Doctoral Students
Tarik Buli graduated from the University of Virginia in 2014 with her bachelor’s degree in philosophy. She then taught 6th grade math in Louisville, KY. As she was teaching, she was earning her master’s in teaching middle school math and serving as the Beta Club Co-Sponsor and a New Teacher Mentor. Her research interests center around the experiences of African American students in mathematics environments.
Veronica Carlan earned her undergraduate degree in mathematics from the University of Virginia and her master’s degree in mathematics and statistics from Georgetown University. She was then a data scientist before switching to teach at community college. Most recently she developed and taught online data analysis courses. Veronica’s research interests center around adult online education, particularly in data-centered courses.
Kellyn Farlow-Morris has a bachelor's and a master's degree in Mathematics Education from Brigham Young University. Prior to attending UMD, she was an active participant in an ongoing research community doing research in mathematics education. During this time Kellyn worked on three different projects involving pre-service and in-service elementary school teachers and undergraduate students majoring in Dance. Her thesis research was based on data from an experimental teaching project with dance students. These students were invited, through real-world problem tasks that raised central conceptual issues, to invent major ideas of calculus. The focus of Kellyn's research was on the work and the thinking of the students, as they sought to build key ideas, representations, and compelling lines of reasoning. Kellyn is still highly interested in student thinking, especially student proof development and representational use. She has continued to be a part of similar work here at UMD in both the Case Studies and Necessity Project research groups. 
Matt Griffin's primary research interests are urban education, teachers' mathematical knowledge and mathematics education policy. He is also interested in the use of technology in mathematics education and students' learning of geometry. Before arriving at UMD, Matt taught secondary mathematics for four years and, prior to that, worked in the actuarial industry for over a decade.
Sean Gruber is a former UMD graduate, earning both a Bachelor's in Mathematics and a Master's in Curriculum and Instruction through the MCERT program at Maryland. He taught three years in a high school in Montgomery County, and four summers in the Summer Transition Program offered through the Academic Achievement Programs at UMD. His research interests include undergraduate math students' experiences in the college classroom. Additionally, the influence college math teachers' perceptions of their students have on students' perceptions of themselves as math learners.
Francesca Henderson is a Southern California Native with a Bachelor's of Mathematics from San Diego State University (2011), a Master's in Mathematics Education from Concordia University in Portland Oregon (2015), and a Master's degree in Educational Leadership from the High Tech High Graduate School of Education in San Diego (2018). During her professional career she has served as a researcher, 9-12 math teacher, Vice Principal, and Education Consultant. Through her diverse experiences in education, she developed a passion for social justice and equity. Thus, her research interests are embedded in social justice mathematics education, the transition from high school to college-level mathematics learning, and culturally responsive pedagogy.
Josh Himmelsbach earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Harvard, and taught middle and high school mathematics for five years in Rockville, MD. He then returned to school and earned a Master’s degree in Mathematics from the University of Maryland. While teaching as a graduate student he became interested in undergraduate mathematics and teacher prep curriculum. Josh is currently a full-time faculty member in the department of mathematics at the Catholic University of America.
Chris Hurst is a UMD grad both for a Bachelor's in Mathematics and a Master's in Curriculum and Instruction, making him a lifelong Terps fan. He also currently teaches Pre-Calculus, AP Calculus, and AP Economics at DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, MD. He is interested in the influence of policy on mathematics classrooms, specifically regarding teacher professionalism issues in both public and nonpublic schools. He lives in Bowie with his wife Alison, children Sean and Nora, and part-yellow lab-part-hurricane Hunter.
Kelly Ivy completed her undergraduate degree in Mathematics with a professional minor in Secondary Education at Howard University. She taught high school mathematics in DC Public Schools for 3 1/2 years then decided to take a break from teaching to pursue graduate studies. She worked at Trinity Washington University for 3 years while obtaining a Master's degree in Education with a focus in Curriculum and Instruction. Kelly's research interests include meaningful professional development for elementary school teachers in culturally responsive mathematics pedagogy.
Michael W. Krell is a Maryland native who holds a BA in philosophy and the history of math and science from St. John’s College and an MA in German and European studies from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. He spent five years teaching secondary STEM courses in the International Academy at Cardozo Education Campus in Washington, DC, where he created and adapted curriculum focused on serving multilingual learners, led professional development sessions at the district level, served as mathematics department chair, and completed a Modern Classrooms Fellowship in 2019-20. Prior to becoming a teacher, he worked in the field of international development. His interests center on multilingual learners in the secondary mathematics classroom.
CfME PhD Student Krysten Lue
Kristyn Lue is originally from the west coast, where she graduated from UC Berkeley with her degree in applied mathematics and her teaching credential. She moved out to Maryland to obtain her master's degree in higher education at UMD. She has worked in various educational settings and roles over the past few years while studying full-time. She is particularly interested in the STEM identity development of underrepresented students of color through the P-20 pipeline."
Peter Moon is a Connecticut native with a Bachelor’s in Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania (2017) and a Master’s in Teaching (Secondary Mathematics) from Loyola University Maryland. He taught Geometry, AP Statistics, and C++ in Baltimore, MD for three years while coaching swimming. Currently, he teaches a course in statistics for undergraduate middle grades pre-service teachers. Peter’s research interests include expression of algebraic and pre-algebraic thinking, computational thinking tasks leading to mathematical learning, and learning through games.
William Viviani completed his undergraduate degree in Mathematics at the University of Oregon and earned a Masters in Education at George Mason University. William spent the last four years teaching mathematics at the high school level. His current research interests include resistance to change in classroom instruction. He is also interested in investigating teacher identity and student needs.
Margaret Walton, PhD student
Margaret Walton graduated in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in economics from Boston College and in 2012 with a master’s in teaching from the University of Virginia. After getting her master’s she taught Pre-Calculus and AP Calculus at KIPP DC College Preparatory for six years. While at KIPP Margaret served as math department chair, coaching teachers and leading professional development sessions. Margaret’s research interests include math content knowledge for teachers and the differences between and efficacy of traditional and alternative paths to teaching.
Matt Wilson, a Maryland native, graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a bachelor's in Mathematics in 2016 and earned a Master's degree in Math Education from University of Maryland. On campus, he has been an instructor in the Developmental Math and uTERP programs since 2018. His research interests lie in the intersection of curriculum, cognition, and equity. Thus, Matt is passionate about queer, feminist, and critical math pedagogy and empowering underrepresented populations in STEM fields.