Office and People Directory

Kari Banas

Biography

Kari Banas grew up in Massachusetts and then lived in Rhode Island with her husband and three boys until her whole family made the wonderful move to Vermont in 2012. They had been camping in VT for many years and once they moved never looked back. She has a Bachelor Degree in Fine Arts from Adelphi University in New York and loves to dance. She joined Champlain College in 2018 as a Compass Student Services Representative and has been with Student Accounts and Billing for over a year now. You will find her most days rain/snow or shine, walking all over campus during her lunch as she loves to see and engage with our students.

What are your hobbies?

Dancing, walking all over campus

Favorite local eateries and things to do in Vermont:

Any coffee shop that can make a coconut decaf latte

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Jonathan Banfill

Biography

Dr. Jonathan Banfill is an Assistant Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies in the Core Division at Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont, where he also directs the Global Studies Minor and the Freeman Foundation Asia Grant. Jonathan’s academic background is in Comparative and International Education, where he holds a PhD from UCLA’s School of Education and Information Studies. He also holds an MA in Comparative International Politics from American University in Washington, D.C. and a BA in Comparative History from University of Washington, Seattle.

Jonathan’s research and pedagogical practice is engaged in creating interdisciplinary interconnections between new trends in the humanities, social research on global and urban issues, and creative practices from art and design, via place-based and experiential education. He has a long-term interest in thinking about these issues specifically within the context of a transnational Asia-Pacific, but is expanding in more directions since relocating to Vermont. At Champlain, this means creating courses and pedagogical spaces that can combine students’ professional knowledge with a humanistic perspective that can address future changes and global challenges. Jonathan has lived, worked, and taught in places as diverse as Los Angeles, Beijing, Belfast, Pyongyang, Mexico City, Shanghai, Cape Town, and Tokyo.

Jonathan is a graduate of the UCLA Urban Humanities Initiative, an interdisciplinary research and training program funded by the Mellon Foundation that brings together humanities scholars, architects, and urban planners to study 21st century issues in cities in the Asia Pacific. He also served as a research and teaching fellow for the program and at cityLAB, an urban research think tank in the UCLA department of Architecture and Urban Design. More recently Jonathan is a co-founder of the Urban Humanities Network, which is supporting a new generation of Urban Humanities scholars and practitioners around the world.

At Champlain, Jonathan is Primary Investigator for a Champlain College subaward grant that is part of a larger Vermont EPSCoR proposal organized by The Vermont Complex Systems Center at the University of Vermont. This project, called The Study of Online, Collective Knowledge, and Stories (SOCKS), examines social narratives using Big Data and computational tools. Champlain College’s project focuses on the way that the soundscape has changed in Vermont and how Vermonters have talked about those changes over the last 150 years. Jonathan is a contributing faculty member for a National Endowment for the Humanities Digital Humanities Advancement (DHAG) grant that will be used to build infrastructure and contribute to faculty’s professional development for Digital Humanities tools. Finally he is a contributing faculty member to an ongoing multi-media research project funded by the Council of Independent Colleges Humanities Research for the Public Good grant that is investigating the history of Urban Renewal in the city of Burlington.

Jonathan is presently helping develop the new major in Digital Humanities at Champlain that will start in fall 2024.

Publications & Abstracts

Urban Humanities Pedagogy (2016) 

Favorite Quote

“If a scholar stays only in one place, then he or she will know no more than one song, their mind poor and pathetic. He ought to travel widely, observe how people live and how things work, understand customs and cultures across regions, learn of mountains, waters, and meteorology (cosmology), in order to extend their knowhow. This is how scholars are benefited from their experiences.”

—Hu Yuan (993-1059), Northern Song Dynasty Educator speaking about what we would now call interdisciplinary education. I am a descendent of Hu and try to put his ideas into practice in my teaching. Original Chinese quote translated by Dr. Weiling Deng.

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Phylise Banner

Biography

Phylise Banner is a learning experience designer with more than 25 years of vision, action, and leadership experience in transformational learning and development approaches.

A pioneer in online learning, Phylise focuses her explorations and research on the synergy between the evolution of educational theories and technologies. The gemstones she treasures most in her career portfolio are the relationships she has built with the global network of talented colleagues she interacts with throughout industry and academia.

Phylise holds a BA in Information Visualization from New York University and an MSEd from Nova Southeastern University. She is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP), certified Learning Environment Architect (CLEA), Adobe Education Leader (ALE), and Fellow of the Society for Technical Communication. Her most recent book, “The Language of Learning,” is available from XML Press.

