Zachary Aidala, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Bloomfield College of Montclair State University, and has served as Honors Program Coordinator since 2018. He earned a B.S. in Psychobiology from Binghamton University (SUNY), an M.A. in Psychology from Hunter College (CUNY), and a Ph.D. in Biopsychology and Behavioral Neuroscience from The Graduate Center (CUNY). His area of expertise is in neuroethology and sensory ecology. His research focuses on the coevolution of host-parasite interactions between avian brood parasites and their hosts, specifically the visual sensory processes mediating parasitic egg ejection by host species. In addition to coordinating Bloomfield College’s Honors Program, he regularly teaches Statistics, Research Methods, Biopsychology, Sensation and Perception, Drugs and Behavior, and Animal Behavior. Dr. Aidala currently serves as President on the NRHC Executive Board.

Autumn Barszczowski is a public relations graduate from Point Park University. She is currently the Personnel & Finance Analyst at the City of Pittsburgh's Department of Permits, Licenses, and Inspections. During her time as a student, she filled multiple roles within her honors program and Honors Student Organization including serving as a mentor, board member, and eventually as President. She was also an active participant in the national and regional honors councils, where she acted as a moderator and presenter at conferences. She even served for one year as Student Representative for NRHC and helped to plan the 2018 conference in Providence, Rhode Island. She loves having the opportunity to continue playing an active role in honors education and seeing the work that students are producing. 

Matt Baran is the Assistant Director of the Muriel A. Howard Honors Program at Buffalo State University. He teaches the introductory seminar course to all first-year Honors students each fall, plans weekly Honors events, and coordinates leadership opportunities for students among other tasks related to building a robust Honors community. In Fall 2022, he launched a new peer mentoring program matching upper-level Honors students with first-year Honors students to aide in their transition to college. Matt earned a B.S. in Architecture at the University of Maryland, College Park (2017), and an M.A. in Higher Education & Student Affairs at The Ohio State University (2019).

Chris Brittain is the Operations Manager of the Workforce and Professional Education Department at Ocean County College. He graduated from Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania in 2010 with a Bachelor’s degree in English and Communication Media and in 2012 with a Master’s degree in Liberal Arts with a concentration in Higher Education Administration. He has been working with Honors Programs in the Northeast Region for fourteen years, and served as the NRHC Web Coordinator from 2016-2019 and NRHC President and Conference Chair in 2021. In addition to his involvement with the Northeast Regional Honors Council, he spends much of his time pursuing interests in photography and event-planning. Chris’s email address is cbrittainnrhc@gmail.com.

AnnMarie DelliPizzi is a Professor of Biology, the Coordinator of the Health Sciences Program, the Health Professions Advisor and the Director of the Honors Program at Dominican University New York, where she has worked for the past 19 years.  She also holds adjunct positions in the Department of Pharmacology at New York Medical College and the Department of Nursing at Lehman College, where she teaches pharmacology to both undergraduate and graduate nursing students.  From 2019-2021, she served as the Faculty Representative on the NRHC Executive Board. 

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Dr. DelliPizzi earned a BS in Biology from Manhattan College and an MS and PhD in Pharmacology from New York Medical College.  Her doctoral researched focused on the role of constrictor eicosanoids in the implementation of calcium-dependent basal tone in models of angiotensin II-dependent hypertension. She has co-authored two anatomy and physiology lab manuals and has published many peer-reviewed articles in journals such as the American Journal of Physiology, Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics and Hypertension. 

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When she’s not in the lab or in a classroom with her students, Dr. DelliPizzi loves traveling the world and exploring new places.  She also enjoys baking delicious treats with her daughter and dabbles in cake decorating.

Kyle Dineen is a clinical researcher focusing on orthobiologic technologies for regeneration of damaged connective tissues using blood-based molecules and advanced mesenchymal stem cellular procedures. At his institution, Orthobiologics Research Initiative Inc., he has published in the field of regenerative medicine and works to provide treatments to patients at no cost through grant funded clinical research. He has also published within the field of brain science and psychiatry, using interventional procedures for treatment of TBI, anxiety, and PTSD-related disorders under Dr. Sean Mulvaney at the SGB Treatment Center (https://orcid.org/0009-0008-4599-0593).

