Meet Our Staff

Shawn Mahoney Kuba

Director of the Learning Center

LPC, Ed.D.

Shawn grew up in the suburban Washington, D.C. area. She earned a bachelor of science in secondary education/social sciences and two master’s degrees – one in education and another in community counseling/mental health from Villanova University. In 1979, she started working with students who have learning challenges at the Hill Top School in Rosemont, PA. There she served in two roles - as a teacher and group therapist. Moving with her husband Mike (director of Wesleyan’s Health and Counseling Center) and daughter Katie to Buckhannon, Shawn began working in the Learning Center’s Special Support Services Program as a counselor in 1988. In 1999, she became the director. In 2006, she finished her doctorate in Educational Psychology at West Virginia University publishing her thesis on the transition and persistence of college students with diagnosed learning disabilities. She is the instructor for the Mentor Advantage Program small group class for first year students, which integrates a theory to practice model of self-regulated learning and college study strategies during the first semester and focuses on personal wellness in the second. Shawn also teaches in Wesleyan’s first year seminar program and serves as a member of the pastoral council and adult education committee for her parish, Holy Rosary. She and Mike built a small log home in the beautiful hills outside of Buckhannon where they live with their beloved albeit feisty cairn terrier, Mattie.  

 

Suzanne Haas

Comprehensive Advisor, Tutoring System

M.A.

Suzanne's connection with Wesleyan began when she was in the sixth grade and her father became the Director of Admissions. She graduated from Wesleyan in 1967 with a degree in elementary education. She continued her education at West Virginia University and earned a Master's degree in Reading in 1969. She left her West Virginia hills to explore the world and experienced life around three cities in the megalopolis of the eastern seaboard: Washington, DC, New York, and Baltimore before following the interstate highways and country roads back to home: Buckhannon and Wesleyan. In 1991 she received a Permanent Professional Teaching Certificate as a Reading Specialist from the state of West Virginia. She joined the Learning Center in 1981 as instructional staff. In that position she initiated and coordinated the Campus Services component for the Learning Center. She became a Comprehensive Advisor and Tutor Supervisor with the Learning Center in 1999.

 

Denton King

Comprehensive Advisor, Math Practica, External Testing Accommodations

M.A.

Denton is a retired educator who enjoys working in Wesleyan’s Learning Center four days a week. He holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Bowie State University and a master’s degree in school administration from the University of Maryland with additional endorsements from West Virginia University. Prior to working in the Learning Center, Denton worked as an elementary school teacher, a middle school math teacher, and an elementary and middle school principal. He enjoys living in the country with his wife, Sandy and yellow lab, Fronce. When not working at Wesleyan or on his tree farm, he writes and plays his own form of folk music. Denton is active in his church and community.  He has one son, a wonderful daughter-in-law, and a nine year old grandson. Anyone of the three can talk him into just about anything they want. Denton was the Director of Special Education in both Lewis and Upshur Counties. Our students greatly benefit from Denton’s enjoyment of teaching math skill development.

 

Susan Marshall

Comprehensive Advisor, Assistive Technology Coordinator

M.A.

Susan is a West Virginia Wesleyan College alumna, having graduated in 2005 with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. She earned a Master of Arts in Applied Experimental Psychology from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 2007. She has worked in the Learning Center since August 2007, acting as a comprehensive advisor, technology lab coordinator, and instructor of college study strategies classes. Susan’s interests include knitting, yoga, bluegrass and old time music, and enjoying local Appalachian culture and festivals.

 

Lynne Gentry Neaves

Comprehensive Advisor, Coordinator of the Mentor Advantage Program

M.A.

Lynne’s credentials include a Bachelor of Science in Special Education, Learning Disabilities (with a Concentration in Psychology), a Master of Arts in Special Education, Cross-Categorical Conditions, and a Reading Specialist master-level certification from Appalachian State University, in Boone, North Carolina. She worked in the Learning Center at WVWC from 1996-2000, lived in Saskatchewan, Canada, from 2000-2005, and then returned to the Learning Center in 2005, where she serves as a comprehensive advisor and coordinator of the Mentor Advantage Program. While in Canada, Lynne helped in developing a center for the Learning Disabilities Association of Saskatchewan and a learning support program at First Nations University of Canada. Much of her work there involved students with diagnosed learning disabilities who used English as their second language. Her interests include reading, movies, local history and cultural events, architectural preservation, and gardening.

