Faculty N-Z

Head shot of Joanne Newcombe FSU Instructor
Joanne Newcombe

B.A. University of Massachusetts Amherst, M.Ed. University of Massachusetts Lowell, Ed.D. Northeastern University

Dr. Joanne Newcombe spent the first half of her career in Education at the K-12 level as a teacher, assistant principal, principal, assistant superintendent and superintendent of schools in Massachusetts and Maine.  She then moved to higher education at Bridgewater State University as one of the two full time graduate faculty.  She retired as a full professor in December of 2003.  At that time, she became involved with the Educational Quality and Accountability Office of the Department of Education and was a principal in a superintendent search firm where she worked until 2007.  It was then that Dr. Newcombe became the Director of Educator Preparation at Nichols College.  At Nichols, she was also the Associate Dean of Liberal Arts, co-chair of the NECHE Steering Committee and Chair of the Assessment Committee.

Dr. Newcombe has been part of the FSU International Education Program since 1997 and has taught a wide variety of courses in Europe, Asia, South America, Mexico and the Middle East.  She has also taught at Harvard University, Worcester State University and Simmons College.

She attended the Harvard Symposium on School Law, the Bryn Mawr HERS Program for Women in Leadership in Higher Education, and The Superintendents Institute at Columbia University. She was a member of the Board of Examiners for NCATE (The National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education), a member of the Board of Directors of ASCD (The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development) and the Board of ATE (The Association of Teacher Educators).   

Headshot of Hilal Peker Faculty
Hilal Peker

B.A. Middle East Technical University (METU), M.A. University of Texas at Austin, Ph.D. University of Central Florida

Hilal Peker is a Fulbright alumna and an independent researcher in Central Florida where she conducts her studies on inclusive dual language immersion program at a charter school. Before joining Framingham State University, she worked as an Assistant Professor of TESOL and FLE at Florida State University and as an Assistant Professor of TEFL at Bilkent University, Turkey. She has taught a wide variety of courses, including research methods, written academic discourse, ESOL instruction in the content areas, SLA, language assessment linguistics, and assessment and management of culturally and linguistically diverse populations. She has supervised about 20 theses and dissertations so far. She is the Strand Coordinator of TESOL International Association’s Advocacy, Social Justice, and Community Building Strand. She authors multiple peer-reviewed papers, presents her research studies at many national and international conferences, including TESOL International, AAAL, and ACTFL, and provides her services as an editor and manuscript reviewer of peer-reviewed journals. She received several research and teaching awards in the field, including 2019 ACTFL Teaching and Learning of Culture and Research SIG Early Career Award, 2019 TESOL International Professional Development Award, 2015 Sunshine State TESOL Dissertation Research Award, and 2015 Excellence in Teaching Award. Her research interests include inclusive dual immersion programs, Reconceptualized Second Language Motivational Self System (R-L2MSS), bullying victimization of English learners (ELs), EL identity, simulation technology, and teacher training.

Head Shot Craig Perrier
Craig Perrier

Adjunct Professor

Hello. I am currently the High School Social Studies Curriculum and Instruction Specialist for Fairfax County Public Schools in Fairfax, VA as well as an adjunct professor in education. Previously, I taught at American Schools in Brazil for six years and for six years in public schools in Massachusetts. I believe the best educators “teach for tomorrow” by preparing students to succeed today and in the future.  As learning is a product of thinking, deeper learning, student choice, and using inquiry are all integral strategies to this end. Empowering students and teachers to have these experiences are the most valuable aspects of my work.  My time these days are devoted to working on my doctorate and traveling with family and friends.  I find Octavia Butler’s words about change to be especially important in both my personal and professional life, "All that you touch you Change. All that you Change Changes you. The only lasting truth is Change.”

Headshot Fredy Ramirez
Fredy Ramirez

Adjunct Professor

Fredy Ramirez is currently serving as a High School Dean for newcomer students, including refugees, Asylees, and immigrant adolescents, in the Houston Independent School District. Mr. Ramirez's education career spans over thirty years both in public and private schools in the US and Internationally. He started his journey in education as a teacher's assistant to later become a fourth grade bilingual teacher. Internationally, Mr. Ramirez served as Director of Technology, Elementary Principal, and Deputy Head of School at the American Nicaraguan School in Managua, Nicaragua. He has also served as part of quality assurance accreditation teams, visiting numerous schools in the Latin American Region. As part of the FSU International Education Program, Mr. Ramirez has taught numerous courses both in person and remotely, to cohorts in Latin America and Asia. He has been a presenter in local and international conferences in topics ranging from educational technology to secondary literacy, to language acquisition through sheltered instruction. Recently Mr. Ramirez participated in the Rice University Executive Education Leadership Academy obtaining a postgraduate certificate, presented by The Jones Graduate School of Business.

