Center for International Education
George Mason University GMU.edu

2017 Open GATE Fellows

Photograph of the five fellows

The Center for International Education is excited to announce the first cohort of Open GATE Fellows. Open GATE is a $220.000 grant partnership between CEHD and the Oslo and Akershus University College. Funded by Norwegian Center for International Cooperation in Education, the goals of the project are to:

  • Build research partnerships between scholars who have similar interests in teacher education and especially those who have a strong sense of social justice and equity in education;
  • Foster a systematic process of collaboration between peer groups of students and faculty (MA level students, Ph.D. students, early career faculty) to seek out new ways to solve educational challenges;
  • Deepen knowledge among stakeholders on critical forms of research to facilitate educational transformation;
  • Provide an outlet for faculty exchange of curricula, pedagogy and best practices in teacher education; and
  • Enhance the capacity of early career scholars in teacher education to develop and disseminate research of consequence.

The 2017 Mason Cohort include:

Tami Carsillo is a doctoral student at George Mason University specializing in International Education. Her research interests include civics education, youth engagement, and education resources in South Sudan. As an Open GATE Student Fellow, she hopes to establish relationships with doctoral students at HiOA that lead to effective and positive contributions to the global fields of civics and citizenship in education.

Laura Conley is a 30-year artist teacher. Initially an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and the Washington Studio School, she is currently a Fairfax County Public School teacher. As an Open GATE fellow, she hopes to expand her understanding of how other countries approach their learning communities and looks forward to immersing into the daily routines of the Norwegian educational culture and to facilitate relationships. Art is a universal language that has little boundaries and offers many opportunities for connection.

Hilary Johnson is currently a high school teacher in Alexandria, Virginia. She is completing a Master's degree in Global Affairs specializing in Education at George Mason University. She hopes to eventually develop a nonprofit to better integrate global perspectives into traditional teacher education programs by fostering international partnerships through the Open GATE fellowship.

Susan Poland is a former elementary, middle, and high school science teacher. As a graduate student, she served as a Research Assistant exploring the policy constraints that impact science instruction at the elementary level in U.S. schools. Her dissertation research focuses on portrayals of scientific research methods in the classroom. As an Open GATE fellow, she hopes to learn about elementary science instruction in Norwegian schools, and to learn about how students are taught to conduct research in Norwegian science classrooms. She looks forward to meeting new colleagues and friends along the way.

Kathy Ramos, Ph.D. is an assistant professor in George Mason University’s Teaching Culturally and Linguistically Diverse and Exceptional Learners (TCLDEL) graduate program. A lifelong educator, Kathy supports teachers nationally and internationally to serve English Learners (ELs) and their families with excellence and equity as culturally responsive, globally competent educators. As an Open GATE Faculty Fellow, she hopes to establish a foundation for ongoing collaboration and research with HiOA teacher education faculty around productive practices for building aspiring and current teachers’ global competence through engaging coursework experience.