Cohort 4 Doctoral Bios

Dr. Heidi Askari received her Doctorate in Organizational Leadership in 2023. Dr. Askari is the office manager at Rosemont Dental Center, located in Frederick MD. She has been working there since 2000. After receiving her bachelor’s degree From Al-Zahra university in Tehran, Iran in 1991, she started teaching English in a high school 1991 to 1998. During the same time she taught English to adult learners at the former Iran-American language Institute, her passions are painting and writing poems in Persian. 

Education  

• Master of Science, Educational Studies, Johns Hopkins University,  
• 2014 Graduate Certificate, Teaching the Adult Learner, Johns Hopkins University Graduate Certificate, English as a Second Language, Johns Hopkins University  
• Bachelors degree in Education from Al-Zahra University, 1991 

Dr. Askari’s dissertation was on Doctoral Students' Perceptions of Stress, Stressors, and Coping Strategies. 

With over two decades of leadership experience from the combat zone to the C-suite, Dr. Adam Cubbage has extensive experience working with leaders at every level of an organization empowering them to lead people, develop teams, & achieve results. He is driven by a passion to help develop the next generation of leaders through a combination of experience, education, and expertise.  
 
Currently, Adam is a Principal Consultant at Center Point Leadership Development, a learning and development company with a mission to transform people into dynamic leaders through experiential learning. He is also a certified executive coach, an official member of the Forbes Coaches Council & contributing writer, a TEDx speaker, a Partner-in-Trust for the Frederick County Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Fort Detrick Alliance Board of Directors, and an adjunct professor. Originally from Philadelphia, PA, Adam graduated from Penn State University and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. There, he served in some of the most elite units, including the storied 173rd Airborne Brigade where he received numerous awards for his actions in Iraq & Afghanistan including the Combat Action Badge, the Combat Senior Parachutist Badge, two bronze star medals for valor and gallantry in battle, as well as the Meritorious Service Medal. 

Education 

• Master’s in Public Management; University of Maryland at College Park, 2012
• Diploma, U.S. Army Combined Arms Service Staff School; Fort Leavenworth, KS, 2002
• Diploma (Honor Graduate), U.S. Army Captains Career Course; Fort Leonard Wood, MO, 2002
• Diploma, U.S. Army Basic Officers Course; Fort McClellan, AL, 1999
• Bachelor of Science, Public Policy; Penn State University, Capital Campus, 1998
   

Dr. Cubbage’s dissertation is on, Measuring the Leadership Deficit: A Quantitative Study of the Perceptions of Working Professionals in Maryland Organization. 
 

Dr. Noah Drill received his Doctorate in Organizational Leadership (DOL) in 2023. Dr. Drill implemented root cause analysis strategies to design, develop and execute an action plan that closed the achievement gap (by 15%) and improved student performance across all sub-groups on Maryland Science Assessment. 

Dr. Drill identified students targeted by the School Improvement Plan in the DreamBox Learning Math intervention (DBL), created and provided staff training to implement DBL with fidelity, monitored results with staff and students. Students made higher than expected growth in both Winter Measure of Academic Performance (MAP) & Spring MAP administrations. 

Education

• Bachelor of Science, Elementary Education, University of Maryland, 2011 
• Master of Science. Educational Leadership and Administration, Hood College, 2015 

Dr. Drill’s dissertation was on, The Relationship Between Teachers’ Perceptions of Their Principal’s Authentic Leadership and Their Own Academic Optimism in Title I Elementary Schools 

Dr. Carrie Johnson received her Doctorate in Organizational Leadership (DOL) in 2022.  Dr. Johnson ventured into the field of veterinary medicine shortly after completing her undergraduate degree from Hood College in 2013. Since then, she has obtained her MBA and DOL while working in various roles within the veterinary field. This experience has culminated in her current role as a resource optimization manager for a corporate group of over 100 veterinary practices, focusing on business strategy and leadership development initiatives for hospital management.  

Dr. Johnson’s time as a veterinary nurse and practice manager provided her with a great understanding of the necessity for solid leadership, clear communication, trust, and the formation of meaningful relationships. Dr. Johnson strives to improve the veterinary industry via large scale cultural and organizational initiatives to strengthen the employee experience and professional quality of life. Given her deep understanding of the necessity for an improved quality of life for veterinary staff, Dr. Johnson’s research focused on providing positive interventions to disrupt the relationship between compassion fatigue and the development of mental illness among veterinary nurses. Dr. Johnson is an active member of Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, the Academy for Human Resource Development, and is a Certified Compassion Fatigue Professional.  

Outside of her professional and academic ventures, Dr. Johnson also enjoys doing many outdoor activities, including camping, hiking, spending time with family, and playing with her three dogs. 

