InnovatED

New Eisner College Colleagues

Dr. Joannie Busillo-Aguayo

Dr. Joannie Busillo-Aguayo is a new Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling. She has been a member of the CSUN community since 1991, when she transferred from Pierce College to complete a bachelor’s degree in Child Development; subsequently, she earned a master’s degree from the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences/Family Relations-Child Development. She earned her doctorate in 2010 from Pepperdine University’s Graduate School of Education and Psychology/Organizational Leadership. Dr. Busillo-Aguayo’s research interests include identifying ways to strengthen and support families of young children, promoting campus-community collaboration, and enhancing service-learning partnerships between students and early childhood programs in the community. For 12 years, she was the assistant coordinator of the CSUN Department of Communication Disorders and Sciences’ Transdisciplinary Early Intervention Program, serving infants and toddlers with developmental challenges and their families. For the past five years, she has supported a community-based non-profit organization in designing, developing, implementing, and evaluating a new community-based program serving young children and families in the low-income, predominately Latino community of Canoga Park. As a part-time instructor from 2004-2011, Dr. Busillo-Aguayo taught courses in Child Advocacy and Theories of Development for the Department of Child and Adolescent Development in CSUN’s College of Health and Human Development.

She is the proud parent of four beautiful adult children and four wonderful grandchildren who keep her busy outside her teaching role. She enjoys reading and researching as well as walking, running, and hiking. As a native Southern Californian, the beach is where she is most at home.

Ian Carroll

Mr. Ian Carroll is the College of Education’s new Web Developer. This is a newly created position, emblematic of the College’s commitment to progress and its mission to adapt to the changing needs of an increasingly technology-centered world. Ian has an extensive background in Web development and computer technology, including over five years working with faculty, staff, and students at Cal State Northridge. He is deeply committed to the CSUN community and to helping the College of Education effectively reach students through technology. In today's online world, the College’s Web presence is a vital link between students, faculty, and administration. Ian is dedicated to improving these lines of communication, and he looks forward to helping the College craft a more innovative website that will help new and prospective students easily navigate and explore all that our College has to offer. Ian has already had the pleasure of getting to know some of his new colleagues, and he looks forward to meeting everyone soon. Please feel free to email, call, or stop by his office on the third floor. Ian is interested in getting to know you and hearing your suggestions for the future.

Dr. Flavia Fleischer

Dr. Flavia Fleischer is the new Chair and Associate Professor of the Deaf Studies Department. She received her Ph.D. in Linguistics from Gallaudet University in Washington, DC. She also holds two M.A. degrees, with the first in Interdisciplinary Studies (Deaf Studies, Deaf Education & Linguistics) from CSUN and the second in Linguistics from Gallaudet University. The field of Deaf Studies has been a central theme in Flavia’s life, where Deaf education, Deaf Studies issues, and Deaf activism were constant areas of discussion at home, as her father was one of the pioneering academicians of Deaf Studies. Although her academic background centers on linguistics, Flavia is also an activist in fighting against oppression, especially the oppression of deaf people. Her dissertation is centered on the role of newspapers in constructing and reinforcing an image of deaf people based on assumptions, misinformation and stereotypes. Flavia has given numerous workshops and presentations relating to ASL, ASL Linguistics, Deaf Education, and Deaf Culture Studies. Currently, Flavia is co-editing the Encyclopedia on Deaf Studies and Deaf Culture, which is slated for 2013 publication.

On a personal note, Flavia is married to Will Garrow, and they have a Deaf 17-year-old daughter, Ryssa, and three dogs.

Dr. Vanessa Goodwin

Dr. Vanessa Goodwin is a new Assistant Professor in the Department of Special Education. She is a recent graduate of the University of California, Riverside, where she earned her Ph.D. in special education. Vanessa has been an adjunct faculty member teaching special education teachers for nine years, in addition to her classroom and administrative work in Southern California K-12 schools with students with special needs over the past 15 years. Vanessa’s research interests include interventions for struggling older readers, vocational education and transition services, teacher per-service and in-service education, and the effects of high-stakes testing on students with special needs. Vanessa has had a busy year! Shortly after graduating this summer and beginning the 2011-2012 academic year at CSUN, she was married on September 4th. Having had a very exciting few months, Vanessa is ready to jump into her work here at CSUN!

Amy Hanreddy

Although Amy Hanreddy has been teaching courses in the Department of Special Education for several years as a part-time faculty member, she is now joining the department as a full-time Lecturer. Amy has taught several classes related to inclusive and collaborative practices that benefit all students, as well as classes specifically designed for candidates in the moderate to severe Special Education Credential program. She is particularly interested in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) and literacy for students who do not use verbal speech, as well as strategies to support communication and relationships between peers with and without disabilities. Amy has taught as a special education teacher in Simi Valley and at CHIME Charter School, where she has also served as the Director of Curriculum and Instruction and as the Interim Executive Director. Amy received her master’s degree and education specialist teaching credential at CSUN, and she is now a Ph.D. candidate at Chapman University, completing her doctorate in education, with an emphasis in Disability Studies.

Dr. Dana Stone

Dr. Dana Stone is a newly hired Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling for the Marriage and Family Therapy Specialization. Dana earned her Ph.D. in Human Development with a specialization in Marriage and Family Therapy from Virginia Tech. She earned her master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Alliant International University San Diego and her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Colorado College. Dana teaches in the areas of Marriage and Family Therapy/Counseling Theories; Group Psychotherapy; Human Sexuality in Counseling; Fieldwork and Supervision; and Families Across the Lifecycle. Dana’s primary research interest is exploring parent-child relationships between interracial couples and their biracial children, specifically how the intersections of race, class, and gender influence the biracial identity development process. She also has an interest in the area of cultural and diversity issues as they relate to counseling, and the diversity within the field of marriage and family therapy in general. Dana has been practicing as a Marriage and Family Therapist intern for eight years at local clinics in San Diego; Blacksburg, Virginia; and Eugene, Oregon. She is currently preparing for licensure as a Marriage and Family Therapist in California. Dana spent two years teaching undergraduate courses in the Department of Human Development at Virginia Tech and the last five years teaching graduate courses in Couples and Family Therapy in the Department of Counseling and Psychology at the University of Oregon.