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Department: School of Education

Elmer Harris

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Elmer Harris, Ed.D., is a Wilton Flemon Postdoctoral and assistant professor of Early Childhood Education in the School of Education at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Prior to becoming a full-time university instructor, Elmer served in a number of public school positions. This included early intervention paraeducator, special education (autism), fifth-grade general education and district behavior interventionist.

His main research areas are in diverse teacher recruitment/retention and school-family partnerships. Additionally, he is a 22-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force and was one of six educators throughout the nation selected to serve as U.S. Department of Education Teaching Ambassador Fellows during the 2017-2018 school year. Harris has also served on the associate board of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Denver. He was an inaugural participate in their mentor 2.0 program in 2015, which matched every incoming freshman from Sheridan High School with community members for personal, academic and vocational support throughout their high school career.

Harris earned his doctorate and master’s degree from the University of Colorado, with focuses on educational equality and special education. His teaching philosophy as a public school educator and university instructor is based on building and maintain a sense of community within learning environments, and using those relationships as a foundation for experiences that are individualized, relevant and highly engaging.

Ingrid Carter

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Ingrid Carter, Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of Elementary Education and Literacy in the School of Education at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Her research interests include preservice elementary education, teacher preparation in mathematics and science, equality and diversity in science education as well as argumentation in elementary science through writing.

In addition, she is the graduate programs coordinator for the School of Education at MSU Denver. In 2019, Carter was the third winner of the Faculty Senate Teaching Excellence Award and the winner of the 2019 Colorado Association of Science Teachers Award for Excellence in Teaching College Science.

Carter taught primary school grades in a Spanish/English bilingual classroom for four years in Richmond, CA. She also worked as an assistant professor at the University of Louisville for three years. Carter received her Ph.D. in science education from Indian University, Bloomington.

Rebecca Canges

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Rebecca Canges is an associate professor with the School of Education at Metropolitan State University of Denver. She began her career in education as a one-on-one behavioral interventionist for children with autism. After earning her Education Specialist Teaching Credential, she became a special education middle school teacher in the Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) in Southern California. During her time as a teacher she was nominated for the Disney American Teacher Award and was the first recipient of the LBUSD District Employee of the month. While working on her Masters in Special Education, Canges focused on research in the area of effective teaching practices for English Language Learners (ELLs).

She worked for many years as the research assistant for Jana Echevarria, Ph.D., and examined the effectiveness of the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol Model (SIOP Model) in supporting the educational needs of ELLs in the content area. Later, while working as a full time lecturer in the Special Education Credential program at California State University, Long Beach. Canges earned her doctorate from the University of Southern California in Educational Leadership with an emphasis in teaching in multicultural societies. Her doctoral work focused on methods that general education teachers can implement to support the social success of students with disabilities included in their classroom. Canges has taught at MSU Denver for the past seven years. She was the recipient of the 2016 Teaching Excellence Award from the MSU faculty senate and currently serves as the department chair for Special Education, Early Childhood and Culturally & Linguistically Diverse Education.

Susan Bertelsen

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Susan Bertelsen, Ed.D., is a professor in the Department of Exercise and Sport Sciences at Metropolitan State University of Denver where she has been employed for eleven years. Previously, she taught two years at the University of Wyoming, one year at Santa Barbara City College and over 10 years at the high school level in California, Hawaii, and Colorado. Bertelsen specializes in methods of teaching fitness and physical activity education, health education and physical activity behavior change. She has owned and operated a 3,000 square foot fitness center from 2007-2009 and has been a certified personal trainer since 1997.

Originally from California, Bertelsen earned her Bachelor’s degree from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo; Master’s from California State University Fresno; and Doctorate from University of Northern Colorado. She is an avid mountain bike rider and enjoys a variety of outdoor pursuits including golf, water sports, and traveling.

Philip Bernhardt

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Philip E. Bernhardt, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Department of Secondary Education, K-12 Education and Educational Technology in the School of Education at Metropolitan State University of Denver.

From July 2013 – August 2017 he served as the founding chair of the Department of Secondary Education, K-12 Education and Educational Technology. Bernhardt has spent nearly two decades working in public schools, including eight years as a secondary social studies teacher working in co-taught classrooms. In fall 2016, Bernhardt was selected by the Association of Teacher Educators (ATE) as a clinical practice fellow and currently serves as co-author and senior research associate of a 5-year National Science Foundation Noyce Scholars grant. He regularly presents at national and regional conferences.

His professional development interests and expertise include co-teaching, backwards design, performance assessment, effective instructional practices, new teacher mentoring and induction, and supporting middle and high schools establish course placement norms to help students access advanced-level coursework. Bernhardt has published articles in numerous journals including American Secondary Education, The Community School Journal, Current Issues in Education, The Field Experience Journal, and Educational Leadership. He is collaborating on a textbook for middle school students entitled, “Digital Wellness: Promoting Life Skills for Thriving in a Connected World” and recently had a chapter published in, “Teaching Social Studies: A Methods Book for Methods Teachers.”

