About
Affiliate Faculty
John Mann III
Dr. Mann spent 38 years as a teacher, school principal, district director for Leadership Development, Communications and Government Relations, Instructional Media and Technology before assuming the position of Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instructional Services at the District School Board of Pasco County. He is currently the USF David C. Anchin Center's Leadership Development Director and the coordinator for the Gulf Coast Partnership Program.
EPIC Policy Fellows
To help drive the work of the Educational Policy Information Center, EPIC Fellows serve for a two-year appointment an participate in scholarly activities such as preparing policy research papers for publication, preparing EPIC policy briefs, assisting in the production of grant proposals, and making presentations about their work as part of the David C. Anchin Center's Speaker Series.
2019-21 Policy Fellows
Dr. William Black
Associate Professor, Educational Leadership and Policy Studies
Email: wrblack@usf.edu
Dr. Black is an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of South Florida. He also serves as the Area Program Coordinator for the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies program.
Dr. Black received his doctorate degree from the University of Texas, Austin. His research interests include leadership preparation and critical policy implementation with a particular emphasis on disability studies and English Language Learners. He currently serves as the Principal Investigator of the U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs Leadership Preparation in Policy and Community Based Reform project (5 years, 1. 244 million) and the Principal Investigator of Florida Department of Education Very Special Arts Florida (1 year continuing contract, $334,000).
Dr. Black's publications include multiple book chapters and articles in Educational Policy, International Journal of Leadership in Education, Journal of Research in Leadership Education, Educational Leadership Review, and the National Association of Secondary School Principals Journal, amongst others.
Dr. Nathaniel von der Embse
Associate Professor, School Psychology
Email: natev@usf.edu
Dr. von der Embse is an Associate Professor of School Psychology at the University of South Florida. He completed his master’s and educational specialist degrees in school psychology from Miami (OH) University and his Ph.D. from Michigan State University with a specialization in educational policy analysis. His work utilizes a social justice framework to examine the intersection of education policy and school mental health.
Dr. von der Embse's research is focused in three primary domains, including:
- An examination of teacher stress and student test anxiety surrounding high-stakes exams;
- The creation and validation of internalizing behavior and socio-emotional wellness screening assessments;
- The training of teachers and schools in population-based assessment methods (e.g., universal mental health screening, trauma informed practices) to inform tiered and targeted intervention.
His research has resulted in 53 peer reviewed publications, and 27 professional articles and book chapters. Additionally, his research has been featured in TIME magazine and the New York Times, and has been cited in government policy briefs, and presented nationally and internationally (China, France, England). He currently oversees a funded research program of over $5,000,000 from the Institute for Education Sciences, National Science Foundation, Spencer Foundation, National Institute for Justice, and the Scattergood Foundation.
Dr. von der Embse is a nationally certified school psychologist, currently pursuing post-doctoral supervision towards licensure as a psychologist, and has been a licensed or certified school psychologist and mental health practitioner in five states.
Scholars in Residence
The Scholar in Residence Program is an opportunity for University of South Florida faculty to spend one academic year on research focused on a critical issue in education. Scholars in Residence spend their one-year appointment conducting research, submitting articles to research journals, writing grant proposals, and giving presentations about their work to the education community.
2019-20 Scholar in Residence
Dr. Elizabeth Hadley
Assistant Professor, Literacy Studies
Email: hadleye@usf.edu
Dr. Hadley is an Assistant Professor of Literacy Studies in the USF College of Education. She received her Ph.D. in Teaching, Learning, and Diversity from Vanderbilt University, and joined USF in 2017.
Dr. Hadley’s research focuses on supporting oral language development in preschool classrooms, particularly through building rich vocabulary knowledge. She is interested in understanding the relationship between preschool oral language skills and later reading comprehension, as well as working with preschool teachers to foster academic vocabulary growth in children from under-served communities.
Dr. Hadley's current projects include examining the impact of responsive teaching strategies on vocabulary learning, the role of play in language learning, and designing assessments to capture depth of vocabulary knowledge.