Kristy Brugar, Ph.D.

Moderator, NCHE President 2020-2021

Kristy is an Associate Professor of Social Studies Education in the Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education at the University of Oklahoma (OU) in Norman, OK. Previously, she was an assistant professor at Wayne State University in Detroit, MI, and a middle school social studies teacher in Maryland and Michigan. Dr. Brugar earned her Ph.D. in Curriculum, Instruction, and Teacher Education from Michigan State University. Dr. Brugar is a recipient of the OU Jeanine Rainbolt College of Education Junior Faculty Award (2017), the National Council for the Social Studies, College and University Faculty Assembly Early Career Award (2017), and the OU Robert L. and Nan A. Huddleston Presidential Professor of Education (2018). She is a long-time member of both NCHE and NCSS. Her research interests include social studies and history education, interdisciplinary instruction involving history/social studies, literacy, and visual arts, and teacher development.

Stefanie Wager

Moderator, NCSS President 2020-2021

Stefanie Wager is the Education Partner Manager for the OER Project. Prior to this role, she served at the Iowa Department of Education providing leadership and guidance at the state level for social studies education. She also taught high school social studies for Des Moines Public Schools and Dallas Center-Grimes Schools and worked at Instituto Thomas Jefferson in Naucalpan, Mexico. In addition, she formerly served as the coordinator of a Teaching American History Grant. She received both a Bachelors and Masters degree from Drake University in Des Moines, IA. Stefanie has been involved in the Iowa Council for the Social Studies since 2010, first serving as co-chair for the Annual Conference, then Vice-President, and now President. She is also currently serving on the National Council for the Social Studies Board of Directors. In that capacity, Stefanie has worked on the Strategic Plan Committee, Executive Director Search Committee and the Associated Group Ad-Hoc Committee, among others. She is also a member of CS4. In 2011, Stefanie was named an Emerging Leader in Education by ASCD. Stefanie lives in Grimes, IA with her husband Jake, who is also a social studies teacher, and their two children, Lincoln and Grace.

Tikia K. Hamilton, Ph.D.

Historian, CEO, Triple Ivy Writing and Educational Solutions

Tikia is a graduate of the Department of History at Princeton University, where she completed her Ph.D. in 2015.  She also holds an MA in African American Studies from Columbia University and a BA in History from Dartmouth College.  Dr. Hamilton also has taught at a number of prestigious institutions, including Princeton and Loyola University, as well as the Ethical Culture Fieldston School in New York, Sidwell Friends in Washington, D.C., and the Latin School of Chicago. She also is the recipient of the Spencer Fellowship under the National Academy of Education, the Mellon Fellowship, and numerous other fellowships and grants. Currently, she is completing revisions for her first book, entitled Making a Model System: The Battle for Educational Equality in the Nation's Capital before Brown. She also operates Triple Ivy Writing and Educational Solutions, where she coaches writers and designs workshops centered around history and matters of race, gender, and social justice. She also has written a number of Op-eds focusing on the same. She is a proud graduate of the Chicago Public Schools. You can find her on Facebook at Tikia K. Hamilton or visit her website at tripleivy.com.  

Tina M. Ellsworth, Ph.D.

Writer, K-12 Social Studies Coordinator, Olathe Public Schools; Adjunct Professor, Curriculum & Instruction, University of Kansas

Tina is a graduate of the Curriculum and Teaching Department at the University of Kansas earning a Ph.D. in 2017. She also holds an MA in History from the University of Central Missouri. She currently serves as the K12 Social Studies Coordinator for Olathe Public Schools in Olathe, KS where she oversees all K12 social studies programming, professional learning, and resource adoption. She also teaches undergraduate courses in social studies methods at the University of Kansas. Her research interest focuses on pedagogical content knowledge for teaching history, and racial pedagogical content knowledge for social studies education. She has been published in Social Education, Social Studies and the Young Learner, The History Teacher, Theory and Research in Social Education, Journal of the Research Center for Educational Technology. Dr. Ellsworth also serves as a member of the National Council for the Social Studies Board of Directors, the Diversity and Engagement Advisory Council for her school district, and the DEI Advisory Committee in her hometown. Dr. Ellsworth is a former middle and high school social studies teacher.

Alana D. Murray, Ph.D.

Historian

Alana is an educator-activist who has taught world history on both the middle and high school levels and currently serves as a middle school principal at Shady Grove Middle School in Montgomery County, MD public schools. In 2005, she served as the co-editor of the publication, Putting the Movement Back into Civil Rights Teaching with Deborah Menkart and Dr. Jenice View. She is the author of The Development of the Alternative Black Curriculum, 1890-1940: Countering the Master Narrative. This book focuses on the impact of black women in shaping the social studies field.

Amanda E. Vickery, Ph.D.

Writer, Assistant Professor, Teacher Education and Administration, University of North Texas

Amanda is an Assistant Professor of Social Studies Education and Anti-Racist Education at the University of North Texas. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in elementary social studies methods. Her research focuses on how Black women teachers utilize experiential and community knowledge to reconceptualize the construct of citizenship. Additionally, she explores Black women as critical citizens within the U.S. civic narrative. Her scholarship has been published in Theory and Research in Social Education, Urban Education, Race, Ethnicity and Education, Curriculum Inquiry, Journal of Social Studies Research, Multicultural Perspectives, Gender and Education, The Social Studies, Social Education, The High School Journal, Social Studies Research and Practice, and The International Journal of Multicultural Education. Dr. Vickery is active in the social studies community serving as Chair of the Executive Board of the College and University Faculty Assembly (CUFA) of the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS). In 2019 she was awarded the CUFA Early Career Award in recognition of her scholarship, teaching, and service to the field of social studies. Dr. Vickery is a former middle school social studies teacher.