INED Faculty & Staff

Faculty in the Inclusive Education Department represent a wide range of teaching, research interests, and professional experiences. The department houses both Special Education and TESOL. Using an asset-based perspective, faculty in each area are committed to preparing educators to be able to meet the needs of diverse learners and ensure student success.

Faculty

Name

Position

Katie Bennett
Katie Bennett Assistant Professor of Special Education

Position:
Assistant Professor of Special Education

Phone: (470) 578-2255
Email: kbenne72@kennesaw.edu
Location: BEB 431

My teaching, research, and community engagement efforts focus on teacher preparation, literacy, and high incidence disabilities. I teach at both the graduate and undergraduate levels.
Harriet Bessette
Harriet Bessette Professor of Inclusive Education & Educational Leadership

Position:
Professor of Inclusive Education & Educational Leadership

Phone: (470) 578-6893
Email: hbessett@kennesaw.edu
Location: BEB 434

I am a professor of special education and teach masters, specialist and doctoral courses in the Inclusive Education Department. I have over 25 years of teaching and administrative experience in public schools and higher education. My research interests include the use of drawings as research tools in qualitative research, Vygotskian theory, intersubjectivity, and interpersonal/intrapersonal planes of cognition.
Jayoung Choi
Jayoung Choi Associate Professor of TESOL

Position:
Associate Professor of TESOL

Phone: (470) 578-2231
Email: jchoi44@kennesaw.edu
Location: BEB 437

Associate Professor of TESOL in the Inclusive Education Department
Yolanda Cobb
Yolanda Cobb Limited Term Professor of Gifted Education

Position:
Limited Term Professor of Gifted Education

Phone: (470) 578-4255
Email: ycobb1@kennesaw.edu
Location: BEB 421

I have over 20 years of experience as an educator with a background in gifted education, school counseling, and elementary education. My teaching, service, and research interests are in addressing the social-emotional needs of gifted and talented learners and designing teacher preparation activities to ensure that the needs of students in this population are appropriately met.
Corrie Davis
Corrie Davis Department Chair of Inclusive Education & Professor of Educational Research

Position:
Department Chair of Inclusive Education & Professor of Educational Research

Phone: (470) 578-7853
Email: cdavi163@kennesaw.edu
Location: BEB 443

I lead the Department of Inclusive Education and am invested in the growth of the faculty, staff, and students.
Melissa Driver
Melissa Driver Assistant Professor of Special Education

Position:
Assistant Professor of Special Education

Phone: (470) 578-2512
Email: mdriver6@kennesaw.edu
Location: BEB 428

My teaching, research, and community engagement efforts focus on teacher preparation, culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogy, and mathematics interventions for students with or at risk for learning disabilities. I teach classes in both the M.A.T and M.Ed program.
James Gambrell
James Gambrell Assistant Professor of TESOL

Position:
Assistant Professor of TESOL

Phone: (470) 578-2658
Email: jgambre2@kennesaw.edu
Location: BEB 435

With a background in Spanish teaching and translation, I teach classes in TESOL programs that address how intersections of race, language, and culture impact teaching and learning. From theoretical and practical perspectives, I prepare educators to critically reflect on how systems of power and privilege (including educators') interact with curricula, pedagogy, and educational policy to reify or dismantle societal inequities. My research focuses on bilingual education including language policy and programs, school-community relationships, and classroom practices that engage language minoritized students, families, and communities.
Tristan Glenn
Tristan Glenn Assistant Professor of Special Education & UDLab

Position:
Assistant Professor of Special Education & UDLab

Phone: (470) 578-2657
Email: tglenn20@kennesaw.edu
Location: BEB 440

My scholarship, teaching, and service focuses on culturally responsive pedagogy and the preparation of teacher candidates to effectively respond to issues of diversity in the classroom. I teach at both the graduate and undergraduate levels.
Joya Hicks
Joya Hicks Associate Professor of Special Education & UDLab

Position:
Associate Professor of Special Education & UDLab

Phone: (470) 578-6146
Email: jcarterh@kennesaw.edu
Location: BEB 432

I have extensive experience in preparing pre-service and in-service teachers and leaders in providing fully-inclusive evidenced-based practices for working with children and their families.
Nihal Khote
Nihal Khote Assistant Professor TESOL

Position:
Assistant Professor TESOL

Phone: (470) 578-2121
Email: nvk4987@kennesaw.edu
Location: BEB 438

Having lived in India and Venezuela before immigrating to the United States, my life experiences with different cultures and languages have shaped my beliefs and research on bilingual education. I teach both M.A.T. and M.Ed. classes focusing on teaching for social justice and supporting the multilingual meaning making practices of emergent bilingual learners in U.S. classrooms.
Maria Montalvo
Maria Montalvo Clinical Assistant Professor of TESOL

Position:
Clinical Assistant Professor of TESOL

Phone: (470) 578-7854
Email: mmontal1@kennesaw.edu
Location: BEB 439

I teach in the TESOL department and supervise the TESOL Clinical Candidates.
Amanda Richey
Amanda Richey Associate Professor of TESOL

Position:
Associate Professor of TESOL

Phone: (470) 578-2769
Email: arichey1@kennesaw.edu
Location: BEB 436

My research interests are focused on issues of culture and representation in curriculum, family and community engagement, and literacy practices.
Kate Zimmer
Kate Zimmer Associate Professor of Special Education

Position:
Associate Professor of Special Education

Phone: (470) 578-3297
Email: kzimme10@kennesaw.edu
Location: BEB 430

My teaching, research, and community engagement efforts focus on teacher preparation, early intervention, literacy, and autism. I am also the program coordinator for the M.Ed program in Special Education and the KSU Graduate Certificate in Autism Spectrum Disorders.