Head shot of Dereck Rhoads FSU Instructor
Dereck Rhoads

B.A. Vanguard University, M.Ed. Framingham State College, M.A. Framingham State College, Ed.D. Seton Hall University

Originally from Tucson, Arizona, Dereck Rhoads holds two master degrees from Framingham State University and a doctorate in educational administration, policy and leadership from Seton Hall University. Dr. Rhoads is the Chief Instructional Officer for Beaufort County School District (BCSD) in Beaufort, South Carolina (22,000 students). BCSD has all four levels of the International Baccalaureate program (PYP, MYP, CP, DP). Prior to his current work in US public schools, Dr. Rhoads worked 12 years in International education including extensive experience at the principal level. Having taught overseas and served as a principal for two different American-International Schools, Dereck fully understands the dynamics of preparing students for the demands of a global marketplace. Connect with Dereck at dereckrhoads.com

Head shot of Loy Riley FSU Instructor
Loy Riley

B.A. University of Rhode Island, M.S. University of Rhode Island

Visiting Instructor for Framingham State University, 1996-present, Instructor for the International Education Program, 1999-present, Educational Team Leader, Clinton Public Schools, 2001-present

Holds Certificate of Clinical Competence with the American Speech and Hearing Association. Holds current Massachusetts license for Speech and Hearing Teacher. Holds current Private Pilot license and member of the Aircraft Owners & Pilot Association

Interests: Languages, Aviation, Travel & Culture

Employed as English teacher in Japan and France and Speech and Language Pathologist in Great Britain.

Ira Silver
Ira Silver

Amherst College, Masters and Ph.D. Northwestern University

Ira Silver has taught at Framingham State since 2002. He graduated summa cum laude from Amherst College and received his Masters and Ph.D. from Northwestern University. He has authored and edited four books and is currently working on a new one about social problems in American society.

Head shot of Mary Ann Stadtler Chester FSU Instructor
Mary Ann Stadtler Chester

B.A. Manhattanville College, M.A. University of Chicago, Ph.D. Universite de Paris IV, Sorbonne, Paris

Dr. Mary-Ann Stadtler-Chester is a Full Professor at Framingham State University in World Languages and Education.  She has been honored this year with the Distinguished Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching at FSU.

She earned her PhD in Medieval French at the Sorbonne in Paris. She began teaching French and training language teachers at Harvard University where she taught from 1980-1986. While at Harvard she decided to study Chinese because she was fascinated by the language.

She then taught at Simmons College for 6 years, and chaired the Modern Language Department at Emmanuel College from 1996-2000.  In the fall of 2000, she joined the faculty at Framingham State University where she teaches French and Mandarin Chinese, trains language teachers, and teaches in the graduate Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) program.  She initiated the Mandarin Chinese program in January 2007, and has been teaching first year Mandarin Chinese ever since.  She has taught in the FSU International Education Program for 22 years, training teachers in Europe, Asia, South America, and the Middle East. 

In the summer of 2013, Dr. Stadtler-Chester was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study history, geography, and traditional arts in Xian, China.  During her stay in China in 2013, she also traveled on the Silk Road and did research on minorities in China, delivering the 2014 Lyceum Lecture at FSU on this topic.

She lived for five years in France, taught and lived one year in China while training teachers, and has traveled extensively in Europe, Latin America, and Asia.  Dr. Stadtler-Chester speaks English, French, and Chinese, and has also studied Spanish, and German.  The next language she wants to learn is Arabic. 

Head shot of Loretta Tepedino FSU Instructor
Loretta Tepedino

B.A. Hofstra University, M.S. Nova Southeastern University, Ed.D. Nova Southeastern University

Dr. Tepedino recently retired from Miami-Dade County Public Schools where she worked as an ESOL and ABE Reading teacher at a career-technical college. She was also the founder and project manager of a family literacy program at her work site. Dr. Tepedino effectively procured grant funding for the program for many years. Under her guidance, the program expanded to serve English learning families at numerous schools in Miami.

