Staff & Champions

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Staff & Champions

ALG Champions

ALG Champions are affordable learning specialists and advocates at each USG institution. Champions work together to inform the institution about affordable resources, including open educational resources, along with the fundamentals and practices behind open licensing and the potential to enhance instruction through open pedagogy.

Selecting an ALG Champion

To learn more about how institutions select an ALG Champion, please consult the Guidelines for the Selection of Affordable Learning Georgia Champions.

ALG Faculty Champion

A faculty instructor using no- or low-cost materials in their courses with open educational resources (OER) experience. Faculty Champions work within their campus to inform faculty, staff, and students about Affordable Learning Georgia and the benefits of open educational resources.

ALG Library Champion

A campus librarian with OER expertise. Library Champions work together with the Faculty and Design Champion to identify, evaluate, and provide access to affordable, library-subscribed, and open educational resources. They also inform faculty, staff, and students about ALG and OER alongside the Faculty and Design Champion.

ALG Design Champion

An instructional designer or Center for Teaching and Learning representative with open and OER-enabled pedagogy expertise. Design Champions work together with the Faculty and Library Champion to inform faculty, staff, and students about open and OER-enabled pedagogy and to help identify ways in which it can be implemented in courses using OER. They also inform faculty, staff, and students about ALG and OER alongside the Faculty Champion and Library Champion.

Find your local champion

Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College

Faculty Champion: April Abbott, [email protected]
Library Champion: David Edens, [email protected]
Design Champion: Amy Warren, [email protected]

Albany State University

Faculty Champion: Anilkumar Devarapu, [email protected]
Library Champion: LaVerne McLaughlin, [email protected]
Design Champion: Zephyrinus Okonkwo, [email protected]

Atlanta Metropolitan State College

Faculty Champion: Eze Nwaogu, [email protected]
Library Champion: Tarita Chambers, [email protected]
Design Champion: Kokila Ravi, [email protected]

Clayton State University

Faculty Champion: Sheryne Southard, [email protected]
Library Champion: David Greenebaum, [email protected]
Design Champion: Corneliu Chiorescu, [email protected]

College of Coastal Georgia

Faculty Champion: Dantera Tangpisuthipongsa, [email protected]
Library Champion: Debbie Holmes, [email protected]
Design Champion: Lisa McNeal, [email protected]

Columbus State University

Faculty Champion: Brian Muse, [email protected]
Library Champion: Nancy Shore, [email protected]
Design Champion: Randall Garver, [email protected]

Dalton State College

Faculty Champion: Jenny Crisp, [email protected]
Library Champion: Amy Burger, [email protected]
Design Champion: Pat Horton, [email protected]

Fort Valley State University

Faculty Champion: Patcharin Marion, [email protected]
Library Champion: Frank Mahitab, [email protected]
Design Champion: Amanda Glover, [email protected]

Georgia College and State University

Faculty Champion: Jonathan Harwell, [email protected]
Library Champion: Paula Knight, [email protected]
Design Champion: Jaclyn Queen, [email protected]

Georgia Gwinnett College

Faculty Champion: Marie Firestone, [email protected]
Library Champion: Catherine Downey, [email protected]
Design Champion: Tracy Adkins, [email protected]

Georgia Highlands College

Faculty Champion: Sharryse Henderson, [email protected]
Library Champion: Susanna Smith, [email protected]
Design Champion: Rachel Rupprecht, [email protected]

Georgia Institute of Technology

Faculty Champion: David Joyner, [email protected]
Library Champion:Danielle Evans, [email protected]
Design Champion: Chaohua Ou, [email protected]

Georgia Southern University

Faculty Champion: Heidi Eisenreich, [email protected]
Library Champion: Nikki Rech, [email protected]
Design Champion: Debbie Walker, [email protected]

East:
Faculty Champion: Deborah Lee, [email protected]
Design Champion: Terri Brown, [email protected]

Georgia Southwestern State University

Faculty Champion: Annie-Laurie Nichols, [email protected]
Library Champion: TBD
Design Champion: John Wilson, [email protected]

Georgia State University

Main Campus:
Faculty Champion: Scott Jacques, [email protected]
Library Champion:Denise George, [email protected]
Design Champion: Walt Justice, [email protected]

Perimeter College:
Faculty Champion: Cyntoria Johnson, [email protected]
Library Champion: Angiah Davis, [email protected]
Design Champion: Mustafa Elsawy, [email protected]

Gordon State College

Faculty Champion: Lynn Rumfelt, [email protected]
Library Champion: Carla Fredd, [email protected]
Design Champion: Angiah Davis, [email protected]

Kennesaw State University

Faculty Champion: Nasrin Dehbozorgi, [email protected]
Library Champion: Femi Jayeola, [email protected]
Design Champion: Chelsey Gillilan, [email protected]
Coordinator: Brichaya Shah, [email protected]

Middle Georgia State University

Faculty Champion: Tyler Achatz, [email protected]
Library Champion: Dana Casper, [email protected]
Design Champion: Katie Shepard, [email protected]

Savannah State University

Faculty Champion: Antonio Velazquez, [email protected]
Library Champion: Elle Davis, [email protected]
Design Champion: Alberto De La Cruz, [email protected]

South Georgia State College

Faculty Champion: Molly Smith, [email protected]
Library Champion: Lynn Kelly, [email protected]
Design Champion: Becky Griffin, [email protected]

University of Georgia

Faculty Champion: Megan Mittelstadt, [email protected]
Library Champion: Melody Rood, [email protected]
Design Champion: James Castle, [email protected]

University of North Georgia

Faculty Champion: Laura Getty, [email protected]
Library Champion: Monique Martinez, [email protected]
Design Champion: Corey Parson, [email protected]

University of West Georgia

Faculty Champion: Agnieska Chwialkowska, [email protected]
Library Champion: Blynne Olivieri Parker, [email protected]
Design Champion: Brian Roberts, [email protected]

Valdosta State University

Faculty Champion: Julie Lester, [email protected]
Library Champion: Kytt Everdeen Moore, [email protected]
Design Champion: Bryan FitzGerald, [email protected]

Jeff Gallant

Program Director

Jeff Gallant has been with ALG since 2014 when it was a pilot program. He regularly consults with new open education programs and presents on program management, strategic planning, grant programs, data collection, and reporting. He has been a mentor in the SPARC Open Education Leadership Program since its inception in 2017, a mentoring faculty member of the AAC&U Institute on OER since its inception in 2021, and a co-author of The OER Starter Kit for Program Managers.

Nakita Afaha

Program Manager

Nakita Afaha joined ALG in May 2023. She holds a master’s degree in adult education, a bachelor’s degree in business education, and an education specialist degree in instructional technology. Her experience includes managing online student success initiatives at the University of West Georgia, designing OER and library resource-based courses with USG eCampus, and coordinating online programs at Georgia State University. Her expertise in student success continues to evolve, as she now manages open education initiatives for ALG.