13 About the Author and the Collaborators

Dr. Lynn Meade

Teacher
Dr. Meade is a Teaching Assistant Professor for the Fulbright College of Arts & Sciences Student Success department at the University of Arkansas. She currently teaches classes on Professional ePortfolios, Professional Storytelling, and Second Year Experience. Prior to her work with student success, she designed and taught courses for the Department of Communication:  Nonverbal Communication, Persuasion, Small Group Communication, Communication in a Diverse World, Advanced Public Speaking, Communication in a Diverse World Honors, Public Speaking Honors. In addition to traditional courses, she also designed a custom study abroad program, Intercultural Communication in Ireland.

Teaching Related Awards
As a result of her dedication to students, she earned the Imhoff Teaching and Mentoring Award and the Fulbright Master Teacher Award. She was nominated three times for teaching honors by the Student Alumni Association and Associated Student Government. Dr. Meade earned a prestigious Walton Distinguished Fellowship to study college student retention. She had been chosen twice to be the University of Arkansas Game Day Professor.  She was inducted as a member into the Teaching Academy. Because of her numerous achievements, she was selected as Alumni of Distinction from the College of Education and Health Professions.

Faculty Developer
Dr. Meade served a three-year term as Co-Director for the Wally Cordes Teaching and Faculty Support Center where she helped design programs to assist the faculty with their scholarship of teaching. She continues to conduct teaching seminars for the Department of Communication, the Graduate School, and the Teaching and Faculty Support Center. She earned her certificate in Effective College Teaching from ACUE and helps facilitate the program for the University of Arkansas campus. In addition, she co-facilitates the Instructor Coaches program for Fulbright College and is a faculty leader of Peer Mentoring Circle program under the Division of Faculty Affairs.

Writer

This is her second open education resource textbook. Her first OER book, Advanced Public Speaking, has gained nationwide circulation. In 2024, she will work on her third book, this time the book will be on how to provide coaching support to students. In addition to her OER work, she edited a Fundamentals of Communication textbook and published a book chapter on Students with Disabilities for the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators. Dr. Meade was instrumental in writing the core curriculum standards for High School Communication courses in Arkansas.

Connect with Dr. Meade

• Lynn Meade’s Portfolio
• Lynn Meade’s LinkedIn
• Lynn Meade’s University of Arkansas Student Success Webpage

Dr. Angela Williams

Angela Williams is a Teaching Assistant Professor for the Fulbright College of Arts & Sciences Student Success department at the University of Arkansas. In this role she teaches Career Connections courses, equipping students with the skills they need to secure internships and job opportunities. Additionally, Angela serves as an Instructor Coach, providing mentorship to students ensuring they achieve academic and professional success. She made writing contributions to the About Me and Resume chapter and consulted on content throughout.

Her advice to those making portfolios: Portfolios can serve as a living document that students can update throughout their academic and professional journey. It becomes a valuable record of their growth, accomplishments, and evolving skills over time.  Additionally, they can be used as a tool for assessment by both students and instructors. Students can use them to assess their own progress, while instructors can use them to provide feedback on specific projects and overall development.

Her favorite career quote:

Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value. — Albert Einstein

Check her out on LinkedIn  at: https://fulbright.uark.edu/student-success/whoarewe/uid/angelaw/name/Angela+Seawood+Williams/

Dr. Sarah Denison

Sarah Denison is the Director of Career Initiatives for Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas. In that role she helps provide career readiness support for students, faculty, and staff. She also works to build relationships with employers to create a pathway for students from their academic journey into their professional life. Her contribution in this book includes proofreading and editing content. Sarah’s advice to those making portfolios/teaching portfolios would be to think of your project as dynamic. It is a living document that you want to take care to tend and update as you journey in your life and career. The work is never done, instead, always improving to be more representative of you.

Check her out on LinkedIn 

Dr. Michelle Pribbernow

Michelle Pribbernow is the Director of Career Initiatives for Fulbright STEAM at the University of Arkansas. In that role she helps students build their career readiness and confidence, recruits employers to engage with students, and works to connect these two groups together in meaningful ways. She provided proofreading assistance for this book. Her advice to those making portfolios would be to enjoy the process of reflection that creating a portfolio involves and to engage in the process regularly.

Check her out on LinkedIn.  

Xavier Smith 

Career Counselor for Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences

Savannah Baptiste

Savannah Baptiste is an undergraduate at the University of Arkansas studying Political Science, Criminology, and Sociology. Savannah works as a Student Success liaison to university classes aimed toward collegiate success. In this role, she facilitates communication with students about class and campus opportunities and serves as a mentor to her peers. Her contributions to this book are revising chapters one and three. Her advice to those making portfolios is always to prioritize the portfolio’s easy navigation. Portfolios are an essential tool for self-marketing in this new age, and a quality portfolio that can be navigated easily can set candidates apart on higher levels.

Her favorite quote:

A leader is best when people barely know he exists; when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves. – Lao Tzu.

Check her out on LinkedIn

Chloe Martinez

Chloe Martinez is a Junior Honors Psychology/Sociology student at the University of Arkansas. In this role, Chloe utilizes the connections and knowledge that she has acquired in and outside of the classroom to build toward her professional career goals. Her contributions to this book are curating h5p material for students to self-evaluate their learning throughout each chapter of the book. Her advice to those making portfolios/teaching portfolios would be to be tedious with the things that you do; for every action you have makes an impact on the next. Using her energy and time in the most efficient way was key to making these memory tasks.

Her favorite career quote

What worries you, masters you. – John Locke

Check her out on LinkedIn