New Full-time Faculty | Fall 2016

Marymount Manhattan College welcomed six new full-time faculty members for the 2016-17 academic year.

Diana Epelbaum, MS, assistant professor of academic writing

Diana Epelbaum received her MS in literacy education from Pace University and will be awarded her Ph.D. in English from the CUNY Graduate Center in September. She has taught writing to diverse populations and is actively engaged with current theoretical debates in rhetoric and writing pedagogy. She is particularly committed to interdisciplinary approaches to the writing process, believing that writing is not a simple practice of skills, but rather a complex manifestation of deep thought and critical awareness around rhetorical issues. Epelbaum is a certified reading specialist who seeks to interconnect reading, writing, and thinking in every assignment, lesson, and activity as the very foundation of her teaching practice.

Sara Jordenö, MFA, visiting assistant professor of communication and media arts

Sara Jordenö is a visual artist, documentary filmmaker, researcher, and educator who earned her MFA from UCLA. Jordenö’s projects often engage with a specific site or community and she typically employs a mix of methods working collaboratively with sociologists, activists, community organizers, and members of the communities that she investigates. Her work has been shown internationally at venues such as the Modern Museum, Stockholm, Bildmuseet, Umeå, the Kitchen, and MoMA PS1. It has also been featured in New York Magazine,  Palentten and Modern Painters Magazine.

Karen Kinsley, MA, visiting instructor of theatre arts

Karen Kinsley earned her MA in liberal studies, with a focus on fashion studies, from CUNY. She has taught at Ramapo College of New Jersey, Montclair State University, Brooklyn College, and Marymount Manhattan College. She has designed costumes for numerous Off Broadway productions, regional, national, and international productions, and educational productions, including MMC’s production of Camille. She is also founder, designer, and owner of REINWEAR.com, which specializes in sewing patterns for 18” dolls.

Lorraine Martinez-Novoa, MBA, assistant professor of marketing

Lorraine earned her MBA at  the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus and will be awarded her Ph.D. from the Bryan School of Business and Economics at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in September. Her dissertation research explores the phenomenon of compulsive buying behavior relative to appearance-related products. This project relates to her broader interest in the socio-psychological aspects of consumption. She began her career in higher education as a coordinator of the program for student success at the Center for Academic Excellence at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus.

Jennifer Mueller, Ph.D., assistant professor of international studies       

Jennifer earned her Ph.D. in political science from the CUNY Graduate Center, where her dissertation research focused on rebel groups and how and why they incorporate international norms, such as human rights and international humanitarian law, into their discourse. Additionally, Mueller has a policy and human rights background, having worked in post-conflict development in Kosovo, Macedonia, and Tibet. She looks forward to utilizing the many resources of New York City in her teaching.

Gunjali Trikha, MBA, assistant professor of marketing

Gunjali earned her MBA from New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business. She has had a thirteen-year career at the New York Stock Exchange, during which she progressed from a junior analyst on the sales team to director of corporate social responsibility. In this role, she created the first-ever Women and Girls Financial Capability event and hosted an International Women’s Day Closing Bell as part of a celebration of women on boards of NYSE-listed companies. Gunjali is especially excited to offer a course on women in business leadership.


In addition to the new full-time faculty members, Nancy Lushington officially joins the College as a new tenure-track faculty member. 

Nancy Lushington, BA, assistant professor of dance

Nancy Lushington graduated with departmental honors in dance from Adelphi University. She danced as a soloist with the May O’Donnell Concert Dance Company for over 15 years. She has performed professionally with the Joyce Trisler Danscompany, Theater Dance Collection, The Asolo Opera, and Verlezza Dance, as well as in Leonard Bernstein’s “Mass” at the Kennedy Center. Nancy teaches internationally annually in Cyprus, Graz, Austria, and at Bolzano Danza in Italy. She has taught master classes in Ferrara, Barcelona, London, and throughout the United States. She has served on the faculty at Adelphi University, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, The New York School for Film and Television, and Stephens College; and was the Artistic Director of the Dance in Education Fund, Inc. for 19 years. She serves on the Board of Directors of the O’Donnell Green Foundation for Music and Dance.

 

Published: September 06, 2016