Education

• Master of Business Administration, Mount St. Mary’s University, 2018 
• Bachelor of Arts, Biology, Hood College 2013 

Dr. Johnson’s dissertation was on The Impact of Compassion Fatigue on Anxiety and Depression Among Veterinary Nurses: A Study on the Moderating Effect of Compassion Satisfaction 

Mary Y. Hawkins Jones, an Arkansas native, has served as an educator for more than three decades. Because of her extensive experience, she is a national and local presenter on a variety of educational topics. Hawkins Jones served as an administrator in Memphis, TN for four years. She has dedicated her educational career to teaching, leading, and inspiring students and other educators. 

She earned a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in School Administration. Throughout her 34 years in education, Mary has served as a teacher, a mentor, a coordinator (testing and math), and an administrator. Her experiences outside the classroom have given her knowledge and leadership skills that inform every aspect of her work. She utilizes her experience as an interviewer to develop a thorough understanding of students' and adults' hopes and needs which fosters a professional relationship and leads to a more effective tailored plan of action. 

Mary has received both national and local honors in teaching. She was named the first Most Hopeful Teacher in America by Gallup for the 2013 – 2014 school year. She was also presented with the 2014 Washington Post Agnes Meyer Outstanding Teacher Award for Montgomery County Public Schools.

Education 

• Master of Science, Curriculum and Instruction, Western Maryland College, 2000
• Bachelor of Arts, Elementary Education, Philander Smith College, 1990

Dr. Rodney Mosley is a husband, father, professional, servant, learner, and disciple focused on improving lives and community. Rodney has been married to his wife and best friend, Solveig, for 25 years and together they are in the middle of the adventure of raising six children ages 14-24. Professionally, Rodney supports the strategic overhaul of the PSAT and SAT from a paper/pencil delivery to an adaptive digital test at College Board. Rodney focuses on pricing, contract negotiations, reporting, and long-term forecasting in support of schools and districts utilizing College Board products. Prior to working in educational assessments, Rodney was at Freddie Mac with a focus on capital markets investments. Rodney has a deep knowledge of back-end trading operations supporting fixed income, derivatives, and cash/liquidity lines of business.

Rodney actively serves the community. Together with Solveig, Rodney organizes, recruits, and manages multiple English learning classes in the community. Partnering with the Muslim association of Virginia and the Consulate of El Salvador, Rodney and Solveig have had nine successful cohorts complete a 26-class curriculum in 2023. Based on the successes from this past year, in 2024 we look to expand these classes further as we recruit additional teachers and identify new locations closer to where our immigrants reside. Rodney also teaches a Personal Finance class in the region helping participants develop financial literacy and be familiar with the tools to be self-reliant.

Rodney is a life-long learner having spent about half his life in some form of formal instruction. Before becoming a doctoral student at Hood College, Rodney obtained his bachelor's degree in business management from Brigham Young University. Rodney then obtained an MBA from the University of Utah and an additional MS in Finance from American University. Rodney has been a certified project management professional (PMP) since 2006.

Rodney is a religious individual and credits many of his successes in life to his relationship with God. Rodney spent two years serving as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Sweden. Rodney has also served over five years as the unpaid head of a local congregation of three hundred members providing counseling, service opportunities, and having administrative oversight. He continues to serve in his church in multiple positions.

Education

• Master of Science, Finance, American University, 2012
• Master of Business Administration, Information Systems, University of Utah, 2001
• Bachelor of Science, Management, Brigham Young University, 2000

Dr. Mosley's dissertation is on, The Impact of Membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on Academic Achievement at the High School Level.

Dr. Karine Myers received her Doctorate in Organizational Leadership (DOL) in 2023. She has been working in the Frederick County Public Schools (FCPS) System of Maryland for over 23 years in a variety of positions. In July 2019, she took on the new role of Leadership Development Coordinator. Prior to this role, Karine was the Coordinator of Teacher and Principal Evaluation (TPE). As the Coordinator of TPE she facilitated the evolution, professional learning and progress monitoring of one of the three system priorities focused on high quality instruction. Karine is excited to have the opportunity to broaden her influence in her new role and build the leadership capacity of the employees of FCPS system-wide. Karine is one of the architects and facilitators of new a FCPS leadership development program for aspiring leaders, focusing on the role of the assistant principalship, Exceptional Leaders Innovating and Transforming Education (ELITE). ELITE is in its second year of implementation and is looking to expand its programming to include a variety of leadership roles and expertise. Karine facilitates a number of Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) courses for teacher leaders and aspiring leaders. Karine began her teaching career in 1996 at Lincoln Elementary. Through her 8 years as an elementary educator, she realized her passion for leadership. In 2004, she moved from teacher leadership to administrative leadership. Over the next decade, she moved from Assistant Principal to Principal and then to Central Office Leader. Each role provided her a different lens to view then impact of leadership on FCPS in order to best serve the students, staff and communities to meet the challenges presented in education today and in the future.  

