Joseph Kielminski
Joseph Kielminski, ’13 BA History and ’19 M.Ed., is a special education teacher at Foothill High School in Henderson. Milken Educator Awards Senior Vice President Jane Foley was joined by Gov. Joe Lombardo and Superintendent of Public Instruction Jhone Ebert presented him with the 2023-24 Milken Educator Award. The Award comes with a $25,000 cash prize that Joseph can use for any purpose. Along with the financial prize, recipients will join the national Milken Educator Network, a growing group of professionals across diverse roles and disciplines working to shape the future of education.
Jodi Branton
Jodi Branton, '08 MS Education, started a cultural consulting business, Awishinaabe, to share Ojibwe culture and help others teach from a multicultural perspective: "Appreciation over Appropriation!"
Ammir Aziz
Ammir Aziz, '19 BA Sociology and '24 M.Ed., joined 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ's School of Public Health as the regional program manager of The Defensive Line. The Defensive Line is a non-profit organization co-founded by former Las Vegas Raider Solomon Thomas to end the epidemic of youth suicide, especially for young people of color. The School of Public Health works in partnership with The Defensive Line to help execute its mission in Southern Nevada.
G. Lis Dziminski
G. Lis Dziminski, '01 BS Education, is a STEM program manager at the Governor's Office of Science, Innovation, and Technology. Dziminski received a Master of Education in advanced teaching and leadership from Sierra Nevada College with a specialization in gifted studies in 2010.
Alexa Ching
Alexa Ching, '23 BS Education, is an elementary school teacher at Stanford Elementary School. She teaches second grade and was just nominated and awarded New Elementary Educator of 2024 for Clark County School District. Ching likes to spend quality time with loved ones, binge watch the Star Wars saga, and spend time outdoors.
Maurice Perkins
Maurice Perkins, '03 MS Educational Leadership, is the principal at Hughes Middle School in Mesquite, Nevada. She was recently honored as the Principal of the Year for Clark County School District at the annual Starlight Awards on April 16, 2024.
Jenna Preszler
Jenna Preszler, '23 BS Education, was named New Secondary Educator of the Year for the Clark County School District CCSD. She teaches resource math in grades 6-8 at Jack and Terry Mannion Middle School.
Lisa Rubin
Lisa Rubin, '12 PhD in Educational Leadership, was recently promoted to full professor at Kansas State University and was recognized as a research fellow by the College Sport Research Institute at the University of South Carolina.
Jeremiah Riesenbeck
Jeremiah Riesenbeck, '13 BS Education, has been teaching at Roanoke City Public Schools since 2021. He is one of the Virginia Council on Economic Education's Personal Finance Teacher Fellows. He previously taught at Centennial High School from 2013 to 2001. Riesenbeck is an avid technophile and presents professional development on the use of AI (LLM's) in the classroom across the commonwealth of Virginia. In his free time, he volunteers as an EMT with his local rescue squad. He enjoys spending time with his partner, Paige, and fur babies, Raleigh and Roscoe. He also likes Magic: The Gathering, PC gaming, video editing, and learning.
Sheri Beyer
Sheri Beyer, '07 M.Ed. Higher Education Leadership, successfully defended her dissertation titled, "Muslim international students' perception of Islamophobia during their immigration journey to the U.S." The study explored the experiences of Muslim international students who arrived in the U.S. under former President Trump's Executive Orders restricting admission of citizens from specific countries.