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Three ����̽̽ doctoral students in the College of Education and Social Services are being recognized for their outstanding leadership and advocacy in education.

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies students Erin Tinti and Lindsey Cox ’05 earned the Robert V. and Donna M. Carlson Doctoral Student Scholarship, which supports the advancement of future educational leaders in Vermont and beyond.

Emily West Geary ’17 received the Susan B. Hasazi Doctoral Student Scholarship, which recognizes the importance of special education and inclusive leadership. West Geary is pursuing her PhD in Social, Emotional and Behavioral Health and Inclusive Education (SHIE).

Erin Tinti: Creating a Positive Impact Through Collaboration and Curriculum 

A curriculum and assessment coordinator for the Milton Town School District, Tinti is focused on helping teachers and students succeed in the classroom through curriculum.

After graduating from SUNY Cortland, followed by Teachers College at Columbia University, and teaching secondary English Language Arts for 11 years, Tinti felt a pull to increase her skillset toward educational leadership. She wanted to find a way to support and collaborate with teachers while still having an impact on students. Focusing on assisting teachers with curriculum felt like the right approach, prompting her to take a job in Milton three years ago.  

“Curriculum is such a hot topic right now. We can see places around the country where schools’ curricula are being questioned, which affects the teachers,” Tinti said. “Teachers want to provide their students with the best education, and I believe my job is to support them so they can do that confidently.”

Tinti is passionate about teaching writing to students and educators. As an educator, she often heard from her colleagues that they were unsure of the best approaches for teaching writing to adolescents. These series of repeated conversations with colleagues prompted her to focus her dissertation on teaching writing and teacher self-efficacy.  

“We know from the research that teacher self-efficacy is one of the highest factors related to student achievement,” she said. “And in the area of teaching writing, there’s little published about approaches that have a positive effect on teachers’ belief in their capacity to help students perform.”

“I don’t believe leadership is something you ‘do’ to people,” Tinti said. “In leadership, we collaborate and work together as a team. We trust each other and move toward a clear vision together.”

Lindsey Cox: Setting Her Sights on Policy and Public Education Practice 

Cox teaches at Winooski High School in the iLab, an independent, personalized learning lab for students. She’s also an independent strategic planning facilitator who chairs the Colchester School Board. Cox started the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies doctoral program to broaden her skills and learn more about creating positive change in schools.

“I think my path in education has walked the line between traditional and non-traditional,” she said. “Over the years of teaching, I have found that my passion is helping people find theirs. That’s a great thing to love doing as a teacher.”

Shortly after graduating from ����̽̽ with a degree in secondary education with a concentration in English, Cox taught in St. Albans before earning her master’s degree in international education. She was also the project manager for Partnership for Change, a grant-funded initiative for equitable education in the Winooski and Burlington School Districts. 

As a long-time school board member and educator, Cox decided to pursue her doctorate at ����̽̽ to learn about policy, including its creation and impact. She also wanted to advance her skills as a writer and researcher. 

“Everything impacts a child’s ability to get an education—including their access to food and transportation and a safe place to live, the health of their community, and the support their family receives,” she said. “I hope to be uniquely positioned to connect some dots and help provide better educational opportunities and environments for students.”

For her dissertation, Cox’s research is positioned at the intersection between private funding and public education. 

“I’m learning that the future of innovation in public education is going to be really dependent on public-private partnerships,” she said. “I’m interested in looking at the impact of private money in public education practice and on policy that creates meaningful change for practitioners and students.”

Emily West Geary: Giving Students a Voice 

Prior to pursuing a doctoral degree in special education, West Geary earned degrees in English and elementary and special education at ����̽̽. She went on to complete a teaching fellowship at Merrimack College and taught in Hawaii and Massachusetts.

She is interested in working with kids who have emotional behavior disorders and researching how to elevate students’ voices. She’s also curious about factors contributing to a student’s choice to drop out of school, and what it would take to keep them in school.

“I'm finding that there’s not a lot of practices in a public education or research setting where we emphasize student voices,” West Geary said. “I would love to talk with kids with emotional behavior disorders about what they think they need, what’s going well for them in school, what challenges are they experiencing in school, and what changes they would make.”

When West Geary completes her doctorate, she wants a student-facing job in education, whether teaching, researching, or consulting in classrooms. 

“I think that’s where I feel I can make the most tangible change,” she said. “I love building relationships with kids, especially the ones having a tough time. Building a relationship with a student who is experiencing many feelings in many different ways means knowing that whenever they come to my classroom, they are safe, appreciated and valued—and we are learning something.”

The Hasazi Scholarship memorializes ����̽̽ Professor Emerita Susan B. Hasazi, an internationally recognized leader and scholar in special education and inclusive leadership and a trailblazing advocate for students with disabilities and their families. 

Doctoral Programs in the College of Education and Social Services

Offered through ����̽̽'s College of Education and Social Services, nationally recognized Ed.D. and Ph.D. programs are structured on the belief that the study of leadership and policy studies requires building and sustaining communities of learning between practitioners, researchers and the communities they serve.

Visit the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies doctoral programs web page or the PhD in Social, Emotional and Behavioral Health and Inclusive Education (SHIE) web page to learn more about the curriculum, faculty, research, and funding opportunities available.