Kyle has extensive experience in research and medical education. He worked as an assistant faculty instructor and teaching fellow within the University of Maryland, College Park Department of Biological Sciences, as well as a course designer and guest orthopaedic lecturer within the Department of Kinesiology. He has presented orthopaedic research at national professional conferences, with award winning distinction, and taught advanced orthobiologic procedures at private cadaveric anatomy laboratories. Kyle boasts a robust background in clinical trial design and grant writing. He co-designed the first randomized adipose-derived Microfat clinical research trial for treatment of rotator cuff partial thickness tears and secured RO1 level grant funding. He has also designed trials using orthobiologics for interventional treatment of glenohumeral joint osteoarthritis and tibiofemoral joint osteoarthritis with meniscus tears.

Kyle is a five year veteran editor for Illuminate and a 1st edition author for the journal. He has presented research at the 2019 Northeast Regional Honors Conference, the 2018 Maryland Collegiate Honors Conference, was selected to the Phi Theta Kappa All-Maryland 1st Academic Team, and was the recipient of the John and Ethel Portz Award for honors research. He graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park, with Latin Honors on a full-tuition scholarship.

Irina V. Ellison, Ph.D. is the Associate Dean of the School of Health and Natural Sciences and Co-Director of the university-wide Global Honors Program at Mercy University. At Mercy, she also serves in a variety of leadership roles on several federal grants and various university-wide committees.  Her research focuses on strategies to improve equity, inclusion and student success in the health professions and in honors.  Dr. Ellison is actively involved in the Northeast Regional Honors Council where she served as President from 2020-2021 and currently co-chairs the Diversity Equity Inclusion Justice (DEIJ) Committee.  At the national level, Dr. Ellison co-chairs the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC) committee on Science, Mathematics and Sustainability.    

Helen Fallon, professor emeritus and former director of Point Park's Honors Program, has taught and served as an administrator at Point Park University since 1986. She was chair of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication from 1999 to 2008 and was the acting dean of the School of Communication from 2008 to 2009. She then became director of the Honors Program until 2020.

Fallon remains an active journalist, working as a copy editor for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, where she's been gathering real-world materials for her classes since 1990. Earlier in her career, Fallon worked as a reporter, copy editor and editor for several papers in the Pittsburgh area for six years and did public relations for a university and a community hospital for five years.

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She is active in journalism professional organizations, serving currently as the president of the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania, and on the board of the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Foundation.  Fallon has been a member, officer and board member of the Women’s Press Club of Pittsburgh as well.  

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Service has been an important to her, as it is to all who love honors, and Fallon became a member of the Jefferson Regional Foundation’s board.  The grantmaking foundation is dedicated to investing in the health and vitality of the communities served by Jefferson Hospital in the South Hills and lower Mon Valley of Pittsburgh.

Crista Fiala graduated in 2024 from the University of Saint Joseph with majors in English, Spanish, and History. She is now a Comparative Literature Masters student at Dartmouth College with interests in 20th - and 21st-century multiethnic American and environmental literature. She looks forward to continuing to explore the world of writing, research, and language.

Brooke Griffith is a junior at Thiel College where she is a member of the Dietrich Honor's Institute. Brooke is pursuing a double major in Public Policy and Social Psychology as well as minors in Criminal Justice and Legal Studies with an English certificate. Brooke hopes to become a lawyer for the mentally ill. Outside of the classroom, Brooke runs cross country and track. She also holds leadership roles as the membership vice president for the Gamma Sigma chapter of Alpha Xi Delta, a representative in the Student Government Association, the Junior Class Vice President, and the Secretary of Active Minds. 

