Office and People Directory

Keith Wade

Biography

Dr. Keith Wade is an accomplished professional with over 18 years of business and finance experience, having worked with renowned Fortune 500 companies such as Ford Motor Company and Pitney Bowes. During his tenure, he played a crucial role in developing yearly plant budgets for Powertrain, amounting to more than $80 million. His responsibilities included ensuring the overall compliance of income statements across multiple companies and creating strategic roadmaps for future growth and income at Ford Motor Company.
In addition to his impressive corporate background, Dr. Wade boasts extensive academic expertise. He has successfully facilitated online classes covering various subjects, including finance, business, supply chain, project management, and organizational behavior. His ability to effectively impart knowledge in these areas has made him a valuable asset in the educational field.
Dr. Wade holds a Bachelor of Science in Management from Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, where he laid the foundation for his career. He later pursued and obtained an MBA in Business from the University of Detroit-Mercy in Detroit, Michigan, further enhancing his skills and knowledge. Committed to advancing his education, he went on to complete a Doctorate in Business from Argosy University, solidifying his expertise in the field.

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Leandre Waldo

Biography

In her role as Chief of Staff, Leandre is the orchestrator behind the scenes of the President’s office and the leader of the College’s institutional communications. As Secretary of the Corporation, she also helps ensure the Board of Trustees is supported, informed and engaged.

Leandre previously served as Chief of Staff to the President at St. Michael’s College and the Director of Client & Media Relations at Champlain. She holds an MBA from Brandeis University and a BA from Hamilton College.

Leandre has lived on both coasts and several states in between but is happy to call Burlington, VT her permanent home. When not herding cats, Leandre spends her time running, cycling, hiking, snowboarding and dreaming about her next SCUBA trip. She lives with her partner and two teen-aged children.

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Nathan Walpole

Biography

Nate Walpole is an accomplished animator and Animation Professor at Champlain College, known for his extensive work on the Halo franchise. With over two decades of experience in the industry, Nate has established himself as a leading expert in the field of game animation, earning a reputation for his technical skill, gameplay movement ideation, and narrative vision.

Nate began his career studying classical (hand drawn) and computer animation at Sheridan College in his homeland, Canada. Early in Nate’s career, he entered game animation at Bungie, the renowned developer behind the Halo franchise. During his time at Bungie, Nate played a pivotal role in bringing the game’s characters and worlds to life, working on key titles like “Halo 3” and “Halo 2”. His work was widely praised for its gameplay and narrative attributes and its ability to capture the spirit and essence of the Halo universe.

Nate’s work on the Halo franchise continued when he joined 343 Industries. He worked on “Halo 4” and an unannounced title, helping to create unforgettable moments and experiences for players around the world.

Nate’s contributions to the Halo franchise have been widely recognized and celebrated. His work on the Halo series earned his work display in the Smithsonian. He has also been featured in numerous interviews and articles about game animation, sharing his insights and expertise with others in the field.

In addition to his work in the gaming industry, Nate is also a respected Animation Professor at Champlain College, where he teaches courses in game animation and technical illustration. He is passionate about sharing his knowledge and experience with the next generation of animators “” committed to helping his students develop the skills they need to succeed in the industry.

Nate’s dedication to his craft is evident in everything he does, whether it’s creating breathtaking animations for the latest AAA game or inspiring and guiding his students at Champlain College. His talent and expertise have made him a highly sought-after animator and educator, and he continues to push the boundaries of what is possible in game animation.

When he’s not working, Nate enjoys spending time with his kids and playing competitive video games and sport (hockey, Muay Thai, wrestling). He is also an avid bladesmith. Nate is studious on staying up to date on the latest developments in game animation and technology and illustrates comic book content when not animating.

Overall, Nate Walpole is a highly accomplished and respected video game animator and Animation Professor, with a wealth of experience and expertise in the field. His contributions to the Halo franchise have helped to shape the series into the cultural phenomenon it is today, and his dedication to educating the next generation of animators ensures that his mark will last for years to come.

SELECTED GAMEOGRAPHY
Elder Scrolls Online
Halo 4
Halo ODST
Halo 3
Halo 2
Monsters Inc
WCW Backstage Assault

Favorite Quote

“Animation is about creating the illusion of life. And you can’t create it if you don’t have one.”

—Brad Bird

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John Ware

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Susan Waryck

Biography

Susan joined the Champlain College team in 2019. She’s worked in higher education and in Student Affairs for her entire 30+ year career. Her experiences range from small, private liberal arts colleges to mid-sized, public universities in the south and mid-west. Susan enjoys serving as the Dean of Students supporting students in their college experience. In her role, Susan supervises the Director of Housing and Residential Life, the Director of Community Standards, and the Director of the Office of International Student Services. Connecting students to these dedicated and committed team members is an important part of Susan’s role. She looks forward to supporting all students as they navigate Champlain College.

