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Home > Pre-College >Leadership Institute
Faculty
BELL: Sustainable Development
Robin Rose, Associate Dean for Summer and Continuing Studies and Director of Leadership Programs, has a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology and has been employed by Brown for over 25 years, having served in the counseling center and as the chief student affairs officer, Dean of Student Life. She directed the Brown Outdoor Leadership Training (BOLT) program for 15 years. Dean Rose has a national reputation among outdoor educators and has served as a consultant to many outdoor programs across the country. She enjoys backpacking, canoeing, gardening, snorkeling and working with and learning from young people.
Lexi Weintraub has served as a research assistant in laboratories at Brown University, SUNY-Stony Brook, and the University of Chicago, and conducted field research in coastal Rhode Island, Maine, Washington and Costa Rica. Her research has included estuarine ecology, salt marshes, tropical plants, and kelp. Additionally, has worked at the Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History, and studies biodiversity in Panama at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Currently, Lexi taught Science at the Frances Parker High School in Chicago and is currently working on a Junior project related to bicycle power and issues of sustainability. This is her fourth summer with BELL. She has a B.A. in biology from Brown University.
Kevin Currey is a Junior Environmental Studies major at Yale University. He was a BELL intern in 2004 and a student at the inaugural sessions of both BELL I and BELL II in 2002 and 2003. Kevin has worked at the Southern California Public Power Authority and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, where he helped prepare renewable energy power purchase agreements. He loves backpacking and is currently becoming a certified EMT. This is his second summer as a BELL staff member.
BELL: Field Ecology
Robin Rose, Associate Dean for Summer and Continuing Studies and Director of Leadership Programs, has a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology and has been employed by Brown for over 25 years, having served in the counseling center and as the chief student affairs officer, Dean of Student Life. She directed the Brown Outdoor Leadership Training (BOLT) program for 15 years. Dean Rose has a national reputation among outdoor educators and has served as a consultant to many outdoor programs across the country. She enjoys backpacking, canoeing, gardening, snorkeling and working with and learning from young people.
Lexi Weintraub has served as a research assistant in laboratories at Brown University, SUNY-Stony Brook, and the University of Chicago, and conducted field research in coastal Rhode Island, Maine, Washington and Costa Rica. Her research has included estuarine ecology, salt marshes, tropical plants, and kelp. Additionally, has worked at the Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History, and studies biodiversity in Panama at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Currently, Lexi taught Science at the Frances Parker High School in Chicago and is currently working on a Junior project related to bicycle power and issues of sustainability. This is her fourth summer with BELL. She has a B.A. in biology from Brown University.
Bob Ettinger graduated Magna Cum Laude from Brown in 2001 with a degree in Geological Sciences and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Middle School education at the University of Massachusetts. He has worked extensively with the Swearer Center for Public Service, coordinating the Outdoor Leadership and Environmental Education Project (OLEEP), and at the Thompson Island Outward Bound Center. Bob has his masters and is currently teaching science and math for the Boston Public School system.
Leadership & Civil Rights
Brianna Larkin teaches history and writing at Oakland School for the Arts in Oakland, CA. She received her BA in Africana Studies and Teaching Certificate for social studies and history from Brown University. While studying at Brown, she worked with Professor James Campbell researching the Mississippi Freedom Movement and developing the Freedom Now website (www.brown.edu/freedomnow), which contains an online database of archives from the Brown-Tougaloo partnership and the Mississippi Freedom Movement. She developed this leadership curriculum as a result of her research on the Freedom Now project. This will be Brianna’s third summer teaching the Leadership and Civil Rights curriculum at Brown’s Leadership Institute.
Branice McKenzie is currently a member of the vocal faculty at Oakland School For The Arts. She graduated from Brown in '74 with a B.A. in Psychology . She received her M.A. in music education from New York University in '78. Her career has included everything from jazz to theater to songwriting. Some of her credits include critically acclaimed performances at the Newport and Umbria Jazz Festivals. On the theatrical stage she has created roles in “Shades Of Harlem”, “Sing Sister Sing” and “Jazz Alley”. As a composer and musical director, she has penned a range of music including her latest work, “This World Is Mine: A Musical Revue for Children”. She is a recipient of the Meet The Composer grant from New York State and most recently made her directorial debut with the World Premier of “Celebrate Kwanzaa” at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. She has toured with such greats as Harry Belafonte, Gregory Hines, Roberta Flack and performed throughout the US, Europe, Africa and Asia. Ms. McKenzie was invited to Russia to perform at Moscow’s premier jazz club, "Le Club" and at the historic Tchaikovsky Hall. She just completed a Royal Command Performance in Morocco. This is her second summer with the Institute.