Morgan Harrington earned a bachelor's degree in psychology as well as a bachelor's degree in criminal justice at Buffalo State University. She was not only a part of the Muriel A. Howard Honors program at her college, but she was an Honors Leader, helping to welcome in incoming Honors students and assist with their transition into college. Morgan is a Health Science Specialist at the Center for Integrated Healthcare Laboratory at the Veteran Affairs Hospital. In school, Morgan was incredibly involved within the Psychology department as a member of the Psychology Club and actively participating in research within the McKay Laboratory and the Relationship and Social Development Laboratory. She ran an independent study utilizing data she had access to at her internship with Peaceprints of WNY. Outside of working her two jobs, Morgan enjoys reading and working out. She is currently applying to PhD programs for clinical psychology and hopes to continue her education while working towards a career with a military affiliated population.

Gwen Kay is the Director of the Honors Program at SUNY Oswego State University. Dr. Kay has a B.A. in Biology and History from Bowdoin College (1991) and a Ph.D.in History of Medicine and Science from Yale University (1997). After three years as visiting assistant professor in Tennessee, Chicago and Ohio. she arrived at SUNY Oswego in 2000. She teaches social history of the United States, as well as history of medicine.

Dr. Kay has been involved in faculty governance, both on her campus, and representing her campus, including serving as president of the SUNY University Faculty Senate. In her community, she serves on several board. In the profession, she is treasurer of the History of Science Society, and a Faculty Representative to the NRHC.

Kat MacDonald is the Director of the Honors Program and a faculty member in the English Department at Monroe University. She holds a Master’s degree in Mass Media and Communication from Fordham University and bachelor’s degrees in English, Communication Arts, and Women’s Studies from the College of New Rochelle. Before coming to Monroe University as a full-time faculty member (she was an adjunct first) in 2010, she served on the editorial team of Reader’s Digest. Kat currently serves a secomd term as the Executive Secretary of the Northeast Regional Honors Council (NRHC). Kat also completed a four-year stint on the Executive Board of NRHC (she rotated through Vice President, President-Elect, President, and Immediate Past President). Kat is also a member of the NCHC Publication Board.

Serving the students in her institution's Honors Program has been most rewarding. She believes NRHC gives students the opportunity to present their research, collaborate with their peers, and become exposed to new ideas and places. She has had the pleasure of mentoring the Student Reps since 2013, when her first student served in Niagara Falls. Subsequently, two students from her institution served at Cambridge in 2015. Her students also served as Student Representative in Pittsburgh in 2017, Baltimore in 2019, and Philadelphia in 2022. One of her students will serve in at the 2024 conference in Albany. She is also proud of her students who have been published in Illuminate in 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. Watching the students grow and learn is extremely satisfying.

Kat has been proud to serve as the Editor-in-Chief of Illuminate since its inception in 2019. 

Jessica McCort, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Literature, Culture, and Society Department at Point Park University, as well as the Director of the Honors Program. She earned her Ph.D. in English and American literature from Washington University in St. Louis, specializing in American literature and women’s writing. McCort's scholarship focuses largely on the appropriation of children’s literature, particularly Grimm’s and Andersen’s fairy tales and Lewis Carroll’s Alice books, by American women writers. She was also the editor of a compilation of essays concerning the intersection of the horror genre and children’s and young adult literature and culture, titled Reading in the Dark: Horror in Children’s Literature and Culture. Her favorite courses to teach are Honors College Composition, Haunted America, and Feminist Fairy Tales. 

From her first trip to the NRHC Conference in Philadelphia, Dr. McCort recognized what an important formative experience participating in NRHC events is for both faculty and students. Since that time, she has become increasingly involved in the NRHC, and she is very excited to work with the other officers in NRHC leadership this year as the organization's President-Elect.

Amy McMillan is the Director of the Muriel A. Howard Honors Program at Buffalo State University. Dr. McMillan has a B.S. in Zoology from North Dakota State University (1988) and an M.A. (1991) and Ph.D. (1998) from the University of Kansas, where she studied animal behavior and population genetics. After teaching at the University of Southern Maine and completing a postdoc at the U.S. EPA in Narragansett, RI and Cincinnati, OH, she started at Buffalo State in 2003 in the Biology Department. Here she taught Genetics, Population Genetics, and Evolution and conducted research that focused on species of conservation concern including the Hellbender Salamander and Common Loon. At Buffalo State, Dr. McMillan has received awards for Excellence in Advisement, Undergraduate Research Mentorship, Equity and Campus Diversity, and Service. She served on the College Senate for six years and as chair of the Senate for two years. She served as a Faculty Representative for NRHC from 2022-2024).

