Directory

Jacob Carter began his role as the director of PWE in 2023. Formerly the assistant director, Jacob co-founded and was project director for Building Bridges, a UMass Public Art and Engagement Initiative that draws on the power of solidarity and creative expression to bring people together and create a bridge across difference. He also co-launched and served as the project director for the Facilities and Campus Services Career Ladder. Jacob has nearly 20 years of experience working with various educational nonprofits in Central America and the U.S. including currently as a board member for the Massachusetts Fair Housing Center in Holyoke, MA and SERES in Guatemala and El Salvador. He completed his doctoral studies at UMass with a concentration in International Education and Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino/a studies and conducted research on multistakeholder partnerships for education in Guatemala. Outside of work, he enjoys playing the guitar, being outdoors, and spending time with his family.

Nyari is the Senior Projects Director for the Facilities and Campus Services Career Ladder and Building Bridges. She completed her Ph.D. from the UMass College of Education, International Education program, and brings a wealth of experience in participatory adult education, and action research along with project management experience.

Larissa is the Associate Director of the Culinary Career Ladder (CCL). She has over 20+ years of experience in developing and managing projects in education, including capacity building for multicultural, multilingual stakeholders at local, national, and regional levels.

She is also the PhD Candidate in International Education at the UMASS Amherst (GoogleScholar). Her living and professional experience comes from Kazakhstan and Central Asia. She is fluent in Russian and English languages.

In her role at CCL, Larissa supports program strategic planning, manages data reporting, develops, implements and reports on the program training.

#InternationalEducation #AdultEducation #TrainingDesign #TrainTheTrainer #Multicultural #ApricotSolutions #CentralAsia #CareerLadder

Joseph Connolly co-founded the program in 1987 and served as its director until 2023. Joe is now serving as a Senior Technical Advisor to provide ongoing support for grants and contracts as well as to support the leadership transition. He has a doctorate in worker education and comparative teaching methods, a Master's in labor studies, and a Master's in educational counseling. He has a strong interest in participatory teaching, and issues of voice, visibility, and social justice. He also worked for AFSCME 1776 from 1981 until retiring in 2016.

Leslie Fraser is the Coordinator of Communications and Campus Career Initiatives for The Partnership for Worker Education. She teaches writing, communications, leadership, workplace wellness, and career growth classes, offers career and education advising to UMass staff members in the AFSCME, USA/MTA, and PSU labor unions, and coordinates publicity for The Partnership for Worker Education programs. Leslie also teaches job skills, communications, leadership, and teamwork classes for Community Works. She worked as a writer, editor, nonprofit manager, and educator for more than 20 years before joining The Partnership for Worker Education in 1997. Her undergraduate degree is in women’s studies and human services education, and her graduate studies and degrees include labor education, counseling, and chaplaincy.

Gretchen Hohmeyer is a graduate research assistant with PWE since Spring 2022. She is a Ph.D. candidate from the College of Education's Language, Literacy, and Culture program. She also has a Master's of Library Science and a Master of Arts in Children's Literature, which she previously put to work in her job as a librarian at public libraries in Western Massachusetts. Her current academic work combines children's literature, history and history education, and social justice work.

Melissa Kane is an avid lover of travel and communicating with people from around the world. Melissa thrives in bringing people of various cultures together to learn and share their commonalities and individuality. After years of running a manufacturing business while also teaching group and individual fitness classes on the side, she finally completed the SIT Graduate Institute Intensive TESOL Certification program. Now Melissa is realizing her dream as she teaches workplace English in the classroom and tutors students from various countries on an individual basis. With years of studying French language, music, and culture, she lived in Paris for a semester abroad, and now travels regularly to Senegal, West Africa, to be with her family and friends and to study African dance and the native Wolof language. She discovers through her experiences that the beauty of our human connection is deeply rooted in the power of communication.

Michele Kenney is the project director of the Southern Hilltowns Adult Education Center.  She has a BFA from SUNY Purchase and an M.Ed. in Secondary Special Education from Westfield State University, with teaching certifications in 5-12 Special Needs, High School Art and Mathematics, specializing in remediation and teaching of students with language-based learning disabilities. Michele began as a SHAEC teacher in 2010, teaching GED and sustainability classes. In February 2012, Michele became the project director, expanding the focus of the program to include classes to support small business owners and economic development. In addition to her 30 years of teaching experience, Ms. Kenney is the owner of a small business, Custom Thermal Shades, manufacturing and sales of custom made Insulated Window Treatments.

Sonia Lindop (Ed. S.) has 15 years of experience in culinary workforce development and 7 years directing Culinary Career Ladder projects in secondary and higher education institutions. Before obtaining her Ed. S. in International Education and MA in Anthropology, Sonia specialized in ESOL workforce development and contextualized education for multicultural workers across the state. Fluent in Spanish and English, Sonia’s professional experience comes from the Western Massachusetts region and the Andes and Amazonian regions of Latin America. She oversees all components of the program including instructional services, multi-lingual case management, monitoring and evaluation, impact assessment, and dissemination efforts.