Dr. Mathew Ouellett is the executive director of the Center for Teaching Innovation, joining the Cornell community from Wayne State University where he served as associate provost, and director of the Office for Teaching and Learning. Prior to that, Matt held progressively responsible positions in higher education administration and educational development at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. In 2012, Matt was honored with the Bob Pierleoni Spirit of POD Award for outstanding lifetime achievement and leadership in the enhancement of teaching, learning, and faculty development. 

Amy Cardace is an associate director in the Center for Teaching Innovation. She specializes in designing assessment and evaluation systems for campus educational initiatives. She joined CTI after doctoral work at the University of California, Berkeley in the Graduate School of Education where she studied a range of research methods related to measurement theory, multi-level modeling, and quasi-experimental design. During that time, she contributed extensively to a multi-year curriculum design project where her responsibilities included conducting measurement analyses, estimating students’ conceptual growth, and managing data. She is particularly interested in how to promote psychometric and statistical literacy across audiences, and how to optimize the application of related best practices in practical settings. She held previous positions conducting qualitative and quantitative analyses for the United States Courts for the Ninth Circuit and the City of Berkeley public schools. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and sociology from Connecticut College, and a master’s degree from Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy.

Melina Ivanchikova is the associate director of inclusive teaching in the Center for Teaching Innovation. She supports the development of reflective and inclusive teaching practices, global learning, and intercultural inquiry. She’s worked in higher education for nearly two decades, focused on culturally-responsive teaching. Prior to this role, she supported internationalizing the Cornell curriculum as part of the Global Cornell initiative, and previously was the outreach coordinator for the Southeast Asia Program. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in poetry, a master's in English, and a bachelor's in Russian/international relations and comparative literature. A former community college professor, Melina is a poet ("Later the House Stood Empty," 2014; and "Place of Origin," 2008) and is bicultural (U.S.-Argentina). She is fluent in Spanish, continues to study Russian, and enjoys collaborating with others.

Kimberly Kenyon is an associate director in the Center for Teaching Innovation and director of the International Teaching Assistant Program. She develops programs, oversees communications, and assists faculty across campus as they create or refine courses and explore new teaching, learning, and assessment ideas. She consults with individuals, colleges, and campus leaders about pedagogical issues. Her interests include inclusive and social pedagogies, assessment, cognition, and applied linguistics. Kim previously taught instructional design at Ithaca College, University at Albany, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, taught English overseas and worked for Fleet Corporate, Nynex, Supermarkets General Corporation, and Eileen Fisher. Kim has a bachelor’s degree from the City University of New York, dual master’s degrees in curriculum design and instructional technology (CDIT), and teaching English to speakers of other languages from University at Albany. She is ABD for her doctorate in CDIT, University at Albany. 

Dr. Derina S. Samuel is an associate director of graduate student development and of the International Teaching Assistant Program. She provides leadership for the GET SET Program, which includes the CTI Graduate Fellow Program, the fall and spring University-wide Teaching Conferences, GET SET workshops and the GET SET Certificate Program. She holds a doctorate in biochemistry and a master’s degree in public administration from Syracuse University, and a bachelor’s and master’s degree in chemistry from the University of Zambia. Her research and teaching interests over the past two decades have focused on future faculty programming, as well as professional development resources for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. 

Diane Sempler is an associate director in the Center for Teaching Innovation, leading a team that supports faculty with innovation projects including blended and online learning. She has spent over 30 years in various roles at Cornell, with over 20 years managing and leading teams within IT and Academic Technologies. Diane’s role in these positions has brought with it broad experience with many facets of leadership, management, project management, and understanding the needs of faculty, staff, and students at Cornell. Her skills include relationship management, facilitation, influence and negotiation, managing and developing people, and the ability to lead cross-divisional collaborations and build partnerships. Diane studied communications and marketing at Cornell, and also holds a degree in early childhood education. 

Dr. Robert Vanderlan is an associate director in the Center for Teaching Innovation, leading a team that offers instructional design expertise and support to faculty using a range of educational technology tools. In addition to five years supporting faculty teaching development, Rob has been an instructional designer for a wide range of online and blended courses. He is also the author of “Intellectuals Incorporated: Politics, Art, and Ideas Inside Henry Luce’s Media Empire” and a historian who has taught at Cornell and Hamilton College. Rob graduated from Cornell with a bachelor’s degree in government, holds a master’s degree in political science from the University of Michigan and a doctorate in U.S. history from the University of Rochester. 

Dr. Carolyn Aslan is a teaching support specialist in the Center for Teaching Innovation and associate director of the Active Learning Initiative. She works in collaboration with the College of Arts and Sciences on the Active Learning Initiative, which helps faculty incorporate active learning methods into their classes in order to increase student learning and engagement, especially in large, introductory level courses. She also co-organizes (with Dr. Natasha Holmes) a weekly reading group about teaching and learning. She previously was a faculty member in archaeology in Istanbul and has done fieldwork in Turkey. She is a native of Ithaca and graduated from Cornell with a bachelor’s degree in archaeology and classics. While at Cornell, she started participating in summer archaeological excavations in Turkey, and became fascinated with the history and ancient cultures of this region. She received a doctorate in classical and near eastern archaeology from Bryn Mawr College. 

Amy Cheatle is an educational technologist in the Center for Teaching Innovation, focusing on collaborative technologies used in support of teaching and learning. She assists faculty with Blackboard, the university’s learning management system, with Digication, the electronic portfolio tool and with CampusPress, software used for creating course websites and online learning environments. She researches emerging educational and social technologies, trends, and pedagogy. As a doctoral student in information science she explores how new computational techniques rework existing relations of practice and authority within collaborative teams. Her work involves ethnographic study with surgical teams using robotic agents, fine art furniture studios integrating digital tools, and other craft-based cultures and practices encompassing new technologies. 

Dr. Elizabeth Balko is an instructional designer in the Center for Teaching Innovation, specializing in helping faculty to design and develop traditional, hybrid, and online learning experiences. Liz works with faculty to integrate technologies that facilitate learner engagement and assessment. Before joining the Center, Liz taught at Cornell as a senior lecturer for over nine years and has designed and taught traditional, hybrid, online, and study abroad courses. Liz has a bachelor’s degree from Northern Arizona University, and a doctorate from SUNY College of Environmental Sciences and Forestry. She studied the behavioral ecology of black-and-white ruffed lemurs as a Fulbright Scholar in Madagascar. Liz is a contributing author to the award-winning “All the World’s Primates.”