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Our Team

Nichole Pinkard

OCEP Faculty Director, Alice Hamilton Professor of Learning Sciences

Pinkard (PhD98), one of the first graduates of SESP's Learning Sciences PhD program, focuses on creating supportive learning spaces, both on and offline and spearheading collaborations through OCEP. She is the founder of the Digital Youth Network (DYN), and in 2014 received the Northwestern University Alumni Association Alumni Merit Award. She delivered the keynote speech during the 2016 SESP graduate convocation ceremony.

Emily Ferrin

Assistant Dean for Community Education Partnerships

Ferrin oversees and manages the development and administration of OCEP programs and partnerships. She works in collaboration with faculty, staff, community partners and school districts to advance the research, capacity-building, and community partnership goals of OCEP, SESP, Northwestern, and partner organizations. Ferrin has been a part of OCEP since 2013 working various roles. Most recently she was the director of programs, working to operationalize and execute on organizational strategy. For many years previous she was the program director and resident scientists for for the Baxter Center for Science Education. Ferrin earned a bachelor's degree from Marlboro College and a PhD from Dartmouth College.

Kristen Perkins-LaFollette

Partnership Coordinator

(847) 424-7406 (ETHS office)
(847) 491-4575 (Northwestern office)
kristen-perkins@northwestern.edu

Kristen Perkins-LaFollette, of Northwestern’s Office of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Education Partnerships, serves as partnership coordinator for the office. She works to increase collaboration between Northwestern and Evanston Township High School (ETHS) and to enhance ETHS's learning opportunities.

Ms. Perkins-LaFollette taught science at Roberto Clemente High School in Chicago and was the 2007 Teacher-in-Residence in the School of Education and Social Policy. She has published and presented with the International Conference on Learning Sciences (ICLS), the National Association of Science Teachers (NSTA), and the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST). Perkins-LaFollette graduated from Purdue University in 2003 with a bachelor of science in biology education.

Hailey Cox-Montijo

Assistant Partnership Coordinator

(847) 424-7806
haileycox@northwestern.edu

Hailey serves as the assistant partnership coordinator for the office. She supports the Northwestern University-Evanston Township High School Partnership Office and the Northwestern-D65 Partnership Office. She works out of the NU-ETHS partnership office located at ETHS and supports school-based and campus activities between the Evanston school districts and community partners, with time also spent on the Northwestern Evanston campus working with the OCEP team (Office of Community Education Partnerships). She was formerly the principal’s assistant at ETHS. Hailey graduated magna cum laude from Northwestern University in 2020, with a Bachelor of Science in Education and Social Policy with a major in Human Development & Psychological Studies, and minors in Sociology and Gender & Sexuality Studies.