Instructors
Angela Williamson-Emmert
Course/Subject Areas: English and Humanities Angela Williamson Emmert earned a masters degree from University of
North Dakota in 2001. She currently works for University of
Wisconsin-Fox Valley and University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, teaching
writing and literature courses including
composition, multicultural literature, women in literature, the body in
literature and violence and aggression in literature and film. Scholarly work includes encyclopedia articles and a conference
presentation addressing issues related to multiculturalism. Angela also
wrote a master thesis focusing on the literature of the Vietnam War.
Outside of work, she enjoys her garden, her chickens and her young
children very much.
Anna Filipova Ph.D.
Course/Subject Area: Liberal Studies Capstone Seminar and Public Administration courses Dr. Anna A. Filipova is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Administration (DPA) at UW Oshkosh. She teaches undergraduate public administration courses for the Center for New Learning and graduate public administration courses with health care emphasis in the DPA. She received her PhD in public administration from Western Michigan University in 2007 and her Master’s degree in leadership in public administration from Saginaw Valley State University, Michigan, in 2002. She has published in the journals of Nursing Ethics, Journal of Applied Gerontology, and Public Integrity.
Bill McConkey, Ph.D.
Dr. Bill McConkey teaches Leadership and Organizational Studies and Political
Science courses at UW Oshkosh. Dr. McConkey received his BS and MS degrees in
the Social Sciences from Illinois State University in 1964 and 1965. He received
his Ph.D. from Florida State University in 1994, at the age of 52. He has worked for several government agencies, including the Executive Office
of the President of the United States, the Florida Senate’s Committee on Higher
Education and for the Governors of Illinois and Alaska. He has owned and
operated his own communication research and consulting firm for over 30 years
and has also managed or consulted to over 150 political campaigns. Dr. McConkey has been a university instructor for over 15 years and has
published both fiction and non-fiction works. He is married and has seven
daughters and step-daughters and 10 grandchildren. He and his wife share their
home near Baileys Harbor, in Door County, with their Schipperkes. They also own
a farm in Tennessee. His favorite things to do are public speaking, cooking,
walking with his dogs, hunting, fishing and writing.
Course/Subject Areas: Organizational Administration, Political Science and
Public Administration
Brian Smith, Ph.D.
Course/Subject Area: Religious Studies Brian Smith holds advanced degrees in Political Science (Ph.D. Yale, 1979),
Religion (Master of Divinity, Woodstock College, 1970) and Ethics (Master in
Sacred Theology, Union Theological Seminary, 1971). He has done research in
Latin America, including Chile and Colombia, on religion and politics and the
role of non-governmental organizations in socioeconomic development. He has
taught briefly at Fordham University and Georgetown University and for seven
years in the Political Science Department at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (1980 – 1987). He was a member of the Jesuit Order in the Catholic Church for 21 years and
served as a priest for nine years, including one year in Chile (1975).
Coy Sabel
Course/Subject Areas: Writing, Human Resources Management and Organizational
Behavior Coy Sabel has been teaching adult non-traditional students since 1998. She
has taught for the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh and Marian College in Fond du
Lac. Courses taught include writing, composition, research, management and
leadership. For each class, Coy attempts to address all learning styles with a
lot of hands-on activities and real-world applications.
She has spent 20
years in the business sector in various positions: Business Research Analyst,
Communications Manager and, most recently, Training & Development Manager.
When Coy is not teaching, she enjoys spending time reading and writing.
Cynthia Brun
Cindy has been with the Center for New Learning since Fall 2006. She comes
to the Center with 25+ years of experience in nontraditional adult education.
She is the Program Coordinator for the bachelor's of Fire and Emergency Response Management degree, as
well as an instructor for the Center of New Learning. Cindy received her Bachelor degree from Creighton University in Omaha, Neb.
and her Masters degree in Continuing Adult & Vocational Education from the
University of Wisconsin Madison. Contact Info: UW Oshkosh, Dempsey Hall (929) 424-1458
Course/Subject Area: Coaching, Mentoring, Introduction to Liberal Studies and Senior Capstone
Frances Perkins
Course/Subject Area: Humanities: Culture & Values Originally from Southern California, Frances Perkins earned her B.A. in Film Studies and Cultural Anthropology at the University of California at Santa Barbara. She earned her M.F.A. in Film Production from New York University and worked as a freelance producer in New York before moving to Wisconsin in 2000. Contact Information:
She continues to freelance as a Writer/Producer at Milwaukee’s ABC affiliate station, WISN-TV. Perkins also produces films for her Writer/Director husband, Troy Perkins, an Assistant Professor in Radio/TV/Film at UW Oshkosh. They live in Neenah and have two children.
