Engineering Unleashed Faculty Development

Kaitlin is an Associate Professor of Experiential Engineering Education and the Provost's Fellow for Faculty Development at Rowan University. She has been involved in KEEN since 2018 and was the 2023 National Rising Star. She is a co-creator of Design Your Academic Life and has served as a facilitator since its first offering.

Elise Barrella, PhD, PE, is the founder and CEO (Chief Everything Officer) of DfX Consulting LLC which offers engineering education and transportation research, planning and consulting services. She is passionate about curriculum development, engaged scholarship, sustainability, and engineering design. Elise was a Founding Faculty member of the Department of Engineering at Wake Forest University, and prior to that led the junior capstone design sequence at James Madison University. She has been involved with KEEN since 2016, leading workshops at the annual conference, conducting EML research, and most recently facilitating and coaching the first two cohorts of Design Your Academic Life (DYAL). In addition to academic pursuits, Elise enjoys local non-profit work with Community Design Studio of NC, Creative Corridors Coalition, and Boston-Thurmond Community Engagement Roundtable.

Mary Raber, PhD is a Professor of Practice and Department Chair of the Engineering Fundamentals department at Michigan Tech University, where she works with an amazing team of faculty and staff who support and teach over 1000 first-year engineering students each year. Her research interests include engineering identity development and engineering career readiness. She has been actively engaged with KEEN since 2016 when she was invited to attend her first KEEN Annual Conference. She is a co-creator, facilitator, and coach for Design Your Academic Life.

Cory has a B.S. in Engineering Science (Penn State), M.S. in Industrial & Systems Engineering (Virginia Tech) and Ph.D. in Engineering Education (Virginia Tech). He has experience as an audio-video engineer and educator. Cory currently serves students as the lead faculty member for Colorado Christian University's Engineering program. In this role, Cory develops integrated courses and curricula merging engineering knowledge, skills, and abilities; research-based instructional strategies; and a biblical perspective to engineering education. Importantly, he has successfully fostered university-industry (U-I) partnerships and entrepreneurial-minded learning (EML), which are essential to the CCU Engineering program. U-I partnerships and EML extend the impact of CCU's program beyond classroom learning and provide students with the real-world knowledge and experiences needed to excel after graduation. In addition to working with undergraduate students, Cory is passionate about helping faculty align their personal and professional values and activities.