The Faculty Coffee Break Podcast
By Molly Mann
The Faculty Coffee Break PodcastFeb 13, 2023
From Fencing Master to Sports Psychologist: Dr. Gerard Shaw
Dr. Gerard Shaw has held many titles over the years, including Maitre d'Armes (Fencing Master) and psychoanalyst. For the past 16 years, he has taught physical education at St. Francis College in Brooklyn, NY.
In this conversation with CAFE director Molly Mann, Dr. Shaw talks about how he has built a "fabulous life" pursuing what he loves, and how he encourages his students to follow their passions as well.
From Restaurants to Creative Writing: Theo Gangi
Theo Gangi is a novelist and writing teacher based in Brooklyn. He’s the author of acclaimed novels such as Bang, Bang and A New Day in America. His latest novel Kingston and the Magician’s Lost and Found is in development as a movie on Disney Plus. He writes far-out adventures that happen right next door.
Theo directs the MFA Program in Creative Writing at St. Francis College and lives in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn with his wife and son and their dog. His next book with Rucker Moses, Encounter at Owl Rock, is coming soon from Penguin/Random House.
In this episode, we discuss his journey to making a full-time career as a writer, his thoughts on what it takes to become a great writer, and the intersections between teaching and writing.
Public Health Doctor, Physician Journalist, and Professor: Dr. Shamard Charles
Shamard Charles, MD-MPH, is a public health doctor and physician journalist with nearly ten years of experience in health promotion and health communications. Currently he is a United Nations Global Press fellow, a frequent contributor to theGrio, and host of The Revolutions Within Us podcast, a monthly health podcast. Prior to joining the SFC faculty he served as senior health journalist for NBC News, leading the network’s health and medical coverage including groundbreaking reporting during Hurricane Maria and Hurricane Harvey. He is also no stranger to the broadcast booth, having previously been featured on CNBC and NPR, for his reporting on the dearth of Black men in medicine. More recently, he expanded his coverage internationally, writing and producing stories in Nigeria, covering a variety of public health topics including vaccine-hesitancy and vaccine-preventable diseases. His work can be found on the NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, NBC News Now, TODAY, and NBCNews.com.
In our conversation, Dr. Charles shares his journey toward a multi-faceted career in public health, journalism, and more, as well as how he balances it all.
The Underground Crafter: Dr. Marie Segares
Dr. Marie Segares is a long-time intrapreneur in the non-profit health and education industries. She has launched or expanded programs in every full-time job she has held during her career. Her experience includes managing a federally-funded public housing community health center for an academic medical center in the South Bronx, co-founding a public high school in Downtown Brooklyn, and developing an online, bachelor’s degree completion program for a faith-based, historically Black college in Texas.
Dr. Segares earned her AB in Sociology from Barnard College, her MPH in Sociomedical Sciences with a concentration in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention from Columbia University, her MBA in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and Leadership and Change Management from New York University, and her EdD in Organizational Leadership Studies from Northeastern University. Dr. Segares has taught entrepreneurship, human resources, management and organizational behavior, marketing, health education and public health, and health care management courses at the undergraduate, post-baccalaureate, and graduate levels in traditional/face-to-face, online, and hybrid learning environments. She joined the faculty of St. Francis College in 2017 and is the founding director of the MS in Management.
In this episode, Dr. Segares shares her journey as an intrapreneur and talks about her side hustle as the "Underground Crafter."
From Navy SEAL to NASA: Dr. Cesar C. Navarrete
Dr. Cesar C. Navarrete is Assistant Professor of Education at St. Francis College in Brooklyn, New York. He has served as a US Navy SEAL and worked in astronaut crew training at NASA in the Space Shuttle program. He received a Masters and a Doctorate in Curriculum & Instruction from the University of Texas at Austin. He has taught graduate level courses at the New York Institute of Technology and University of Texas at San Antonio. Research interests include learning technologies, English language learner education, learner intrinsic motivation, creative thinking, computational thinking, and cybersecurity education. He serves on the Board of Directors for Families in Nature organization and as a counselor for the St. Francis College Kappa Delta Pi, Xi Rho Chapter. His hobbies include playing baritone and alto saxophone, guitar, and bass.
