Meet The PIM Facilitators
Meet our Professional Development Facilitators
The PIM team is made up of developmental education experts with diverse backgrounds of knowledge and experience related to literacy, math, learning support, equity, community building, and more. The professional development facilitators are listed in reverse alphabetical order, below.
Jeanine Williams, PhD
Dr. Jeanine Williams is founder/principal of Williams Higher Ed, a consulting practice aimed at improving postsecondary literacy and learning. She is a scholar-practitioner-activist whose work threads together issues of identity, cultural and linguistic diversity, culturally responsive teaching, critical literacy, and social justice to promote literacy and learning – ensuring that all students are provided with experiences that are research-based, theoretically sound, relevant, and equitable.
Jeanine has worked for two decades as a faculty member and administrator of developmental literacy, first-year writing, and writing across the curriculum. She has delivered dozens of webinars, keynote addresses, and conference presentations. She has also authored numerous publications and has served as a leader in several professional organizations. Jeanine earned a PhD in Language, Literacy, and Culture.
Amber Sarker, PhD
Dr. Amber Sarker has taught postsecondary courses in Michigan, Indiana, Montana, and Texas. She currently works at Austin Community College as an Assistant Professor of Learning Frameworks. Amber’s research interests include Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy, postsecondary students’ understanding and use of self-care strategies, and equitable educational practices.
Amber earned a B.A. Language Arts and an M.A.T. in Teaching and Learning at Madonna University. She later earned a Ph.D. in Developmental Education with a Literacy focus at Texas State University. Amber is currently enrolled in culinary arts courses at ACC and plans to earn a certificate in Pastry Arts.
Jodi Lampi, PhD
Jodi P. Lampi earned her Ph.D. in Developmental Education: Literacy at Texas State University. She is a tenured Associate Professor of Postsecondary Literacy and Learning in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Northern Illinois University, where she has been worked since August 2014. From January 2016-May 2021, she also served as NIU’s Director of the Academic Literacy and Learning Program and as coordinator for the Certificate of Graduate Studies in Developmental Literacy and Language Instruction. She regularly teaches college reading and study strategy courses to undergraduates, as well as applied research, postsecondary literacy methods, disciplinary literacy, literacy research methodology, and research seminars in the field of curriculum and instruction. Her research covers topics related to conceptualizations of literacy, study and learning strategies, disciplinary literacy, and college teaching and learning. More recently, she has developed a new interest in exploring the theoretical grounding embedded within curricular design choices as it relates to rigor and best practices for the developmental literacy classrooms.
Meagan A. Hoff, PhD
Dr. Meagan A. Hoff is a professor at Collin College where she teaches College Composition and Integrated Reading and Writing courses. She earned a Ph.D. in Developmental Education from Texas State University with a focus on literacy. As a Peace Corps Coverdell Fellow, she earned both an M.A. in International and Cross-Cultural Education and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) certification from Bowling Green State University. Her research focuses on the intersections of language and learning, sociocultural literacies, audibility, and college readiness. Meagan’s most recent research examines the academic literacy development of students from refugee backgrounds and the impact of forced migration on the transition into postsecondary studies.
Theresa Hoang, PhD
Dr. Theresa Hoang currently works at Austin Community College as an Associate Professor of Mathematics. Her passion is to help students on their academic journey by facilitating learning opportunities, creating positive academic experiences, and building a sense of belonging and community in her classroom. Theresa earned a Ph.D. in Developmental Education with a focus in mathematics at Texas State University, and she continues to participate in professional development programs to grow and better serve her students. When Theresa is not in the classroom, she can be found experimenting with new recipes in the kitchen, exploring the shelves at the library, or climbing playscapes with her kids.
Carlton Fong, PhD
Dr. Carlton Fong is an Assistant Professor of Learning Support and Developmental Education at Texas State University. He studies the role of motivation and belongingness in predicting postsecondary student success and strives to implement his scholarly findings into his teaching practice.
Carlton earned a B.A. in Cognitive Science, Linguistics, and Education at the University of California, Berkeley. He later obtained his M.A. and Ph.D. in Educational Psychology with a concentration in Human Development, Culture, and Learning Sciences from the University of Texas at Austin. Carlton also served as a faculty development fellow at UT Austin’s Center for Teaching and Learning.
Leta Deithloff, PhD
“Dr. D” has been designing, teaching and training others to instruct student success integrated reading/writing courses at UT Austin since 2008. With the advent of new Texas higher education laws in 2015, she pioneered corequisite course development and instruction, and now works as a national consultant for other universities initiating similar changes. Additionally, she created award-winning curriculum for the online nonprofit NROC and the Texas College and Career Readiness, “CRAfT,” Programs. From her initial days in the rhetoric classroom, which earned The Hairston Prize for Excellence in Teaching, to a current focus on disciplinary literacy and applied critical thinking, she remains committed to an “engagingly rigorous,” meaningful learning experience. Leta earned a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology, specifically in Learning, Cognition, and Instruction, with a M.A., Program Evaluation from The University of Texas at Austin. As an advocate for intrinsic motivation, she continually explores best practices for authentic, transferable coursework that develops the “whole” student. She considers her student-initiated monthly book club her greatest achievement.
Amarilis Castillo, PhD
Amarilis M. Castillo earned her Ph.D. in Developmental Education: Literacy at Texas State University and is a faculty member in the Department of Composition & Literary Studies at Austin Community College where she teaches Integrated Reading and Writing (INRW). Amarilis centers her teaching and scholarship in anti-racist pedagogy, Culturally Responsive Teaching, and postsecondary reading and writing. She has taught INRW at various postsecondary institutions, including Texas State University, Blinn College, and Texas A&M University-San Antonio. In her free time, Amarilis enjoys running, reading, watching movies, and supporting her favorite soccer teams: Tottenham Hotspur, Feyenoord, & Austin FC.
Taylor Acee, PhD
Dr. Taylor W. Acee is Associate Professor in and Program Coordinator of the Graduate Program in Developmental Education at Texas State University. He earned his Ph.D. and M.A. in educational psychology at The University of Texas and his B.S. in psychology at the University of Pittsburgh. His research is focused on college student learning, motivation, and self-regulation, and assessments and interventions related to these areas. He has served as both instructor and co-coordinator of a learning frameworks course offered at the University of Texas. He currently teaches core-, learning-support-concentration, and quantitative-methods courses in the Graduate Program in Developmental Education.