Faculty and Staff

I Am Goodrich

Troy Romero, Ph.D.
402.554.3466
tromero@unomaha.edu
Dr. Romero, Chair of the Goodrich Scholarship Program, is also a Professor in the program where he teaches Autobiographical Reading and Writing, humanities, and Lifespan Development. In addition, he teaches in the Psychology Department, where he earned his Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, and he is a faculty member of the Office of Latino/Latin American Studies (OLLAS). His research interests include organizational justice, organizational diversity, identity development, stereotype threat, and intellectual/developmental disabilities such as autism.

Barbara Hewins-Maroney, Ph.D.
402.554.4953
bhewinsm@unomaha.edu
Dr. Hewins-Maroney is an associate professor in Urban Studies in the School of Public Administration and the Goodrich Scholarship Program where she teaches courses in public administration, urban studies, social problems, and life span development. Her research interests include health care disparities and urban health care issues, African American nineteenth and twentieth century social history, public social policy and medical humanities. Dr. Hewins-Maroney received a B.A. in Sociology and an M.A. in Urban Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, an M.A. in Public Administration from the University of New Mexico, and a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Dr. Hewins-Maroney has published articles in the Journal of Health and Human Services Administration, the Journal of Public Affairs Education, Public Administration Quarterly, and the Metropolitan Universities Journal. She serves on several community boards and was recently named a board member of the Humanities Nebraska Council.

Carolina Hotchandani, Ph.D.
402.554.2247
chotchandani@unomaha.edu
Dr. Carolina Hotchandani is an assistant professor in the Goodrich Scholarship Program where she teaches Autobiographical Reading and Writing, Perspectives on USAmerican Culture, and English Composition. Her teaching and research interests include poetry and poetics, poets of color, and feminist theory and literature. Her poetry has appeared in AGNI, Cincinnati Review, Feminist Studies, Prairie Schooner, and other journals.

Imafedia Okhamafe, Ph.D.
402.554.3467
iokhamaf@unomaha.edu
Dr. Okhamafe, Former Chair of the Goodrich Scholarship Program and Professor of Philosophy and English, holds a double Ph.D. He also had a postdoctoral literature fellowship at the University of Texas-Austin and a postdoctoral philosophy of cognitive neuroscience fellowship at the University of California-Berkeley. He teaches in Goodrich, the Department of Philosophy, and the Department of English. His teaching and research interests include the interrelationship of creative literature and the philosophy of science and mathematics. In addition to his essays in book anthologies such as Analecta Husserliana and Genealogy and Literature, his publications have appeared in such journals as Soundings: An Interdisciplinary Journal, Philosophy Today, Journal of the British Society for Phenomenology, Research in African Literatures, and UMOJA. His honors include the University of Nebraska at Omaha Excellence in Teaching Award. His current research includes perspectival mereotics and philosophy of the mind/brain question.

Todd Richardson, Ph.D.
402.554.4027
toddrichardson@unomaha.edu
Dr. Todd Richardson is a James R. Schumacher Chair of Ethics and Professor in the Goodrich Scholarship Program. In addition to courses he teaches within Goodrich, which include Autobiographical Reading and Writing, Perspectives on USAmerican Culture, and English Composition, he also teaches courses in American folklore and literature through UNO's English department. His current research interests include creative thinking and expression, particularly how they relate to community and loneliness. Todd's writing has appeared in a variety of popular and academic publications, most notably The Journal of American Folklore, The Writer's Chronicle, and The Omaha Reader, and his co-authored book Implied Nowhere: Absence in Folklore was recently published by the University of Mississippi Press. He is the founder and editor of Louise Pound: A Folklore and Literature Miscellany.

Stevie Seibert Desjarlais, Ph.D.
402.554.6302
sseibertdesjarlais@unomaha.edu
Dr. Seibert Desjarlais is an assistant professor in the Goodrich Schoalrship Program. Her teaching and research interests include representations of gender, race, and class in contemporary U.S. literature, film, pop culture, and critical pedagogy. Her work appears in the Quarterly Review of Film and Video, the Journal of Popular Film and Television, and Pedagogy. In Goodrich, she teaches Autobiographcial Reading and Writing, Perspectives on USAmerican Culture, and English Composition.

Jenna Corsey, BS
402.554.2274
jcorsey@unomaha.edu
Jenna is the Staff Assistant in the Goodrich Scholarship Program. She has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Sociology, and her interests include flipping thrifted furniture, interior decorating at home, and traveling to Central America for vacation every year.

Maggie Peterson, BSSW and MSW
402.554.3489
maggiepeterson@unomaha.edu
Maggie is a graduate assistant with the Goodrich Scholarship Program and is a Goodrich alum. She received her undergraduate Social Work degree here at UNO and is currently pursuing a Master of Social Work. Her passions include working to build a stronger Omaha, as well as advocating for those in the child welfare and criminal justice systems. In her spare time Maggie serves as a Foster Care Review Officer Board member and enjoys camping, kayaking, and spending time with her family.

Abishai Javier, BS
402.554.3489
ajavier@unomaha.edu
Abi is a graduate assistant with the Goodrich Scholarship Program and is a Goodrich alum. She graduated with a degree in Psychology with a concentration in mental health. She is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Counseling concentrating in Student Affairs Practice in Higher Education. She is passionate about mental health awareness, LGBTQ+ issues, and sustainability. You can catch her watching TV shows and movies with her family, as well as embroidering quotes from said TV movies.

Keenan Krick, LMHP, LADC, NCC
402.554.2874
kkrick@unomaha.edu
Keenan is the Student Services Specialist in the Goodrich Scholarship Program. He completed both of his degrees at UNO: Bachelor of Arts in Biology and a Master of Science in Community Counseling. Additionally, Keenan holds licenses as a mental health practitioner and an alcohol/drug counselor in the State of Nebraska, is certified by the National Board of Certified Counselors, and is pursuing a Ph.D. in Health Promotion & Disease Prevention.

Patty Patton Shearer, MA
402.554.2875
ppshearer@unomaha.edu
Patty is the Coordinator of Recruitment and Academic Support Services in the Goodrich Scholarship Program. She has her master's degree in Higher Education Administration with a joint undergraduate degree in Sociology/Anthropology.