Priscilla pursued advanced study at Boston University and the University of Massachusetts. This enables her to prepare teachers of reading using the most recent scientifically based research. She served as a ... more ➔
Adjunct in Graduate Education
Dr. Maria Perez's focus and concentration has been the study of principal leadership and school climate. She is an ardent promoter of 21st Century skills and adheres to a multi-sensory/multi-modal approach to education; one which includes social entrepreneurship, social-emotional well-being, arts integration, music, movement, innovation, collaboration, and creativity. Maria currently teaches Human Growth and Development graduate courses at ... more ➔
Associate Professor of Spanish
Dr. Pérez Serrano is from Córdoba, Spain, and joined the Gordon faculty in the fall of 2002. She studied English and Spanish Literature at Gordon College and Brandeis University and she received her Ph.D. in Hispanic Studies from Boston College. Her interests include 20th and 21st Century Spanish theater, novel and film as well as literary theory and cultural studies.
She has published articles and book reviews in various ... more ➔
Adjunct in Graduate Education
Elissa Arndt Rader, Ph.D. CCC-SLP is a speech-language pathologist and reading specialist with experience providing instruction and intervention in language and literacy to students Prek-8th grade in Massachusetts. She received her bachelor’s degree from Gordon College, her master’s degree from MGH Institute of Health Professions and her doctorate degree in Reading and Language Arts from Florida State University. Elissa has worked ... more ➔
Director, Education Administration
Adjunct Instructor
Dr. Mary Riso is the Director of Education Administration for the School of Education. She is an Adjunct Instructor in the Undergraduate Department of Biblical Studies, and also teaches a variety of newly developed writing courses in the Graduate Education program. She is the author of The Narrative of the Good Death: The Evangelical Deathbed in Victorian England (Routledge) and Heroines: Great Literary Characters and What They Have to Teach U ... more ➔
Associate Professor of Education
Donna (Vincent) Robinson, Class of ’70, returned to Gordon with 16 years teaching experience and a passion for promoting middle and secondary level reading that includes applicable literacy skills, an emphasis on complex text and a commitment to critical thinking. In the years she has taught at Gordon her research and academic interests have centered on interactive teaching strategies and dialogic discourse that engenders retention of information ... more ➔
Professor of Physics
A condensed matter physicist by training, Dr. Svitelskiy's research includes the propagation of acoustic waves through ferroelectric materials, as well as optical interferometry using NEMS sensors for mass spectrometry. He has also studied the elastic constant of materials in high magnetic fields and low temperatures.
A native of Ukraine, Professor Svitelskiy speaks Ukrainian, Russian, and English. He enjoys fishing in ... more ➔
Adjunct in Graduate Education
Marie is an educational psychologist who has been engaged in research on help-seeking since introduced to the topic by Barry J. Zimmerman in the early years of her doctoral research. After years of investigating help-seeking, standards-based education, teacher educational practices, she has turned her attention to self-regulation in the context of socialization and home-schooling. Her work also includes designing and teaching courses in& ... more ➔