 

Micki Biggs

Strategic Content and Organizational Tutor

B.A.

Micki was born and raised in Helvetia, WV, a tiny Swiss village nestled in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains. Having graduated from Pickens School, the smallest public school in the state, she understands and appreciates the value of individualized, one-on-one educational instruction. Micki graduated from Berea College in 2010 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology and a minor in dance.  After graduation she spent a year in Philadelphia, working for an Americorps program called City Year. As a City Year Corps Member, she served as a tutor/mentor to students in one of Philadelphia’s most under-served, inner-city middle schools. Realizing her passion for helping students succeed, she joined the Learning Center in the fall of 2011. She works as a strategic content tutor in the Mentor Advantage Program.    

 

Teresa Buckner

Strategic Content and Organizational Tutor

B.A.

Teresa graduated from Eastern New Mexico University in 1992 with a bachelor’s degree in university studies.  She has worked in the Mentor Advantage Program as an organizational mentor and strategic content tutor since the program was developed in 2007. Her professional background includes work in the accounting field and in the hospitality industry. Teresa is active in the community, supporting her children in activities including sports and 4H.

 

Heather Cunningham

Strategic Content and Organizational Tutor

M.A.

Heather Cunningham was born in Marietta Ohio. She grew up in St. Marys West Virginia and graduated from St. Marys High School in 1993. Her college of choice was West Liberty University, where she obtained a BS in Pre-Law in 1997. Her love of history drew her to the history department at WVU. Here she received a Master’s degree in history in 2002. She then decided she wanted to teach so she got her Master’s degree in education and her certificate to teach social studies in 2004. From 2004 to 2012 she substitute taught in Wood and Pleasants County West Virginia. In the spring of 2012 Heather moved to Buckhannon, West Virginia to help support her family. She joined the WVWC Learning Center as a Mentor in the fall of 2012. She enjoys helping students make a successful transition to college!

 

Anita Dib

Strategic Content and Organizational Tutor

M.A.

Anita is a West Virginia native who lives in Barbour County.  She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Alderson Broaddus College, double majoring in Political Science and Speech/Communications.  In 1995, she furthered her education with a Master of Arts Degree in Special Education from West Virginia University.  Anita spent more than 15 years teaching in the public school system in classrooms for students with learning disabilities, behavior disorders, and mild impairments.  She stays busy with her two children and their activities while her husband serves active duty in the Public Health Service in Washington D.C.  She is an avid volunteer for organizations such as 4H, Boy Scouts of America, and Animal Friends of Barbour County.

 

April Keating

Strategic Content and Organizational Tutor

B.A.

April is a 1990 graduate of West Virginia Wesleyan with a Bachelor of Arts in English and has been tutoring in the Mentor Advantage Program since 2008. She has experience in journalism and teaches yoga. Married to Dr. Bernard Keating (philosophy), they have three children, all of whom were homeschooled. She has a dog and three cats, and enjoys cooking, swimming, writing, music, dancing, and dark chocolate. April is a kinesthetic learner.

 

Margaret Mitchell

Strategic Content and Organizational Tutor

M.S.N.

Margaret graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a bachelor’s degree in nursing in 1978 and from SUNY at Binghamton with a master’s in family nursing and a certificate as a family nurse practitioner in 1981. Professional experiences include establishing a family nurse practitioner based health clinic at McMurry College in Texas, adjunct faculty at WVWC, and private practice. More recently, she has served as the volunteer area director for Buckhannon Young Life. She and her husband have resided in Buckhannon for over twenty-five years. She has three adult daughters. Margie enjoys quilting in her spare time including creating her own designs and in 2010 she was juried into Tamarack (a West Virginia artisans exhibit and store).

 

Lynda Halverson Selan

Strategic Content and Organizational Tutor

M.A.

