This fall, Maryland Honors welcomes six new staff members to our living-learning programs and one new graduate assistant to our central team.
Staff
Skye de Saint Felix, interim associate director of Design Cultures & Creativity (DCC)
Skye de Saint Felix is the interim associate director for DCC. She graduated with a Ph.D. in communication with a specialization in rhetoric and gender from the University of Maryland. She also teaches in the communication department at UMD and has been working with undergraduates since 2015. Her research interests include rhetoric, gender, and political communication, and more specifically (im)migration, race and gender, abortion politics, and reproductive justice. She has published in journals such as Women’s Studies in Communication, Feminist Media Studies, World Health and Medical Policy Journal, and Argumentation and Advocacy. She has taught an array of classes such as Communication and Gender, Professional Writing and Communication, Public Speaking, and Interpreting Strategic Discourse.
de Saint Felix is also a co-editor for UMD’s Recovering Democracy Archives project, which is aimed at recovering lesser-known speeches throughout American history by BIPOC and/or women speakers.
Elizabeth Galvin, associate director of Interdisciplinary Business Honors (IBH)
Elizabeth Galvin joins the Interdisciplinary Business Honors program as the associate director, bringing over a decade of recruiting diverse, talented students to the University of Maryland and building innovative and supportive learning undergraduate communities. Galvin has been an educator and student advocate at the University of Maryland since 2009. She first joined the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and helped recruit talented students to the University of Maryland, including involvement with the Banneker/Key Scholarship Program. In 2013, she moved to the Advanced Cybersecurity Experience for Students (ACES) Honors program, where she designed co-curricular, experiential learning opportunities and helped build an outstanding living-learning program. In 2018, she joined the Clark School of Engineering to lead the A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation scholarship programs, including the foundation’s signature A. James Clark Scholars program.
Galvin is a proud Terp. She graduated from the University of Maryland with a B.A. in French language, literature, and culture, along with a University Honors program citation. Liz also has an M.A. in higher education administration from Columbia University.
Photo by Alison Harbaugh, Sugar Farm Productions.
Sarah Herberger, program coordinator for Advanced Cybersecurity Experience for Students (ACES)
Sarah Herberger joins the ACES team as a program coordinator, having previously worked at Johns Hopkins University and Bucknell University. She is a proud University of Maryland graduate and earned a Master of Liberal Arts degree from Johns Hopkins University in 2020 and a graduate certificate in higher education administration from the University of Missouri in 2021. Her higher education background includes student events and engagement, social media engagement, communications, and orientation programming.
Allison Lansverk, associate director of Gemstone (GEMS)
Dr. Allison Lansverk joins the Gemstone program as their new associate director. Lansverk received a B.S. in biology and a B.A. in English writing from Pacific Lutheran University, and a Ph.D. in the interdisciplinary doctoral program of biological sciences from East Carolina University, focusing on evolutionary biology and animal behavior. She later completed a science education postdoc comparing learning outcomes from a directed-inquiry version and a course-based undergraduate research experience version of the same introductory biology lab course. Prior to joining the Gemstone team, she worked as a research program manager in the School of Medicine and Health Sciences at The George Washington University.
In her role, Dr. Lansverk provides support to Gemstone through programming, communications, training, and recruiting. She is also involved in Gemstone’s instructional and research mission components.
Dario Middleton, assistant director for academic life for University Honors (UH)
Dario Middleton joins University Honors as the assistant director of academic life, leading the program’s efforts in advising, scheduling, and data management. He was previously the lead advisor for the University of Maryland’s Academic Achievement Programs (AAP) and a counselor at the University of Maryland Global Campus. During his tenure with the AAP, he served as the liaison to multiple departments on campus and was a member of the Advising Learning Network. In addition, he is a peer consultant for the Center for Leadership and Organizational Change (CLOC) and a member of the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) and the Maryland Executive Council for Educational Opportunities (MECEO).
Middleton holds two degrees from SUNY Buffalo: a B.S. in sociology and an M.S. in higher education administration. He currently lives in southern Maryland with his family and enjoys making homemade pizzas.
Richard Neal, coordinator for communications and media for University Honors (UH)
As coordinator for communications and media, Richard Neal leads marketing and communications goals for the University Honors program, as well as coordinates content for the program’s website and social media. Richard has a master’s in integrated design from the University of Baltimore, as well as years of professional experience in graphic design.
Graduate assistant
Kayla Best, recruitment and programming graduate assistant for Honors Central
Kayla Best joins the central Honors team as a graduate assistant for recruitment and programming, supporting student coordinators and Honors Ambassadors to ensure that prospective Honors students and families are informed of our programs’ offerings. She is currently enrolled in the master’s program in student affairs at UMD. Best is originally from Atlanta and graduated from the University of Georgia in 2019. After graduating, she began her work in student affairs at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. She is passionate about mentorship, student advocacy, and coaching students through their college experiences.