What are your hobbies?

I love to quilt (making t-shirt quilts, specifically); I enjoy riding my bike with my husband; I love to kayak

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Gary Washburn

Biography

Gary earned his Master’s in Professional School Counseling at Sage Graduate School in Troy, NY. Gary has been working in Higher Education for 15 years. Gary is a seasoned professional with a diverse background in enrollment management, academic affairs, student affairs, business development, and relationship building. He has demonstrated expertise in building highly efficient operations and teams, ensuring a seamless student experience. In his downtime, he enjoys being on the golf course as much as possible and spending time with his family and friends.

What are your hobbies?

Golf

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Timothy Wedge

Biography

Currently an Associate Professor of Practice at Defiance College and adjunct faculty at Champlain College, Tim Wedge has been working in the field of information technology for more than 30 years, and has been in the field of computer forensics / high tech crime for more than 20 years. His non-fiction articles and papers have been published in “The Informant,” “DFI News,” and “The Journal of Digital Forensic Science and Law.” His poems and short stories have been published in “Progeny,” “Nascence: The 2014 Word Branch Publishing Science Fiction Anthology” and “Moments, Moods, and Memories.” He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science (summa cum laude) and a Master’s in Criminal Justice.

After retiring from the U.S. Navy in 2001, he was a computer crime specialist at the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C) for more than 8 years, during which he developed and delivered more than a dozen basic, intermediate and advanced courses in computer forensics and online investigation, and taught more than three thousand law enforcement officers. Through NW3C’s partnership with Purdue University, he was also visiting faculty at Purdue University from 2005 to 2009, teaching several computer forensics courses, and collaborating with Purdue faculty on several computer forensic research projects. He also conducted computer forensic examinations for U.S. Military Intelligence, where he encountered instances of human trafficking. This resulted in a profound shift in his career goals to direct his talents to the fight against human trafficking. He has been invited to present on the subject in a variety of forums in such diverse places as Fairmont, West Virginia, and Doha, Qatar. He currently teaches Digital Forensic Science at Defiance College, in Ohio, where he is the program manager for the DCs DFS program, and online courses in Digital Forensic Science for Champlain College, and University of California, Irvine. When not actually teaching, or pursuing research opportunities to develop new methods for detecting and investigating human trafficking cases, he is working on short stories, and his upcoming novel, “Marti Martinez and the Fishbowl Girls.”

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Jordan Weeden

Biography

Jordan is a new member to the Housing and Residential Life team at Champlain College. She recently graduated from Colby-Sawyer College where she double majored in a self-designed program called Animal Science and Business, and Studio Art. Working as a Resident Assistant in undergrad got her excited to pursue higher education, which is how Jordan ended up at Champlain.

In addition to being a Resident Assistant, Jordan was also an Admissions Ambassador, Student Photographer, and Teaching Assistant. Getting involved in her campus community was extremely important to her social and professional development. Her success at Colby-Sawyer came from her determination to work with many different departments and gain as much experience as she could. She is hoping to foster that same excitement and drive for her RA staff at Champlain as well.

Here at Champlain, Jordan is the new Area Coordinator, working with upperclass students in apartment style housing. She is excited for this opportunity, as she previously worked with first year students more often than upperclass students. In the AC position, Jordan supervises and supports her RA staff, has meetings with students to discuss any questions or needs they may have, and oversees the building in her area. Jordan is always open to students popping into her office if they have questions when she is available.

What are your hobbies?

Training my dog and playing pool

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Stephen Wehmeyer

Biography

Steve Wehmeyer has been teaching in the Core Division at Champlain since 2008. He holds an M.A. and Ph.D. from UCLA in Folklore and Mythology, and a B.A. in English Literature from the University of Notre Dame. Dr. Wehmeyer’s research and teaching interests are diverse and wide ranging – with particular specialization in the ethnographic study of vernacular religion, the material and ritual arts of Africa and the African Diaspora, Western Esotericism, and Indigenous American narrative traditions. His academic work has been published in several anthologies and museum catalogs, as well as a number of academic journals including “Western Folklore”, “New York Folklore”, “Southern Quarterly”, “Magic, Ritual, and Witchcraft” and “Gnosis: The Journal of Gnostic Studies”. Outside of his academic work, Wehmeyer is a professional Celtic musician and songwriter, with credits that include motion picture and television soundtracks, and 13 albums to date (11 of which have reached the top 10 on Billboard’s charts for World Music). With a passion for globally engaged, experiential learning, Dr. Wehmeyer teaches or co-teaches a variety of courses across the Core Curriculum, including several involving travel to and service learning in places like Zanzibar and India.