She has produced two short films - "Brothers" and "Tractor For Sale" in collaboration with her husband. Trailers for these two short films can be seen on the production website www.northtownproductions.com, along with other examples of recent projects.
Gary Ziebell
Course/Subject Area: Project Planning & Implementation Gary Ziebell has over 20 years of management and leadership experience in service, retail, and manufacturing industries. His passion is being a change agent by challenging people with accountability, ownership, and personal growth. After receiving his MBA from UW Oshkosh in 2005, he taught management courses for two years at Milwaukee School of Engineering. His teaching philosophy is that students need to be able to take what they learn and apply it to their jobs. He is sympathetic to the demands that are put on students to be working adults and taking classes at the same time. Contact Information:
James Poltrock
Course/Subject Area: Politics of Emergency Management, Conflict Resolution, Mediation, Arbitration and Negotiation Jim Poltrock’s philosophy of teaching is based on a belief that learning should be student focused. Now that the majority of his teaching is in a cyber classroom he believes that his primary role has shifted from being a provider of information to a cyber classroom facilitator. Poltrock earned an A.A.S. in Fire Protection Technology from Madison Area Technical College, a BA and MA in Public Service from Marquette University and a professional graduate certificate in Public Safety and Security from Northwestern University. His graduate studies and research at Marquette were focused in the areas health care administration, service quality improvement and dispute resolution. He earned a certificate in Public Administration from UW-Milwaukee. Poltrock has been employed at the Kenosha Fire Department for 17 years and has served as a firefighter/paramedic, apparatus operator, and lieutenant. He currently serves as the Assistant Division Chief of Emergency Medical Services. Contact Information:
Jeanine Hanisch
Course/Subject Areas: Leadership and Writing Jeanine was employed by Mercury Marine in Fond du Lac as manager of the
Personal Development Center and was involved with the development and worldwide
offering of Mercury’s leadership program. She now teaches adult students at the
university level, channeling her knowledge and experience in leadership to
courses that focus on that critical area. She earned both her bachelor's and
master's degrees through the University of Wisconsin.
Jennifer Buchholz
Course/Subject Areas: Leadership, Conflict Resolution, Capstone and Research
Seminars Jennifer Buchholz has been teaching for the Center for New Learning since
2006 and has been teaching on the college level since 1999. She earned her M.A.
in Human Resource Development from Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago
and is currently finishing her Ph.D. in Organization and Management with Capella
University. Jennifer has worked as a manager in the financial services, higher education
and management consulting industries. Her favorite classes to teach for
the Center for New Learning include leadership and interpersonal communication
classes.
Jim Frascona
Working with nontraditional students has been one of the most rewarding work
experiences of Jim's life. The motivation and sincere interest in the course
material has been unparalleled in his 10 years of teaching, and he enjoys being
a facilitator. He learns as the students learn, and it's just a lot of fun for
him. Jim's professional experience is a combination of human resources management
and social work. He worked in the human resources field for about 12 years, then
went back to school to and obtain a Masters in Social Work. He also has an MBA
degree, and worked in the mental health field for a two years. Then, Jim found a
way to combine his backgrounds in business and the social sciences as a teacher
for CNL.
Course/Subject Areas: Occupational, Leadership, Human Resources Management
and Organizational Behavior
Jim Stevens
Jim is an Instructional Designer for CNL and the College of Education and Human
Services. His background includes computer networking, technology management
and English Literature. He holds a degree in English from UW Oshkosh (Bachelor
of Science) and Clemson University (Master Arts) and a degree in Computer
Networking. Jim
enjoys working with nontraditional students and the other CNL instructors and
staff. He has a varied sense of humor and enjoys many leisurely activities,
especially playing board games and table top miniature war
games.”
Course/Subject Area: Writing
Joe Foy, Ph.D.