In addition, Dr. Tepedino was adjunct professor of ESL at Miami-Dade College where she taught English for Academic Placement courses for many years. Loretta was also an ESL instructor at EF International Language School in Miami. She has extensive experience in the field of TESOL, curriculum development, technology integration and implementation in ESL instruction, and grant writing. Dr. Tepedino was the recipient of the Florida Special Needs Association, Region V Outstanding Educator Award in 2004.

Headshot Robert Tremblay
Robert A. Tremblay

B.A. Boston University, M.Ed. Lesley University, MPA Northeastern University, Ed.D. Northeastern University

Dr. Tremblay joined the Framingham Public Schools as Superintendent on April 1, 2017. Prior to his work in Framingham, he served as Superintendent of Schools for the Towns of Weston and Milford, Massachusetts. With 25 years of school and district leadership experience and a mission-centered approach to long-term strategic planning, Bob works collaboratively with his teams to advance a shared vision aimed at sustainable student achievement.

Using his doctoral dissertation research on the political competence of school leaders, Dr. Tremblay has taught graduate level courses at Framingham State University in the International Program working with cohorts in Thailand and Costa Rica. He is an instructor for Teachers21 specializing in Skills for Powerful Leadership and Family and Community Engagement courses and has worked as an Adjunct Professor and Supervisor of Practicum Experiences at American International College and as a University Supervisor in the Educational Leadership Licensure Program at Boston University.

In addition to his participation as a panelist at various Massachusetts venues speaking on Measuring and Improving Student Engagement and School Climate, Building Leadership Capacity, and Effective Implementation of Educator Evaluation Models, Dr. Tremblay was a guest presenter on the Structure of the American Education System at the Administrative Summit in Beijing, China in 2014 and has participated in numerous international school accreditation visits in Honduras, the Dominican Republic, Qatar, and China. Above all, Bob Tremblay is a champion of the arts in education, using his experiences as a musician to frame his leadership style.

Head shot of Marge Zuba FSU Instructor
Marge Tye Zuba

B.S. St. Mary of the Woods Spanish, M.S.W. University of Illinois Social Work, Ed.D. Northern Illinois University Leadership and Educational Policy Studies

Dr. Marge Tye Zuba is the Director of Program Development for Framingham State University International Education Programs

Dr. Zuba is an internationally recognized educator, author, speaker and consultant on education, gangs, leadership, management and motivation.  Utilizing her expertise in the area of Learning Styles, Leadership, Motivation and Classroom Management, Marge has presented courses and workshops all over the world to educators, parents and businesses.  She earned her doctorate in Leadership and Educational Policy Studies from Northern Illinois University and her Master's in Social World from the Jane Addams Graduate School of Social Work at the University of Illinois at Chicago.  Marge has been a member of the faculty at Northern Illinois University where she spearheaded the first inner city graduate cohort program at Clemente High School in Chicago.  While currently on faculty at DePaul University, Framingham State University International Educational Programs and Capella University, she has also been on faculty at University of Illinois Chicago and Dominican University.

Dr. Zuba has spent more than twenty years as a high school teacher, creator and Director of a Chronic truancy Program, and Dean at Oak Park River Forest High School in Oak Park, Illinois.  She has also worked with Latino street gangs in Chicago's Pilsen and Little Village area.

Internationally, Marge works with teachers in Africa, Latin America, South America, Europe and the United States.  She has authored "Wish I Could've Told You",a book chronicling the lives of students identified as Truants in a Chicago suburb.  She also co-edited the book, Education/Change, which focuses on multicultural education. 

Head shot of Jilani Warsi FSU Instructor
Jilani Warsi

M.A. Patna University English, M.A. California State University Linguistics, Ph.D. Boston University Applied Linguistics

Dr. Warsi received an MA in English at Patna University with emphasis on descriptive linguistics, historical linguistics, and language teaching. He pursued an MA in applied linguistics at California State University in Northridge (CSUN).  Dr. Warsi joined the doctoral program in applied linguistics at Boston University and wrote his Ph.D. dissertation on the effects of visual instruction on second language productive phonology. Dr. Warsi has taught in all of these locations, as well as at Salem State, Fisher, and Newbury Colleges; in the Framingham State University's International Education Programs programs in Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Poland, Brazil, Honduras, and Bahrain; in the Institute for English Language Programs (IEL) at Harvard University; and teaches academic reading and writing to English language learners in the Department of Academic Literacy at Queensborough Community College. He has published two national level books with Pearson Education: Read to Succeed, A Thematic Approach to Academic Reading and Read to Achieve, Gateway to Academic Reading. His third book Read Think Write: True Integration through Academic Content will be published in January 2016. His areas of interest are interlanguage phonology, second language acquisition, psycholinguistics, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, phonology, and morphology. In addition to these academic texts, Dr. Warsi has authored several Pimsleur language programs in Hindi and Urdu. 