Bernhardt received his doctorate in curriculum and instruction from George Washington University, Washington, DC and Master of Arts in Teaching in social studies education from Boston University. He currently holds a Colorado professional teaching license in social studies education (7-12).

Michael Benitez

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Michael Benitez, Ph.D., is the vice president for the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at Metropolitan State University of Denver. He is a nationally acclaimed scholar practitioner and educator in the field of diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education. Benitez has a critical perspectives on social and cultural issues on topics related to leadership and identity development, intersectionality, race and ethnicity, knowledge production as well as critical and inclusive pedagogy/practice in higher education.

Prior to his current role at MSU Denver, Benitez served as director of diversity initiatives at Dickinson College, director of intercultural development and the black cultural center at Lafayette College, affiliate faculty in the Graduate School of Leadership and Professional Advancement at Duquesne University, director of intercultural engagement and leadership at Grinnell College, and chief diversity officer/dean of diversity and inclusion, and Title IX and EEO officer at the University of Puget Sound.

Benitez’s deep knowledge and practice of innovative equity and inclusion-based strategies has helped to address some of higher education’s more pressing campus climate issues of today, including the Diversity Monologues- a critical spoken work initiative he helped implement and shape at multiple institutions, the campus climate community participatory framework and the Northwest 5 Consortium for supporting faculty of color.

He has authored book chapters and articles on student identity, hip hop culture, cultural centers, cultural and ethnic studies, institutional research and campus climates as well as faculty development. Benitez has also been featured in educational documentaries such as “Cracking the Codes: The System of Racial Inequity” and has appeared on talk shows such as “Worlds Apart,” “Hard Knock Radio” and “Speak out with Tim Wise.”

Benitez received his Ph.D. in educational leadership and policy with a focus on social justice in higher education from Iowa State University, a master’s in counselor education and a bachelor’s in human development and family studies from Pennsylvania State University.

Sue Barnd

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Sue Barnd, Ed.D., is a professor in the Department of Secondary/K-12 Education and Educational Technology at Metropolitan State University of Denver. She specializes in elementary physical education pedagogy.

Barnd has over 30 years of experience in teaching, having taught at the elementary, middle school and university levels. She spent 11 years at the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse serving as a faculty member and as coach for women’s fast pitch team. At MSU Denver, Barnd works with the K-12 Physical Education majors, supervises student teachers and is the co-advisor for the Physical Education Teaching Majors Club. In addition to teaching, Barnd serves as the program director for the K-12 Physical Education Program.

She has published over 35 articles; and has presented at the local, state, region, national and international level. Barnd has been actively involved in numerous local, state and national physical education committees. She has also served as the Colorado Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance President.

Lisa Altemueller

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Lisa Altemuller, Ed.D., is the associate dean for the School of Education at Metropolitan State University of Denver. She previously served as the chair for the Elementary Education and Literacy Department for eight years and returned to full-time teaching in special education in the fall of 2016. Her courses at MSU Denver focus on assessment in special education, differentiation of instruction and collaboration, instructional planning, reading disabilities and foundations of elementary education.

Prior to teaching at MSU Denver, Altemuller worked as a licensed special education teacher and a licensed elementary education teacher. The majority of her early teaching experience occurred in elementary school with a high percentage of native Spanish speaking students. It was there that she became interested in learning about the special education process and how to identify learning disabilities in students. She also co-wrote two grants targeting literacy for incarcerated youth and co-wrote and received a grant designed to pay the tuition of students during their student teaching semester. Altemuller’s current research areas include teacher candidate professional behaviors, hybrid and flipped classroom instruction and parent involvement in education.

Altemuller received her Ed.D. in special education from the University of Northern Colorado in 2001, a master’s degree in special education from Appalachian University in 1996 and a bachelor’s in elementary education with a concentration in Spanish from the University of North Carolina in 1993.

Rosemarie Allen

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Rosemarie Allen, Ed.D., is a professor of Early Childhood Education. She began teaching at MSU Denver in 2004.

Her research interests are related to addressing the disproportionate number of children of color expelled and suspended from early childhood programs and how culturally responsive teaching can more effectively address the problem. She was appointed as a Global Leader for Early Childhood in 2009 and represents the United States biannually at World Forums across the globe.

Allen has also served as director of the Colorado Department of Human Services, Division of Child Care, for five years. During her tenure, she worked with state and national leaders to create programs that became nationwide models. The Center for Social Emotional Competence (Pyramid Plus) was created, quality measures were added to early childhood rules and regulations, a statewide quality rating system for all licensed programs was initiated, early childhood guidelines aligned with Colorado Department of Education standards were developed, and the Professional Development blueprint was formed, building the foundation for Colorado to receive a 45 million dollar Race to the Top Early Childhood Challenge grant in 2011.

Allen consults with early childhood leaders on culturally responsive practices, micro-aggressions and facing personal bias and privilege. She currently serves on the National Pyramid Model Consortium team, has served on the Board of the National Association for Regulatory Agencies, the Mayor’s Commission on Early Childhood, the Early Childhood Professional Development Task Force and many governor and mayoral commissions.

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