In this episode, Dr. Navarrete shares his unique journey into academia and talks about how a lifelong love of learning has led him from military training to NASA and even the ballet.
Flipping the Classroom with Dr. Raeann Kyriakou
Dr. Raeann Kyriakou is Assistant Professor of Mathematics at St. Francis College in Brooklyn, NY. Her scholarly work focuses on the history of mathematics, mathematics education, and pedagogical models in mathematics instruction. Prior to joining the St. Francis faculty in September 2020, Dr. Kyriakou was an assistant professor in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at St. John’s University and mathematics curriculum advisor at Xaverian High School in Brooklyn.
Her work has appeared in the International Journal for the History of Mathematics Education and regional conference of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
In this episode of the podcast, Dr. Kyriakou shares her strategies for enhancing student engagement in the math classroom, including a flipped classroom model.
Project-Based Learning with Dr. Caroline Hagood & Anna Riddo
Caroline Hagood is an Assistant Professor of Literature, Writing and Publishing and Director of Undergraduate Writing at St. Francis College, where she also teaches in the MFA program. Hagood’s work has appeared in publications including LitHub, The Kenyon Review, the Huffington Post, the Guardian, Salon, Elle, and the Economist. She has published two poetry books, Lunatic Speaks (2012) and Making Maxine’s Baby (2015), a book-length essay, Ways of Looking at a Woman (2019), and a novel, Ghosts of America (2021). Her last three books were Small Press Distribution bestsellers and were published by Hanging Loose Press, which has released books from such writers as Maggie Nelson, Eula Biss, Cathy Park Hong, and Ha Jin, among others. She is on the Advisory Board for Cornell University Press’s trade imprint, Three Hills, and she serves as the Coordinator of the Creative Nonfiction Standing Group of the Conference on College Composition and Communication’s Donald Murray Award. Her academic articles have appeared in Resources for American Literary Study, Texas Studies in Literature and Language, Pennsylvania Literary Journal, and Caribbean Literature, Language, and Culture.
Anna Riddo is majoring in Childhood Education with a concentration in English at St. Francis. Anna is a Peer Leader, moderator of The SFC Writer’s Group and editor of the upcoming SFC Undergraduate Literary Magazine. She currently works at a non-profit where she helps students who struggle with reading as a Reading Interventionist.
Digital Projects & Assignments with Dr. Emily Edwards
What can digital projects and assignments add to your course? Where do you begin? Join Dr. Emily Edwards, Assistant Professor of Digital Humanities and Educational Technology at St. Francis College for this discussion about incorporating digital projects into a wide variety of disciplines.
Interactive Learning with Dr. Marlon Joseph
Dr. Marlon Joseph, Assistant Professor of Biology at St. Francis College, discusses interactive learning, the apprenticeship model, and encouraging students to bring their whole selves to class.
Learning Communities with Dr. Sara Rzeszutek & Meaghan Davis
Sara Rzeszutek is Associate Professor of History at St. Francis College, where she also serves as the Director of General Education and Director of the Honors Program. She is a participant in the History Gateways project and was a member of the AHA's Tuning Project. Her research focuses on the Black freedom movement in the 20th century, and she is the author of James and Esther Cooper Jackson: Love and Courage in the Black Freedom Movement.
Meaghan Davis (she+they) is director of the first-year experience at St. Francis College. Meaghan oversees the first-year experience course SFC 1001, the first-year learning communities, and the peer leadership academy. In addition, Meaghan teaches in the education department, specifically the social studies methods and foundations of education courses. Currently, Meaghan is pursuing a doctoral degree in educational leadership with a concentration in equity at New England College. Outside of SFC, Meaghan is also the founder of The BRAVE Institute and a New York Ambassador for the United State of Women.
Together, Sara and Meaghan have spearheaded the creation of Learning Communities at St. Francis, and in this episode they discuss Learning Communities as a student-centered approach to equity in higher education.