Ann DeMarle

Director, Emergent Media Center (On Sabbatical July 2011-June 2012)
Dr. Roger H. Perry Endowed Chair 2006
Associate Professor, Division of Communication & Creative Media

Ann DeMarle is the director of the Emergent Media Center at Champlain College. In 2006, she became the first recipient of the Roger H. Perry Endowed Chair, established to support initiatives promoting innovation, change, and entrepreneurship at the College. Formerly the founding director of both the Multimedia and Graphic Design and the Electronic Game baccalaureate programs, DeMarle used the endowment to create an on-campus center dedicated to emergent media. Key to its mission is an approach that brings the media and technology expertise of Champlain students together with businesses and nonprofits looking to explore and create new solutions. Through partnerships, the Center has been exploring the impact of game technologies and emergent media on learning, communication and decision-making. Champlain students have been hosting summits, building games and interactive media, and participating in international conferences.

Much of DeMarle's work has involved the integration of education and technology. In 2008, DeMarle was elected to the prestigious IEEE Computer Society Board of Governors. In 2004, DeMarle was recognized as an Apple Computer Distinguished Educators. She is the founding director of the Governor's Institute of Vermont in Information Technology for outstanding high school students and has been since the program's inception in 2002. She trained Vermont teachers on technology in the classroom to enhance student learning-as an instructor and mentor for the WEB Project and as an organizer of Champlain College/VITA-Learn Dynamic Landscapes program.

DeMarle holds a BFA from State University of New York at New Paltz and an MFA from Rochester Institute of Technology. Before entering academia she had a long career in computer graphics that included; creating media for corporations such as Eastman Kodak, Lotus, AT&T, Lockheed Martin, and IBM Research.

Julie Bond

Interim Director

Julie Bond joined the EMC team in January 2010. She is responsible for all aspects of new project development at the Center, from federal and foundation grants to corporate and non-profit partnerships. Julie holds a Bachelors degree in International Studies and Human Development from Colby College and a Masters degree in Policy, Planning and Administration from Boston University. She has a wide spectrum of development experience in funding research, grant writing and grants management and compliance. Prior to joining the EMC, Julie worked in independent grant consulting; in grants management for the Agency of Commerce and Community Development for the State of Vermont; and in funding research for the Office of Sponsored Programs at Boston University. Julie is also a volunteer grant writer with the global women's health organization, Grounds for Health.

Sarah Jerger

Marketing and Operations Manager

Sarah Jerger joined the Emergent Media Center in January 2008. Graduating from Champlain College in 2004 with a BS in Business and AS degrees in Public Relations & Media Communications and Multimedia & Graphic Design, Sarah brings a broad range of skills to her role. Sarah is responsible for marketing and social media initiatives, public relations and event management, business operations, and budget administration for both the Emergent Media Center and MFA program. Prior to working at Champlain, she held a marketing position at the Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company of Vermont.

Originally from Connecticut, the unique nature and dynamism of Champlain College and the Burlington area brought her here to stay. She currently lives in Essex Junction with her husband Jay, kitty-cat Buster and 75-lb. lapdog lab Sam. In her free time, Sarah dabbles in crafting, sewing, photography, Rock Band, cooking, thrift store hunting, globe-trotting and attempting to rival Martha Stewart.

Lauren Nishikawa

Project Manager

Lauren Nishikawa is the Project Manager for the Emergent Media Center at Champlain College. She joined the EMC staff in 2009, but has worked with the center as a student since 2007. Before graduating in 2009 with her BS in Electronic Game Design, Lauren was part of rapid prototyping travelling teams to Orlando and Houston, as well as a designer for projects with IBM Fellow John Cohn and Champlain College Library's information literacy initiative. In 2008, she traveled with a team of students to South Africa for the BREAKAWAY game to help end violence against women; this project remains her passion, having served as its Junior Creative Director through the game's launch in June 2010.

Lauren has been honored with speaking opportunities both locally and nationally, including the Emergent Media Center's grand opening, the Champlain College 50 years on the hill celebration, and the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) 14th National Conference. As a student, she received awards commending academic excellence in game design, teamwork and language learning, as well as an Entertainment Software Association (ESA) Foundation Computer and Video Game Scholarship. Lauren continues to immerse herself in the game industry through attendance at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) and membership in the International Game Developers Association (IGDA).

Michele Hirsch

Office Assistant

Michele Hirsch joined the EMC in Oct. 2011 after nearly 2 years of working for the US Census in Williston, VT. She is responsible for event planning, tracking student work hours, and generally making sure that the EMC staff doesn't run out of pencils.

Michele holds a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology from Bryn Mawr College, and she has over 20 years' experience teaching English as a Second Language to adults in France. She and her family moved from Paris to Burlington in 2008, and still enjoy Vermont's snowy winters.

In her free time, Michele enjoys gardening, sewing, and volunteering at the Humane Society of Chittenden County, where she has donated nearly 500 hours of work.

Ken Howell

Interim Director, MFA in Emergent Media Program
Assistant Professor, Division of Communication and Creative Media

Ken Howell is the Interim Director of the MFA in Emergent Media and Assistant Professor in the Division of Communication & Creative Media. Ken joined Champlain's Emergent Media Center in 2008 but has been teaching at the college since 2006. Since joining the EMC he as worked on a variety of projects including the BREAKAWAY: Game to Prevent Violence Against Women , CIMIT RIPS project and the IBM Virtual Worlds project. Prior to coming to Champlain College, he taught at both New York University and New Jersey City University.

In addition to teaching, Ken has been an independent Interaction Designer and Developer for over fifteen years and has been fortunate to work on such broad-ranging brands as Urban Outfitters, Rossignol, Pantene and Skittles. In 2002, drawing on a love of electronics and his fine art background, Ken founded Watson Innovations, a group of artists and technologists dedicated to developing new systems of computer user input through physical computing. When he is not working or teaching, Ken enjoys drawing, painting, woodworking, tinkering in his laboratory, and all things outdoors.

Ken's educational background includes a scholarship to the North Carolina High School of the Arts, a BFA from the Maryland Institute, College of Art and an MFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York.

John Banks

Assistant Program Direcor, MFA in Emergent Media Program
Associate Professor, Division of Communication & Creative Media

John Banks is Assistant Director of the MFA in Emergent Media and Associate Professor in the Division of Communication & Creative Media. He came to Champlain College from National University, where he was a media faculty and served as Interim Dean. John started his teaching career in 1996 at Columbia College in Chicago.

He has worked with digital tools since the early 80s when he co-founded the computer graphics firm Rising Star Graphics. Being a strong believer in maintaining professional practice, John has released four DVD and Blu-ray compilations of his work. Walt Disney distributed the most recent work, WOW World of Wonder. He has also worked on several large civic installations including the Crown Millennium Fountain in Chicago.

His interests and personal work revolve around relating the experience of being in nature, and the formative experiences of exploring as a youth. He has a great interest in travel and is influenced by fantasy writing and visionary music.

John received his BFA in Photography from the University of Arizona and an MFA in Art & Technology from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he was a recipient of the Mellon Foundation Fellowship.