Office and People Directory

Damian Dunbar

Biography

Dr. Dunbar thoroughly enjoys bringing his leadership expertise into the educational environment to share his experiences and bring coursework alive. He is highly experienced in employee development and training, human resources, financial analysis, budget operations, personnel development, and leadership management. He served in the United States Army as an analyst for the United States Government. While on active duty, he served as an instructor, writer, developer, and program evaluator at the United States Army Finance School located at Fort Jackson, SC. His primary motivation for working in education is his experience, interest, and passion for developing others’ talents and defining their goals.

Throughout his career, he has been highly dedicated to the learning, training, and advancement of others. He incorporated professional and adult learning and education into each position. He has 30 + years of experience developing programs to assess workforce capabilities and deficiencies, allowing individualized programs to enhance employee skills and he enjoys doing this for his students. His goal in the online classroom is to create a comfortable and interactive learning environment based on respect rather than fear of the subject matter. To achieve that, he builds a strong rapport with his students to be presented in an environment conducive to learning. Likewise, communication is essential to an effective teaching and learning process in the academic setting.

Distinctions & Awards

Certified Defense Financial Manager (American Society of Military Comptrollers)

Recommended Reading, Listening & Viewing

• The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People
• A People’s History of the United States
• Reckless Endangerment

Favorite Quote

“Education and work are the levers to uplift people.”

—W.E.B DuBois

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Ryan Dunleavy

Biography

Ryan is a freelance artist specializing in motion graphics, animation, editing, and video production. He has 18 years of experience including 11 at a creative agency in Seattle, WA. After leaving his job there, he traveled around the world and eventually ended up in Colchester, VT, where he has 2 dogs, 3 goats, and 8 chickens.

Recommended Reading, Listening & Viewing

• Watch all movies by Edgar Wright
• Read the Dune Series (and new movie)
• Watch the Arcane animated series

Curriculum Vitae

READ MY CV

Favorite Quote

“Self realization. I was thinking of the immortal words of Socrates who said, ‘I drank what?'”

—Val Kilmer, Real Genius (1985)

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Catherine Durkee

Biography

Catherine is the reporting analyst for the Office of Admissions, where she plays a key role driving data-driven marketing strategies. With a background in data analysis and reporting, Catherine will collect data, analyze and identify trends, and assess the effectiveness of our recruitment campaigns. By collaborating with other teams and utilizing advanced analytical tools, Catherine helps to optimize the Office of Admissions recruitment efforts.

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Hannah Dziezanowski

Biography

In her role as Event Coordinator, Hannah offers logistical and on-site support to the many events that the Conference & Event Center hosts year-round on Champlain College’s scenic campus.

From coordinating conferences to celebrations to residential summer programs, she enjoys working closely with guests to ensure that the details of their events are executed seamlessly – and to do so, she has the pleasure of collaborating with a variety of teams across campus.

Before joining Champlain College in 2022, Hannah worked in academic publishing as well as held various roles pertaining to the planning and promotion of collegiate and corporate events. She holds a B.A. in English and Music from St. Lawrence University and an M.A. in Rhetoric and Composition from the University of Wyoming.

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John Earp

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Joe Eastman

Biography

Joe is a passionate and experienced technical teacher with a diverse range of interests spanning a large spectrum of technical and non-technical disciplines. He is also dedicated to numerous outreach initiatives, business development, cultivating opportunities for students, and helping others most any way he can.

In his classroom, Joe strives to provide every student with an equal opportunity to succeed. He achieves this by using divergent teaching methods that cater to a wide range of learning styles, and by removing barriers that may stand in the way of his students’ success.

In addition to his teaching, Joe is available for program, technical, research, career, and general life advice. He offers earnest moral support and guidance to anyone who needs it, both inside and outside of the classroom.

With his years of academic and industry focus, Joe is repeatedly described as a valuable asset to Champlain’s community, as well as the Northeast region supporting hundreds of students every year. He is passionate about helping others succeed, and is dedicated to ensuring that everyone has access to the tools and resources they need to achieve their goals. If you bring the hustle, then he will help you develop your best cyber self.

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Amy Eastman

Biography

Amy Eastman is a Student Success Advisor for the School of Social Innovation, the Division of Information Technology and Sciences, the Degree Design Lab, and for general undeclared students. Amy has worked at Champlain College since 2018 and has over 20 years of experience working as a college academic advisor. She holds a master’s degree in Counseling and College Student Personnel from Eastern Michigan University.

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Patrick Eller

Biography

Patrick is currently the CEO of Metadata Forensics, LLC. He is also a Disabled Veteran who spent 20 years in the United States Army where he served as a Special Agent for the US Army Criminal Investigation Command. During his time at CID Patrick served as the Command Digital Forensic Examiner in charge of a global digital forensic program focused on felony level investigation which involved digital evidence. Patrick has been an adjunct for CCO since 2015.

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Lisa Elliott

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Ellen Emery

Biography

Ellen received her undergraduate degree from the University of Vermont in both Spanish and math and her M.Ed. from Saint Michael’s College. Following her 22 years as a classroom teacher, 10 years working with new teachers, and 27 years training new teachers, Ellen brings an exceptional level of expertise in the areas of curriculum, instruction, and assessment to the TAP program. Even after 35 years of instruction, she is passionate about teaching and working with pre-service and novice teachers! Ellen serves on several state and national boards in the service of making schools better for both teachers and students.