Her hobbies include general aviation (she co-pilots a 1968 Piper Cherokee), fire-torch enameling, performance storytelling, playing the theremin, and learning to play the accordion. She’s also the proud owner of a 1967 Amphicar.

What are your hobbies?

General aviation, fire-torch enameling, performance storytelling, music, baking

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Anjali Barnick

Biography

Dr. Barnick has worked in a variety of educational areas and her main focus is that each student have a successful experience. Learning is about exploring different perspectives and growing as an individual and she hopes to be a part of that process.

Distinctions & Awards

Faculty award from Michael Zemany

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Scott Barrett

Biography

Scott Barrett is an alumnus of Champlain College who is delighted to be pursuing his passion of teaching. He worked at Ubisoft Montréal for 5 years in a variety of roles, including as a network programmer, as a gameplay programmer, and as a tools programmer. He has worked on teams as small as under a dozen people to as large as several hundred people. He has experience with both Unity and with proprietary game engines.

Scott’s teaching philosophy centers around helping students achieve their goals by working with them collaboratively and with honesty. He teaches physics, networking, and game engine courses, and he has a particular interest in low-level and systems programming. He is currently pursuing a Masters of Science in Computer Science at the University of Vermont part-time while teaching at Champlain College full-time.

Distinctions & Awards

Awarded a gift grant by Activision for educational work at Champlain

Recommended Reading, Listening & Viewing

Practical Creativity by Raph Koster

An excellent talk for game developers of any kind, and for anyone working in any creative field. Includes practical advice on how to be creative, and also includes a different way of looking at what it means for different works to share a genre.

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Charles Bashaw

Biography

Charles “Chuck” Bashaw received a BA in Comparative Literature from Hampshire College in Amherst, MA, an MA in History from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, and a Joint PhD in History and History of Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His scholarly interests all center on questions about how we know things and how much confidence we can have in what we think we know.

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Mark Bateh

Biography

Mark was born in Jacksonville, Florida and lived the first 18 years of my life here. Upon being graduated from high school, he moved to Gainesville, Florida where the University of Florida is located. There he earned an undergraduate degree in Mathematics and a Master of Statistics degree.

While in graduate school, Mark worked in the Statistical Office of the Pediatric Oncology Group (POG). POG was the basis of a worldwide study encompassing the research of more than 500 hospitals so that they could study the beneficial effects of chemotherapy on pediatric patients.

Following that, Mark worked as an engineering statistician with Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Group. In 1983, Mark returned to the University of Florida as an instructor in statistics and also to pick up on the research at POG. While back in Gainesville, Mark enrolled in several doctoral level statistics classes.

During the period of 1985-1988, Mark worked with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida (now Florida Blue) in the Actuarial and Underwriting division and the Utilization and Benefits Management division to evaluate the efficacy of cost containment programs.

During the period 1988-1995, Mark worked for two divisions of AT&T.

During Mark’s employment with BCBSF and AT&T, he taught several math and statistics courses for universities and community colleges in the area. Also, Mark ventured in establishing a consulting practice in statistical research, customer satisfaction measurement, market segmentation studies, advertising effectiveness studies, and quality measurement / improvement programs.

In 1995 Mark became a full-time consultant and continue to live and am based in the Jacksonville, Florida area. For most of the last 25 years, Mark worked in the field of continuing education for professionals. His company was accredited both by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). Most of his work revolved around the need assessment for continuing education program as well as outcomes measurement for the educational intervention.

Mark is actively engaged in the field of health services research and Type 1 diabetes research.

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Justin Bateh

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Chauncey T. Beaver

Biography

Dam, I love being a Champlain College Beaver!

Hey everyone! I’m Chauncey T. Beaver, Champlain’s official mascot. You’ll often see me around campus at events, taking selfies with my friends and throwing out high-fives left and right. I love all of my fellow Beavers and it makes my day when we get to hang out! Seeing your faces light up when you see me really fills me with joy. You are what makes Champlain so special, and I’m eager to meet new friends at every event I attend, so don’t be afraid to say hi! I can’t talk, but I’ll be sure to wave back. 🙂

My school spirit is off the charts and I’m always there to rally you for the big life events: move-in, orientation, graduation, Spring Meltdown, Dare to CARE Wellbeing Week, you name it: I’m cheering you on. I’ve got some pretty sweet dance moves, too, so get ready!