Publications & Abstracts

PUBLICATIONS & ABSTRACTS

Professional & Scholastic Affiliations

American Academy of Religion

Curriculum Vitae

READ MY CV

Favorite Quote

“In the beginning was noise. And noise begat rhythm. And rhythm begat everything else. This is the kind of cosmology a drummer can live with.”

—Mickey Hart

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Peter Wehr

Biography

Peter Wehr has been an Adjunct and Instructor at Champlain College since 2011 teaching Game History and Game Production. Working mostly with first and second-year students, Wehr works very closely with student game production teams teaching them to function effectively to implement their game concepts.

Wehr has worked in academia and the entertainment industry for over four decades specializing in project management and developing infrastructure for new technologies for museums, games, film, television, CR-ROM, DVD, kiosks, and the web. Wehr has been fortunate to work with a variety of industry leaders such as the Smithsonian, HBO, PBS, the Rolling Stones, Sony, CBS, Pepsi, and Dilbert. While working in NYC in the independent television and film postproduction industry, Wehr created a reputation for taking on untraditional and unusual media projects. As one coworker pointed out to him “Whenever you are in a launch meeting, I know it is going to be an interesting ride.”

In his spare time, Wehr plays and coaches soccer, hikes, kayaks, Nordic skis, and snowboards, dabbles with Arduino and Raspberry Pi, reads history, and listens to a wide variety of music.

Curriculum Vitae

READ MY CV

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Michael Weinberg

Biography

Mike started teaching at Champlain about 1980 while he was also a middle school teacher. He has a Bachelors degree in mathematics and a Masters degree in Education. He really enjoys teaching mathematics and being with students. He also loves to go geocaching and has been doing that for about 10 years. He was a volunteer Advanced EMT with Essex Rescue for 34 years.

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Janet Weinstein

Biography

Janet Weinstein is an Adjunct Professor for Champlain College’s Broadcast Department. She comes with more than a decade’s worth of experiences working as a journalist for companies such as ABC News in Washington, DC and the Associated Press in London, UK. She is passionate about teaching students how to become stronger video producers, especially in an ever-evolving media landscape.

Curriculum Vitae

READ MY CV

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Grady Welch

Biography

Grady’s interest in filmmaking began as a young child when he ran crying from the theater during Ernest Scared Stupid when the trolls come up out of the ground. He then attended the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and majored in Cinematography. He lived in Los Angeles for over a decade, where he worked as a cameraman on feature films, tv shows, mayonnaise commercials, and video games. Grady’s also a lifelong performer, having acted in a bunch of very serious plays and was a committed member of the LA improv and sketch community. He’s also a professional Dungeon Master, and sings in heavy metal bands. He moved to Vermont in the spring of 2022, and could not be happier to have left Mordor for The Shire.

Distinctions & Awards

“The Sweetest Show” at the 2018 Hollywood Fringe Festival

Recommended Reading, Listening & Viewing

• The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
• The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
• The Lord of the Rings by Peter Jackson

Favorite Quote

“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. —Wayne Gretzky
—Michael Scott.”

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Madison West

Biography

Madison (Maddie) joined Champlain College in 2017 as an AmeriCorps VISTA at the Women’s and Gender Center (WGC). There, she discovered a passion for mentoring and supporting college students. Following two years of service at the WGC, she joined the Library as a Circulation Coordinator. In 2021, Maddie transitioned to the Office of Accessibility. As Assistant Director, she strives to provide successful access and services to students with disabilities.

Maddie holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Gender Studies from Saint Michael’s College and a Master’s in Public Administration from the University of Vermont. During her time at UVM, Maddie served as a Graduate Research Assistant for the Vermont Attorney General’s Office. In her free time, Maddie enjoys biking, fishing, reading, baking, and spending time with friends and family. She lives in St. Albans with her husband and two cats.

What are your hobbies?

Biking, fishing, reading, baking, and spending time with friends and family.

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Walter Westinghouse

Biography

Walter Westinghouse is an audio professional and educator form the North East Kingdom of Vermont. Walter has industry experience in live sound, touring, studio recording, component level audio equipment repair and recording studio installation and maintenance. He is an Avid Pro Tools Certified Operator of Post Production and Music and in 2023 became an Avid Certified Pro Tools Specialist.

Distinctions & Awards

2014 Seven Daysies Award: Best Recording Studio/ Engineer

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