Our People
Staff
Founding Director, Adrienne C. Goss
Adrienne Goss is an assistant professor of education and social policy at Rhode Island College. Before relocating to Rhode Island, she was an assistant professor and director of teacher education at Ohio Northern University. She has experience as a policy researcher, classroom teacher, and director/coordinator of multiple programs for youth in school and out-of-school spaces. Dr. Goss graduated from Georgia State University with a PhD in Educational Policy Studies.
SPHERE’s Panel of Advisors
Paige Clausius-Parks is responsible for policy analysis, advocacy, research, and project management in areas related to education and economic well-being. Prior to joining Rhode Island KIDS COUNT, Paige served as director of advancement and assistant director at Books are Wings, network director at Youth in Action, teacher/advisor at the Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center, and program coordinator at Youth Pride, Inc. Paige has a Bachelor of Arts from Providence College and a Master of Education from Harvard University.
O’Sha L. Williams is an education policy advocate originally from Jamaica, Queens, New York. She is currently a fellow in the Office of Governor Gina Raimondo developing education policy. Prior to this role, O'Sha was a high school English teacher to multilingual learners in the Providence Public Schools. O’Sha collaborates with grassroots organizations, district and state-level leadership in pursuit of lasting and transformational change. She earned her Master in Urban Education Policy from Brown University as well as a Master in Education from Rhode Island College.
Raymond Neirinckx has been the coordinator for the State of Rhode Island Housing Resources Commission for 20 years. Ray is very interested in the intersectionality of education and housing/community. Ray has a Master of Community Economic Development degree and a Bachelor of Sociology degree.
2020-2021 Faculty Fellow
Dr. Corinne McKamey is the Associate Professor of Culture, Communities and Education in the Department of Educational Studies, and a founding co-director of the RIC Youth Development B.A. Program. She has been an after-school youth worker, classroom teacher, and charter school authorizer. McKamey is interested in better understanding the perspectives of young people in after-school programs, out-of-school time settings, and college programs. Her research has focused on youth work, qualitative research, and the ways marginalized young people talk about educational care, science/engineering, and sex education. McKamey’s current research examines conditions that attract and retain students of color within an undergraduate community education program.
2019-2020 Faculty Fellows
Kalina Brabeck, PhD is a professor in mental health counseling in the Department of Counseling, Educational Leadership and School Psychology and a licensed psychologist. She is also affiliated faculty with the Center for Human Rights & International Justice at Boston College. Her research explores the intersections among socio-structural inequities (e.g., unauthorized immigration status, discrimination), trauma, and mental health. For the past ten years, with funding from the Foundation for Child Development and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, her research has specifically focused on how immigration policies and enforcement affect the wellbeing of Latinx immigrant children, families and communities. She has collaborated with several community partners, including Progreso Latino, the Latino Policy Institute, Sojourner House, the Roger Williams Immigration Law Clinic, and the school districts of Providence and Central Falls. She is particularly interested in policies related to immigration and school mental health.
Janet D. Johnson is a professor of secondary education and site director of the Rhode Island Writing Project at Rhode Island College. She teaches courses in English education, gender and women’s studies, teacher research, and qualitative inquiry. With extensive experience working in schools as a researcher and supervisor of teacher candidates, she has engaged in qualitative studies on the intersections of critical literacy, social justice, and yoga in schools. Dr. Johnson’s current research and policy work is about investigating recruiting and retaining educators of color, and using critical literacies and contemplative practices in the service of teacher empowerment and activism. Her most recent publication is a co-edited volume published by SUNY Press called Stories of School Yoga: Narratives from the Field.
Graduate Assistant
Jordann Plante is in graduate school for her Master of Arts in Counseling and a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies in School Psychology at Rhode Island College. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology at the University of Rhode Island. She plans on working as a school psychologist after graduation.
