Program Lead

Naomi Jeffery Petersen, PhD
CSEL Curriculum, Supervision, & Educational Leadership
Naomi.Petersen@cwu.edu
509-963-1481

Steering Committee

Several ad hoc steering committee meetings involved many people across the campus of Central Washington University as the programs were designed and curriculum developed. Below are brief profiles of many of them, some of whom will also serve as faculty. The official steering committee will include people teaching the courses and providing project contexts.
 

Faculty

Naomi Jeffery Petersen (“NJP”) is a professor in the Department of Curriculum, Supervision, and Educational Leadership. She is a graduate of Pacific Lutheran University (BA/Ed), Chapman University (MA/Counseling Psychology), and Seattle Pacific University (EdD/Curriculum) where her dissertation was a psychometric investigation of teacher beliefs.  As a teacher educator, her instruction and consultation work have been in assessment and professional dispositions. The interpretive panels she designed for the Washington State History Museum demonstrate her longstanding interest in informal learning environments, including an emphasis on STEM, arts, and literacy integration. She has published on a range of topics involving systemic issues, including public health, watersheds, railroad and military histories, and accessibility. NJP is the originator of the Accessibility Studies Programs and teaches most of its classes. She is the primary contact person for all aspects of ASP.
Contact:  Naomi.Petersen@cwu.edu

Joshua Welsh is an assistant professor in the English department at Central Washington University. He researches and writes about rhetoric and technology, with special interests in intellectual property, open-source software, user experience, accessibility, and online technical writing pedagogy. He earned an MS (2009) and a PhD (2013) from the University of Minnesota. His current projects include investigating the rhetoric of the so-called “smart phone patent wars” as well as working to develop a pedagogy and practice to connect the teaching of technical writing with open-source software communities and projects. He is a member of the ASP Steering Committee and teaches ASP 435 Accessible Information Design, a five-credit course.
Contact: Josh.Welsh@cwu.edu

Lynn Swedberg is a lecturer in the Department of Curriculum, Supervision, and Educational Leadership. She is an occupational therapist who worked previously with older adults. She received her BS (Occupational Therapy/ Psychology) from the University of Puget Sound and MS (Health Services Administration) from Whitworth University. Her passion is improving accessibility so that people with disabilities can participate fully in faith communities, conferences, camps, and playgrounds.  She is also certified in ministry with people with disabilities and consultant for the Disability Ministries Committee of the United Methodist Church. She co-developed the scorable church accessibility audit used throughout her denomination and writes resources such as the Understanding Ableism Toolkit.  She lives in Spokane, Washington, where she has been active in Access 4 All Spokane.  She presents nationally on topics such as inclusion in faith communities, the role of conference accessibility coordinator, and eliminating the use of “us/them” language.  She teaches ASP 305/505 Accessibility & User Experience and ASP 325/525 Universal Design. Contact Lynn.Swedberg@cwu.edu.  

 Rebecca C. Cory, Ph.D., is a lifelong college educator and collaborative feminist leader who has focused on educational equity across student and academic affairs since 1994. Currently Dean of Curriculum and Assessment at Bellevue College, she has coedited two books on accessible pedagogy including Universal Design in Higher Education, from Principles to Practice (Harvard Education Press). Dr. Cory has served as full-time and sessional faculty at six institutions. As an administrator, she uses collaborative inquiry to support faculty and the wider college community in their shared pursuit of social justice. She relaxes year-round by swimming in the waters of Puget Sound and Lake Washington. She teaches ASP 420/520 Universal Design for Learning.

Dr. Amanda Rosenzweig earned a Ph. D. in curriculum and instruction from the University of New Orleans in 2012, and has a M.S. in biology from the University of Louisiana at Monroe. Teaching at Delgado Community College (DCC) since 2003, she is a professor of biology and is the lead instructor for anatomy and physiology. In 2018, Dr. Rosenzweig was appointed as the college-wide biology department chair. Dr. Rosenzweig concurrently serves as the director of science teacher technology training at DCC. As the director, she oversees the development of STEM resources that promote active student learning through assisting K-12 educators with professional development workshops integrated with the Louisiana Student Science Standards (LSSS). Dr. Rosenzweig has immense contribution to the online learning community. Her current roles at DCC include Canvas Learning Management System (LMS) administrator and Canvas LMS training coordinator. Dr. Rosenzweig created and currently serves as the facilitator for Teach and Learn/eProfessor, a five-course series on course development and instructional design. The courses created are a repository of ideas, best practices, analyses, and other information that foster student success. She has served as an instructional designer on grants for course design and delivery, like HyFlex.

Her passion for digital accessibility has led her to earn an Accessibility Badge from OLC as well as completion of many independent courses from Utah State University, Microsoft, and CAST. She recently graduated with her Masters Certificate for Accessibility Studies from Central Washington University where she now teaches in the Program. Her enthusiasm and drive to ensure student success and progressive change are evidenced by the honor bestowed as the recipient of the Seymour Weiss Excellence in Teaching Award.

Amanda graduated from the New Orleans Workforce Leadership Academy, Aspen Institute Class of 2019. She is also a graduate of the InnovATE Bio Leadership Institute, Human Anatomy and Physiology Society Leadership Institute, and the National Science Foundation Advanced Technology Education Working Partners Project. She is currently an active advisory board member on numerous NSF grants and is a CAST Workforce and Postsecondary National Faculty Member.

Community Support

Wendy Holden is the director of Disability Services at Central Washington University. Her responsibilities include oversight of Central Access, the accessible material production lab. Wendy was part of the team responsible for the creation of the Central Access Reader, the Central Access Toolbar and other accessibility resources. She has been instrumental in the development of the Accessibility Studies programs and continues on the Steering Committee and as a curriculum advisor.