Education

• Certificate Educational Leadership, Hood College, May 2003  
• Masters of Science, Concentration Elementary School Science and Math, Hood College, January 2002 Certificate of Teaching, Gettysburg College, December 1995  
• Bachelor of Arts, Dickinson College, Psychology, June 1995 

Dr. Myer’s dissertation was on Influence of a Leadership Coach Community: New School Leaders' Self Efficacy Perspectives 

A United States Army Veteran
Security Control Assessor and Analyst, Whitewaters LLC

Olukunle served in various capacities plus volunteering services to our great nation. He was a member of Global Response Force in Sustainment Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, NC. The Global Response Force (GRF) is built for rapid response to unforeseen or, more specifically, unplanned operations. Selected Army Airborne forces provide a large portion of the GRF and are dependent on joint concepts for deployment and access. They deployed to several places to help the nations during and after natural disasters, they helped equip and trained service members, logistically, before and post-deployment. Under GRF mission, Olukunle was deployed to help the victims of the Hurricane Arthur that affected about eight states/countries in July 2014. He was part of the troop that went to provide logistics and conveyed stranded victims to safe havens.

Conducts independent, comprehensive assessments of the management, operational, and technical security controls and control enhancements employed within or inherited by an information technology (IT) system to determine the overall effectiveness of the security controls (as defined in NIST Standard Publication). Drafts and reviews security artifacts including, but not limited to, System Security Plans, inventories, requirement traceability matrices, control allocation tables, and security assessment reports.

Education

• Master of Science, Management (Intelligence), University of Maryland University College
• Bachelor of Science, Business Administration and Management, The Polytechnic, Ibadan, Nigeria.

Human Resources Internal Consultant (Business Partner), Office of Human Resources & Strategic Talent Management (HRSTM), Montgomery College, Maryland

Ashley’s career history demonstrates her results-oriented business approach. Additionally, her unparalleled ability to establish and maintain cross-collaborative cultures among executive teams, union members, and nonunion employees has transformed her into a proactive change agent and mentor. She prides herself on being a creative, thorough problem solver who excels in demanding, highly visible environments, and these qualities attract her to an organization such as Hood College. A snapshot of her career-wide successes thus far would highlight:

• Thought Leadership; She serves as a trusted advisor on employee relations and subject matter expert on collective bargaining agreements for Montgomery College.
• Talent Development; She conducts needs assessments, analyzes findings, and designs customized trainings to address gaps in learning.
• Process Optimization; She leverages technology to streamline records management and promote data integrity.
• Staff recruitment and retention; She creates a pipeline of talent, hosts town halls to bolster engagement, and resolve grievances expeditiously.
• Change Manage: She compiles, interprets, and summarizes performance data to develop and execute new policies that align with organizational goals.

Education

• Master of Science in HR Management, Strayer University, 2016
• Master of Arts in Professional Business Communication, La Salle University, 2012
• Bachelor of Arts in Communication, La Salle University, 2011

Agricultural Teacher, Frederick County Public Schools

After graduating from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, with a Bachelor of Science degree in General Agriculture, Richard went to work for the United States Department of Agriculture at the Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC) in Beltsville, Maryland. While there, Richard worked for the Environmental Microbial Food Safety Laboratory and the Sustainable Agricultural Systems Laboratory. During his four-year tenure at BARC, Richard was part of several research projects that helped define agriculture nationwide. When asked what his favorite part about working for the USDA was, Richard states “knowing I had an impact in protecting, securing, and advancing our sustainable food source for future generations to come was the best part about my work.”

After leaving the USDA, Richard returned to Frederick, Maryland where he worked at the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) as an Accreditation Officer. While at A2LA, Richard was part of the Life Sciences team that covered biological, chemical, and environmental laboratories. Richard worked with many laboratories worldwide, but his specialty was biological food science and laboratories. While he very much enjoyed working for A2LA, Richard knew there was still more that he wanted to do. His passion had always been agriculture and more importantly agricultural education. When the opportunity to teach horticulture at Frederick High School arose, Richard, with the nudge of a dear friend, jumped at the opportunity. Richard says, “the journey to become a teacher has been an interesting one since I did not graduate from an approved program. I’ve had to work backwards to finish course work and tests to obtain certification, all while teaching and advising students at the same time.” This has been a great adventure for Richard, as he gets to bring his outside experience and connections to teaching at FHS. In July 2019, Richard was awarded the Teacher Turn the Key Award from the Maryland Agricultural Teachers Association (MATA) for his work in agricultural education. Richard now serves as the MATA membership director where he helps other agricultural teachers in Maryland have their voice heard.

Richard and his husband live in New Market, Maryland. In Richard’s spare time, he enjoys volunteering for several organizations and serves on various boards. Richard is always working on his green thumb, growing things that are not very common to many in our area.

Education 

• Associate of Arts, General Education, Frederick Community College, 2010
• Bachelor of Science, General Agriculture, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, 2012​​​​​​​
• Master of Arts in Education, Adult Education and Training, University of Phoenix, 2015