Leadership & Global Engagement
Josh Otlin has eight years experience teaching Civics, American History, World History, Economics, and Ethics, most recently at Hudson High School in Massachusetts. There, in addition to teaching, he manages a major experiential service-learning project and is deeply involved in a model democratic school governance program. As a Civics Mosaic fellow, he collaborated with Russian educators on a comparative civics project through Russell Sage College, and in 2004 presented with a colleague from Russell Sage at the World Congress on Civic Education in Budapest, Hungary. He has a B.S. in Political Science from Middlebury College and a M.A. in Political Science from Northeastern University as a James Madison Fellow. This is Josh's third year teaching Leadership and Global Engagement.
Todd Wallingford has taught high school Civics and US History for fifteen years, most recently at Hudson High School in Massachusetts. Todd's work incorporating service-learning have helped propel the district to earn national recognition for its leadership in citizenship and character education. He has also guided the institution of a school-wide democratic decision-making model, and has spoken at state and national conferences on this work. Todd has won a service-learning teacher-leader award from the Massachusetts Department of Education and a John Adams teaching fellowship through the Massachusetts Historical Society. In 2005, he traveled to Russia as a Civics Mosaic fellow, studying models of citizenship education in this fledgling democracy. Todd has an MA in education from Harvard University.
Leadership & Conflict Resolution
Jeff Birdsall has worked as an experiential educator and program director in a variety of learning communities over the past 17 years, including: environmental education centers, outdoor leadership programs, community-based urban service-learning programs, rural residential programs, higher education institutions, and AmeriCorps projects. Jeff has taught Leadership and Conflict Resolution for the past three years, as well as co-taught the Brown Environmental Leadership Lab. Jeff aims to empower and inspire students to learn, reflect, take charge of their education and find their unique voice in addressing the world's needs. Jeff currently lives in Seattle, WA where he works as a national consultant, trainer and educator for various leadership development, environmental education, and national service projects throughout the country. Jeff received a B.S. in Environmental Education from Lesley University and a M.A from Naropa University in Interdisciplinary Studies: Service Learning.
Nora Houseman has more than five years experience in leadership training throughout the world. For the past three years, Nora has been teaching middle school students at the American Indian Public Charter School in Oakland, CA. Nora received her B.A. at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn. and earned a California teaching credential at CalStateTeach. She currently teaches at KIPP Summit Academy in the Bay area.
Leadership and Global Health
Cate Oswald currently works at Partners In Health, an international health nonprofit focused on providing the highest possible standard of healthcare to the poor, as a research coordinator for projects in Haiti and throughout Latin America. Cate has experience working on issues of social justice and equality locally in Rhode Island and Massachusetts through homeless rights initiatives, especially in access to nutrition, housing, and health care. Internationally, Cate has worked in Sub Saharan Africa, South America, and the South Pacific on projects aimed to understand the social context of disease while working alongside communities to improve health outcomes. She holds a Masters in Public Health in International Health and is a 2004 graduate of Brown University with a B.A. in International Development Studies. While at Brown, Cate was involved in numerous leadership development programs, including working with middle school and high school students on health education. In the summer of 2005, she co- taught Leadership and Global Engagement and is excited to return to teach this new course.
Amara Ezeamama currently works at the Health Effects Institute, a non-profit organization that supports impartial scientific research aimed at elucidating the human health effects of air pollution. Amara holds a Ph.D. in Epidemiology from Brown University and has conducted research on the morbidity consequences of polyparasitic helminth infection in children using data from Leyte, The Philippines. She has co-taught Burden of Disease in Developing Countries – a course geared towards Brown University undergraduates. Amara is excited about the challenge of teaching this new course and looks forward to interacting with students in this capacity.
Women & Leadership
Kisa Takesue is as an Associate Dean of Student Life and the Third World Center Coordinator at Brown University. Her current duties include: co-coordination of Orientation; providing services to student of color; supporting the crisis management and non-academic disciplinary system; and developing educational programming. Kisa previously worked as a community-based social worker providing supportive services to teen parents. She has extensive experience working with teens and young adults on leadership issues and is particularly interested in how gender and culture informs our understanding of power and authority. Kisa has an A.B in American Civilization, specializing in Asian American Studies from Brown University and a Master's degree in Social work from the University of Texas at Austin. She grew up in Hawai’i and Massachusetts.
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