Kezia Namakula is currently a senior at Hartwick College in Oneonta, New York. She is a
member of the Honors Program at Hartwick, and is pursuing a Bachelor’s of Science in Business
Administration with a minor in legal studies, as well as a Bachelor’s of Arts in Political Science.
Kezia works as a Writing Consultant at Hartwick College, tutoring students and assisting those
with their literary inquiries throughout the academic year. Outside of her studies, Kezia is also
the Vice President of Entertainment for the Hartwick Campus Activities Board, as well as a
Resident Advisor. She enjoys contributing to campus events and encouraging excitement through
a variety of different events put on throughout the year. Kezia’s recent working with the
Illuminate journal allowed for her to gain exposure to a multitude of literary and artistic pieces,
and helped her exercise the skills she has gained while working as a consultant at Hartwick
College’s Writing Center over the years.

Amanda Olachea is a student at Dominican University New York, pursuing a dual major in IT Infrastructure and Cyber Security. As a member of the honors program, Amanda is actively involved in numerous leadership roles across campus. She serves as President of the Anime & Gaming Club, which earned "Club of the Year" for its impact on campus life, and leads Chargers for a Cure, raising awareness and funds for cancer research. Amanda also holds executive positions in the Debate Society, Elite Music, the History Club, and Relay for Life, demonstrating her passion for leadership and community involvement.

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In addition to her campus activities, Amanda is an Equity & Inclusion Senator in the Student Government Association and has been recognized for her proactive initiatives. She represents Dominican University as a student representative on the Northeastern Regional Honors Council (NRHC) Executive Board, helping organize the upcoming NRHC conference.

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Amanda’s commitment to advocacy extends beyond campus through her work with Awarding Hope, a nonprofit she co-founded in 2015, which helps individuals with multiple sclerosis access life-changing HSCT treatment. She also gained hands-on experience through internships, including the PHIT program, and currently works in person with Jawonio and the Dominican Sisters.

Gretchen Purvis is a BA/MA student in Rutgers University Camden’s Honors College, expecting to earn her Bachelor’s in English with a German minor in May 2025 and her Master’s in English in May 2026. She intends to pursue a PhD in either English or comparative literature and work in academia. Her main research interests include Romantic and Gothic texts, as well as contemporary horror literature, and investigating the interplay between these genres. She is also interested in examining how elements of older, classic texts can be reused and reinterpreted in contemporary literature. 

Her analysis of Mary Shelley’s 1818 Frankenstein using monster theory was published in the Spring 2023 edition of The Undergraduate Review, Rutgers Camden’s interdisciplinary undergraduate journal, and her research investigating historical trends informing the construction of the PATCO Speedline light rail system has been published in the journal’s Fall 2022 edition. She has been a student editor at The Undergraduate Review since January 2024. Her research analyzing depictions of mourning in both Mary Shelley’s 1818 Frankenstein and Stephen King’s 1983 Pet Sematary will be presented at the Northeast Modern Language Association’s (NeMLA) 2025 Philadelphia conference.

Tanya Radford is an Associate Professor of English and Co-Director of Honors at Dominican University, where she teaches beginning and advanced writing courses, early American literature, Enlightenment literature, and children’s and young adult literature.  She completed her BA and MA degrees at the University of Utah and then earned a PhD in English from the City University of New York’s Graduate Center. Her PhD research focused on affective response in 18th Century literature, and her current research continues that work by considering the cognitive and social benefits of leisure reading and the representation of reading, books, and libraries in works for young readers. 

Dr. Michael Tasto is a Professor of Economics at Southern New Hampshire University. His primary research fields of interest is urban and regional economics and Public Finance.

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He received his B.S. in Economics from St. John’s University in 2001, his M.A in Economics in 2006 and his Ph.D. in Economics in 2007 from Georgia State University. He has given numerous presentations at academic conferences, published peer-reviewed journal articles, and co-edited 2 books on entrepreneurship.

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He currently serves as Treasurer for the Northeast Regional Honors Council.