Educators Academy

INSTRUCTOR

Dr. Sylvie Pressman, associate professor of French, native of France, holds a Ph.D. from the University of Paris-Sorbonne. She has been teaching languages in France, England, California, Colorado, and Massachusetts. In 1999, she published a book on Immigration in Massachusetts, and a guide for the French Massachusetts Test for Educator Licensure (MTEL). She has given presentations on Literature, Civilization and Language Pedagogy.  Dr. Pressman has also been very active with Study Abroad, helping French Majors study or work in France as teaching assistants of English in French schools.

When she was chair of the Modern Language Department at Merrimack College, Dr. Pressman started a program for Teachers of Foreign Language Initial Licensure 5-12, approved by the Massachusetts Education Department. She has been involved in teacher preparation for many years offering courses to prepare teachers for the French or Spanish MTEL and creating a Graduate Institute for teachers seeking Professional Development Points and non-degree Graduate Credits.

INSTRUCTOR

Professor Ocasio-Rivera completed her bachelor’s degree in Political Sciences at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras where she also finished two master’s degrees in Library Sciences and Hispanic Studies. She has taught a variety of courses in Spanish language and Humanities at different levels spanning from High School to College. Prof. Ocasio-Rivera worked for 8 years as Library Director at the Central University of Bayamon, Puerto Rico. She completed her PhD in Spanish Language and Cultural Studies with a minor in Economics and Gender Studies at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. Currently, she is a faculty member at Merrimack College and adjunct faculty at Salem State University. 

INSTRUCTOR

Patrick A. McGravey had been an instructor of History and Social Studies for over two decades spending the majority of the time teaching US History and Civics at the North Andover Middle School in North Andover, MA at the eighth grade level. He received a B.A. in History at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst (1993, then went on to attain a Masters of Educational Administration at Boston College (2004) and most recently completed seventy-five credits in course work. (2017) In addition to his instruction, Patrick has been Academic Coordinator for grades six through eight and has participated in a number of Teaching Fellowships at such places as Mount Vernon, Monticello, C-SPAN, Oxford University and the Massachusetts Historical Society. He enjoys leading professional development in his own district as well as among other colleagues through social media with an emphasis on student engagement and making history come alive to students actively as opposed to it being taught in a passive manner simply out of textbooks or through lectures.

INSTRUCTOR

Andrew earned his Master of Science in Industrial and Systems Engineering from the University of Florida.  Also, he received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Florida.  After earning his degrees, he accepted a research position at Caterpillar, Inc. in Peoria, Illinois.  During his twenty-one-year career, he successfully applied structured methodologies to improve business processes that impacted the financial bottom line of Caterpillar.  Currently, Andrew is a research and systems consultant for Aion Systems Research located in Massachusetts.  Andrew is also active in the educational environment where he focuses on the development of learning modules which make complex ideas more accessible to learners.  He translates the practical application of computer science and statistics back to the learning environment which provides for a more enriched learning experience.