University of Massachusetts Amherst
09/16/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/16/2025 10:45
IGDI Announces 2025-26 Dialogic Classroom Fellows
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The 2025-26 Dialogic Classroom Fellows cohort and training team at Aug. 26-27 workshop
The Intergroup Dialogue Initiative (IGDI) has announced the inaugural 2025-26 cohort of Dialogic Classroom Fellows selected through the Dialogic Classroom Fellows program. Nineteen full-time faculty members and instructors representing nine schools and colleges will develop knowledge and skills to infuse and expand dialogic practices in their classrooms through the program, which is supported through a partnership between the Intergroup Dialogue Initiative and the Center for Teaching and Learning.
The fellowship started with a two-day intensive workshop on Aug. 26-27 led by Essential Partners, a non-profit organization with extensive experience in helping people build relationships across differences through reflective structured dialogue. Fellows will participate in a community of practice across the 2025-26 academic year that will amplify and extend the use of dialogic practices in their classrooms through hands-on training, mentorship and coaching by experienced practitioners and ongoing support for skill building and project development.
Additional information about the Dialogic Classroom Fellows program is available on the IGDI website.
2025-26 Dialogic Classroom Fellows:
Hellen Awino, Architecture, Humanities & Fine Arts
Ysaaca Axelrod, Teacher Education & Curriculum Studies, Education
Joseph F. Bergan, Psychological and Brain Sciences, Natural Sciences
Luke Bloomfield, Resource Economics, Social & Behavioral Sciences
Jackie Brousseau-Pereira, Academic Dean/Director of First Year Seminars, Social & Behavioral Sciences
Matthew Ferrari, Commonwealth Honors College, Commonwealth Honors College
Melinda Gonzales-Backen, Psychological and Brain Sciences, Natural Sciences
Christiane Healey, Biology, Natural Sciences
Katelyn Hudson, Environmental Conservation, Natural Sciences
Michele Klingbeil, Microbiology, Natural Sciences
Michael McNally, Environmental Conservation, Natural Sciences
Javid Mussawy, Educational Policy, Research & Administration, Education
Sheila Pennell, Nursing, Nursing
Sally Pirie, Teacher Education & Curriculum Studies, Education
Joel Saxe, Communication, Social & Behavioral Sciences
Alicia Timme-Laragy, Environmental Health Sciences, Public Health & Health Sciences
Bianki Torres, Afro American Studies, Humanities & Fine Arts
Adaora Ubaka, Management, Management
Jia Zheng, Student Development, Education
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