Headshot Rose Willey
Rose Hertz-Willey

B.A. Hunter College, M.Ed. University of Colorado, Ph.D. (Candidate) University of Colorado

My name is Rose Hertz-Willey. I am a native New Yorker. I grew up in Queens and began my journey at Hunter College, City University of New York, where I obtained my B.A. with a double major in Elementary Education and Psychology.


My passion ignited during my undergraduate years when I initiated working with students with disabilities. These scholarly students had various disabilities such as: Vision impairments, hearing impairments and cerebral palsy. I supported them during their college courses with annotating, test proctoring and the application of relevant study skills. This is when I realized that I love working alongside students with disabilities and reaping the invaluable rewards from impacting their lives positively. After many enriching years teaching grades K-5 and completing my M.Ed. in Special Education from The University of Colorado, I went on to teach in a self-contained high school classroom. After more than a decade of teaching students with emotional and behavioral challenges, I was inspired to pursue a certification in administration and qualified to become an elementary school principal. I believed in inclusive education as well as saw the necessity for Education Reform in the current special education classroom models. As a leader, I was able to influence the system and become a part of the change I wanted to see. I embraced the role of school principal in both urban and rural schools for seventeen years and after decades of being a career educator, I then began the best chapter of my life when I became a wife, and was blessed more than ever, to become a mother to my son Blake. It wasn’t until becoming a parent myself that I truly understood the essential role of parental involvement in a child’s academic life and chose to return to the classroom and support students with Dyslexia and reading challenges.


Over the last Four years, I have been an Adjunct Professor privileged to collaborate with FSU teachers online in a hybrid learning environment teaching students from: Asia, USA, and South America. My international experience was enriched by my visit to China where I taught an international SPED class to my FSU students. Teaching for the FSU Graduate Program in International Education has been the garnish of my 37 years of academia experience. The relationships I have built with my students have been so elevating and unparalleled. This is truly an amazing experience.

Head shot of Nancy Witherell FSU Instructor
Nancy Witherell

B.A. Southeastern Massachusetts University Sociology with Certification in Elementary Education, Ed.M. University of Maryland Elementary Administration, Supervision and Curriculum, Ed.D. University of Massachusetts Lowell Language Arts and Literacy

Dr. Nancy Witherell received her doctorate in Language Arts and Literacy from UMASS Lowell in 1993. Although now a professor in the Department of Early Childhood and Elementary Education and at Bridgewater State University, Bridgewater, Massachusetts, Nancy began her career as a classroom teacher for Prince George’s County in Maryland. Nancy held the position of Department Chair for six years and held the position of interim coordinator of the Graduate Programs in Reading twice.  Nancy co-chaired the CAEP/NCATE visit initiative for the BSU College of Education and Allied Studies’ Spring 2014 NCATE site visit.   Nancy has been an adjunct professor of the Lou Cedrone International Program at Framingham State University since 1995. 

 Dr. Witherell has held a number of leadership positions in professional literacy associations.  Nancy is Past President of her local reading council, Southeastern Regional Reading Council(SERRC), the Massachusetts University and College Reading Educators council (MACURE), and the state council, the Massachusetts Reading Association (MRA).  As President-Elect of MRA, Nancy chaired MRA’s annual reading conference with over 50 presenters and almost 800 attendees.   Dr. Witherell is currently the International Literacy Association’s state co-coordinator for the Mass Reading Association. In this position she assist local reading councils and leads the Summer Leadership Workshop.  In addition, Nancy was a board member of the New England Reading Association (NERA) for six years, where she started NERA’s electronic newsletter.

Nancy served on the NCATE Board of Examiners from 2006-2015, and continues to serve as an auditor and trainer of reviewers for the International Literacy Association’s CAEP-SPA review.

Dr. Witherell received the New England Reading Association’s State Literacy Award in September 2013.  She received the Bridgewater State University Lifetime Achievement Award in April 2015.

Nancy has authored or co-authored over twenty articles for various professional journals, including ILA’s  The Reading Teacher