What are your hobbies?

Zumba, gardening, reading, scrap booking, furniture refinishing, games, and walking the dog

Favorite local eateries and things to do in Vermont:

Love to walk local bike paths and Fellowship of the Wheel trails, eat sandwiches from Martone’s Market and spend time on Seymour Lake.

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Laura Ennis

Biography

Laura Ennis joined the Financial Aid team at Champlain College in 2021. Laura is the Financial Aid Counselor for the online and graduate students.

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Jorge Erazo

Biography

Jorge Erazo graduated from the State University of New York at New Paltz with a Bachelors of Science Degree in Mathematics. He began his career in Undergraduate Admissions that following year and remained there until moving into the hospitality industry in Northeast Pennsylvania. He then decided to pursue a move back into Higher Education and Admissions with Champlain College where he is excited to engage with new and inquisitive minds as they embark on their college journey.

Territories

Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia

US Territories:
American Samoa (AS)
Guam (GU)
Northern Mariana Islands (MP)
Puerto Rico (PR)
United States Virgin Islands (VI)
Marshall Islands (MH)
Federated States of Micronesia (FM)
Palau (PW)
United States Minor Outlying Islands (UM)

Armed Forces:
Americas (AA)
Europe, Middle East and Canada (AE)
Pacific (AP)

Hobbies

Gaming, Reading, Scale Model Building and Walking Dogs

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Erik Esckilsen

Biography

Erik Esckilsen came to Champlain College from the publishing industry, where he worked as a writer and editor. Today he teaches writing-intensive courses in a range of subjects, emphasizing art and digital culture, and remains active as an essayist, fiction writer, journalist, and scholar.

Curriculum Vitae

READ MY CV

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Valerie Esposito

Biography

Valerie Esposito has been at Champlain since July 2010 and is the Director for the Applied Sustainability and Environmental Studies and Policy programs. She teaches courses on Sustainability, Environmental Justice, Women’s Leadership, Place-based Sustainability, Ecological Economics, Mindfulness, Becoming Part of the Creative Economy and the Capstone.

Valerie attended American University, earning a B.A. in Justice. She received an M.A. from Brown University in Environmental Studies. She obtained her Ph.D. in Natural Resources and Ecological Economics from the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics and the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Vermont. Prior to coming to Champlain she served as the Executive Director of the Vermont Earth Institute.

After college Valerie spent two years living abroad in Costa Rica and Chile, where she participated in environmental volunteer work and taught English. She pursued her international interests in her doctoral work, conducting research and working with local non-profit and non-governmental organizations in Costa Rica, Peru and the Dominican Republic. She is very interested in bringing this experience to the classroom, to ensure relevant local, national and global issues are addressed. Her research interests include ecological literacy, education for sustainability, service learning and ecological economic policy implementation.

Valerie enjoys spending time with family and friends and taking advantage of Vermont’s natural and cultural playground, through skiing, hiking, biking, canoeing, camping, theater visits and seeing live music. Sustainable travel, gardening, cooking, reading and cultivating her inner yogini also keep her busy.

Distinctions & Awards

John Lavalle Innovation Award, 2019
Academic Innovation Award, 2023

Professional & Scholastic Affiliations

• US Society for Ecological Economics
• International Society for Ecological Economics
• North American Association for Environmental Education
• Association for Environmental Studies and Science

Curriculum Vitae

READ MY CV

Recommended Reading, Listening & Viewing

• Kimmerer, R.W. Braiding Sweetgrass
  A beautiful and poetic exploration of how humans can reimagine a holistic, inclusive relationship with the environment and all living beings based on indigenous wisdom and ways of knowing.
• Kaza, S. Mindfully Green: A Personal and Spiritual Guide to Whole Earth Thinking
  Explores Buddhist ideals of reducing harm, being with ecosystems and taking a deep systems view to implement the green practice path.
• Eisler, R. The Real Wealth of Nations: Creating A Caring Economics
  Explores the impact of the caring economy to give visibility and value to the socially and economically essential work of caring for people and the planet.

Favorite Quote

“To love a place is not enough. We must find ways to heal it.”

—Robin Wall Kimmerer

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Sinyoung Evans

Biography

Sinyoung Ra Evans is a born-in-Japan, Korean-American instructor. She started her career teaching English in Japan, and currently teaches Japanese in a high school, in an online program, and at Champlain College.

From the beginning, her teaching philosophy has remained the same: teacher as a learner, teacher as an entertainer! In other words, she tries not to forget to see the lesson plans, materials, and activities from the learner’s point of view. She says, “Probably I am lucky to be a non-native speaker of English who needs to keep monitoring English language use consciously and subconsciously in my daily life.” She tries to find something interesting “such as songs, games, films, products, and such” so that students can connect their target language to the real world naturally. As she travels nationally and internationally, as she teaches in the classrooms, as she guides and translates for exchange programs in Japan and in the U.S., she truly believes connecting knowledge to actual successful communication brings genuine smiles to the students and contributes significantly to their achievement of the learning.

Sinyoung Ra Evans has an MA in TESOL from Saint Michael’s College and a Vermont State K-12 educator’s license for ESL and Japanese.

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