Course/Subject Area: Humanities Confront Violence & Aggression Joseph J. Foy received his Ph.D. at the University of Notre Dame, during which time he served as a Manatt Fellow for Democracy Studies at the International Foundation for Election Systems in Washington, D.C. His research interests are focused primarily on the links between politics and popular culture, and he has contributed essays in The Philosophy of the X-Files (2007) and Steven Spielberg and Philosophy (2009). A frequent guest on Wisconsin Public Radio, Foy's latest book, Homer Simpson Goes to Washington: American Politics through Popular Culture, was awarded the 2009 John G. Cawelti Award for best text book or primer on American and Popular Culture by the Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association. Foy was also selected as a recipient for the Arthur M. Kaplan Fellowship for significant and innovative improvement of instruction and service to students for 2008-2009. Contact Information:
Kay Chitwood
Course/Subject Area: Presentations in the Virtual Workplace, Liberal Studies
and the Web Kay has been the Director of Learning Innovations since 2005. Chitwood retired from her position as director of the Wisconsin Online Resource Center at Fox Valley Technical
College, where she led statewide initiatives of the Wisconsin Online Resource
Center, a repository of more than 2,200 learning objects. Kay received her master's degree in Educational Media from the University of
Northern Colorado. Since 2001, she has presented nationwide on a variety of
topics, including developing learning objects, building online repositories,
establishing curriculum processes for faculty, identifying assessment strategies
and integrating technology.
Lee Prellwitz
Course/Subject Areas: Budgeting, Data Analysis and Project Management Lee Prellwitz attended college at the University of Wisconsin in the late 1960s and returned to school in the late 1980s and recieved a Liberal Studies degree from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh in 1995 while working full-time at Ripon Foods, Inc. In the fall of 1996 he began the Master of business Administration program at UW Oshkosh and recieved his MBA in December of 1998. His most rewarding experience as a student was the European Study Tour he took as the final course in the MBA program. Two weeks in Germany, France and England as part of a group of forty undergraduate and graduate business students was a memorable experience. He teaches Applied Data Gathering and Analysis, Budgeting for Managers and Project Planning for the Center of New Learning. He relies heavily on his 29 years of business experience in the courses he teaches, and trys to use real world examples from his students as well. Prellwitz believes that education consists of both experience and relating it to the theories used in various disciplines. He also believes that education should be a lifelong experience and considers it his responsibility to direct his efforts to that direction. Contact Information:
Marsha Rossiter, Ph.D.
Course/Subject Areas: Leadership and Capstone Seminar As a practitioner in adult and continuing education for more than 25 years, Marsha Rossiter has functioned as teacher, mentor, workshop leader, program developer, and administrator. She has extensive experience in continuing higher education and serving adult nontraditional learners in the university setting. Contact Information:
She served as the director of the adult degree program and the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Lifelong Learning and Community Engagement at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, where currently she is a member of the faculty of the Department of Human Services and Educational Leadership. Her writing and research focus on narrative applications in adult education; the relational elements of learning among adult students; and the connections between possible selves and adult learning. Her publications include Narrative and the Practice of Adult Education, Possible Selves and Adult Learning: Perspectives and Potential, and numerous articles and chapters on adult learning. Dr. Rossiter holds a bachelor's degree from Northern Illinois University, a master's degree in library science from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, and a Ph.D. in adult education from the University of Wisconsin Madison.
Mary Weber, Ph.D.
Course/Subject Area: Managing People at Work Dr. Mary Weber has 27 years experience in the food service industry, 10 years in a private international corporate headquarters and 10 years in association management developing an education foundation. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Management from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay (1984) and a Master’s of Arts in Organizational Management from the University of Phoenix, Louisiana (1998). She defended her doctoral thesis in Grenoble, France for the doctorate of business administration program (DBA) in 2006. In her spare time Weber enjoys the luxury of reading, she walks daily with her German shepherd and loves to cook and ride her motorcycle on the weekends. Contact Information:
Melissa McCarthy
Course/Subject Area: Collaborative Leadership Melissa (Mel) McCarthy has been with Thrivent Financial for Lutherans for 12 years, and is currently a Program Development manager. She has a Bachelor's degree in English from UW-Oshkosh, and a Master's degree in Training and Development from UW-Stout. She is a certified Master Graduate of Rapport Leadership International and enjoys leading and inspiring others. She has taught at a variety of universities, has an entrepreneurial spirit, is creative, and loves to explore new business ideas. Her favorite thing to do is help people grow and thrive. Mel loves working with and teaching adults. Adults learn by building on their previous experiences. Their rich insights, business experiences and life learnings translate into a better experience for everyone in the classroom (including the teacher). In her spare time, she is building a real estate investment business with her husband, enjoys reading, golf, DIY projects, being outdoors with her husband and two golden retrievers, and hanging out with the "little" sister she mentors through Big Brothers, Big Sisters. Contact Information:
Peter O'Leary
Peter O’Leary holds a bachelor’s degree from Southern Illinois University, a Master of Public Administration from Illinois Institute of Technology and recently earned his Executive Fire Officer certificate from the National Fire Academy. He has held various positions throughout his fire service career in Illinois, New Hampshire and Wisconsin, where he currently serves as fire chief in Fond du Lac.