Do you want me to make an appearance at an event you’re hosting? Email my friends at studentengagement@champlain.edu. They’ll check my schedule and get back to you. See you soon for a dam good time!

Let’s play corn hole together!

I’ll never say no to a photo with friends! Catch me at campus events like the Fall Career Fair.

Not gonna lie, I’m a pretty big hit at Orientation.

You might even catch me hitting the slopes come winter!

You can call me Captain Chauncey! The Lake Champlain Ethan Allen boat cruise is my favorite Champlain tradition—we get to ride it together during Orientation and during Senior Week! The perfect bookend to your Champlain journey.

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Brittany Beck

Biography

Brittany graduated from a small liberal arts college in upstate New York, St. Lawrence University, with a B.A. in Sociology and German Studies. While at St. Lawrence University, she played field hockey and studied abroad in Vienna, Austria. After graduating, she spent the next thirteen years working in the international education field sending students to study abroad at various universities overseas and working in the international travel field sending clients to travel around the world on customized luxury trips. Though travel is still a passion of hers, she’s excited to be back in the higher education field and sharing her love for Burlington, Vermont with students! When she’s not speaking with students, she can often be found skiing, riding her bike, or catching the newest must-see film.

Territories

Maine, Massachusetts (Barnstable, Bristol, Duke, Nantucket, Norfolk, Plymouth counties), New Hampshire, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, International Students

Hobbies

Skiing, Traveling, Biking, Hiking, Walking my Dog, Watching Movies, Decorating

Favorite Local Eateries and Things to do in Vermont

Favorite local eateries: Poco, a Single Pebble, BKK in the Alley, Myer’s Bagels

Favorite things to do in Vermont: biking along Lake Champlain on the Burlington bike path, enjoying an outdoor concert at Shelburne Museum, strolling through the Burlington Farmers Market, skiing at Bolton Valley

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Walter Becker

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Marnie Behrendt

Biography

Joining Champlain in 2021, Marnie has spent the majority of her professional career serving students in higher education. As a non-traditional, first-generation student herself, she is passionate about the opportunities higher education offers people who embark on that journey. She has served in multiple roles at a variety of colleges, but is most impressed with the student-centric focus of the leadership at Champlain.

What are your hobbies?

Dogs, crafting

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Reginald Bell

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Sajel Bellon

Biography

Sajel is a globally recognized as a #Humanizer, Psychotherapist, and champion of high-quality human LIFE experiences. With a deep passion for the behavioral neurosciences and a knack for making the tough stuff not just palatable, but transformative, Sajel has become a respected authority in high-pressure sectors like public safety, emergency services, first responders, military, healthcare, education and even the intense world of professional sports. She has been awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal having made a significant contribution to Canada and attained an outstanding achievement abroad that brings credit to Canada.

But don’t let the serious work fool you—Sajel is all about finding the possibilities in every challenge. She helps people move from Pain to Possibilities™ by embracing the full spectrum of LIFE’s experiences and tackle our #1 human affliction: Toxic Thinking. She is not afraid to take on the big, uncomfortable topics that others might shy away from. Whether she’s sharing on her PainToPossibilities™ Substack or on other media outlets, Sajel brings the conversation to the mainstream with wit, wisdom, and a whole lot of heart.

Sajel’s expertise isn’t just talk—she’s developed and delivered programs at world-class institutions and government agencies across Canada, the U.S., the U.K and Australia. In fact, she is behind Canada’s first positive psychology and positive education certificate programs. Her true superpower? Creating spaces where people can redefine their work-life experiences, reconnect in their relationships, and rethink the #toxicthinking, #toxicthoughts and #stigmas that society has conditioned us to accept, be defined and confined by.

Her talks are a powerful mix of science and storytelling that keep audiences on the edge of their seats, challenging the #statusquo and inspiring real, life-changing action. Sajel doesn’t just speak to an audience—she engages, educates, and empowers them to break free from the learned thoughts and perceptions that have defined and confined them, opening up a world of new perspectives and possibilities. If you’re looking for someone to shake things up and bring fresh, empowering insights to your organization, Sajel Bellon is the person you want in your corner.

Learn more at www.SajelBellon.com or www.MindArmour.ca.

Distinctions & Awards

King Charles III Coronation Medal

Publications & Abstracts

https://paintopossibilities.ca

Curriculum Vitae

Read my CV

Work Samples

View my Work

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Katrina Bennett

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