Lynda has lived in many places during her life. She grew up in Menomonie, Wisconsin and Buckhannon, West Virginia, moving to Buckhannon when her mother started to teach at West Virginia Wesleyan. In college, Lynda majored in architectural design, and graduated from MIT. Lynda chose to be a full-time mother while she and her husband, Greg, raised 5 children. When she returned to the work force, education became her second career. She has master’s degrees in elementary and special education at all levels. She in the taught in the Illinois and West Virginia public schools before coming to WVWC. Her oldest son is also a Wesleyan graduate. Lynda enjoys knitting and cross stich as well as reading, cooking, and being with her family.

 

Glenn Simms

Strategic Content and Organizational Tutor

M.A.

Glenn is a native West Virginian who grew up in Weston. After a stint in the military, Glenn attended and graduated Magna Cum Laude from Glenville State College with a Bachelor of Social Work. He later received his Master of Arts in Human Resource Development from Webster University in St Louis, Missouri. He spent 30 years working and living all over the world for the federal government before returning to West Virginia and working with the Learning Center during the 2007-2008 first Mentor Advantage Program year. He then moved to Florida and worked at Brevard Community College as an English/reading/writing tutor before returning to West Virginia this summer. Glenn has been married for 35 years to his lovely wife, Sunny. They have 4 “kids:” Amelia, a college student in Florida, Aaron, a geophysicist with the federal government, Princess, a Shi Tzu, and Precious, a Shi Tzu/Poodle mix (both rescue dogs).  He loves auctions, antiquing, and listening to all types of music.

 

Bill Pastorius

Coordinator of Lindamood-Bell®* Methods

M.A.

Bill earned both of his degrees from West Virginia University - he completed his Bachelor of Science in Education (Secondary English specialization) in 1996 and Master of Arts in Reading, 2003. He taught English at Frankfort High School for 5 years, before moving to Johnson City while his wife did research at East Tennessee State University.  After the birth of his daughter in 2009, Bill moved back home to West Virginia and began working as a reading clinician here at Wesleyan’s Learning Center in May of 2010. He has been the Coordinator of Lindamood Bell®* Methods program since August 2011.

 

Carolyn Baisden

Lindamood-Bell®* Methods

B.S.

Carolyn was born in Pittsburgh, PA, but moved to Buckhannon and became part of the Wesleyan family as a child. Both of her parents taught at Wesleyan. English and reading were always a strong interest and aptitude, but her career path evolved over a period of years. Her degree from Wesleyan was in home economics and English, and after graduation she taught English in Columbus, OH. After she and Richard were married, they were both employed as teachers in the Dover City Schools, Dover, OH. This was her introduction to working with students having difficulties in reading. The birth of their first child changed her direction for the ensuing years, but her interest in and commitment to the cause of reading proficiency had been established as a life-long focus. When their fourth and last child went to pre-school, she re-entered the field of education.She was offered a position in the WVWC Learning Center in 1993. She has served as a Lindamood-Bell clinician, the technology lab night supervisor, and the administrative assistant to the director. These last few years she's been busy with her husband, their adult children, and eight adored grandchildren at home, at church, at their camp on the Middle Fork River, and at the Bailey School Restoration Project. She reads, writes poetry, and keeps a journal; she also enjoys gardening and sewing. She has returned to the Learning Center as a Lindamood-Bell clinician.   

 

Tari Kitchen

Lindamood-Bell®* Methods

M.S.

Tari graduated from the University of New Mexico with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and sociology in 1986. She held a variety of different positions before deciding to stay home to raise her four sons. In 2007, Tari started working with students who have various learning difficulties and began working on her master’s degree in counseling - which she completed in 2011. Tari joined the Learning Center in 2011 as a reading clinician.

 

Margie Miller

Lindamood-Bell®* Methods

B.A.

Reading, the conveyance which transported this young girl from rural West Virginia to imagined real places, also directed her teaching career. It led her to schools in Southwestern Ohio and Southern California in the 1950s; to Montgomery County, Maryland, in 1960-89. Margie instilled a joy for reading in six young grandchildren, as with her daughter and son, their parents, years earlier.  Upshur County Read Aloud and Literacy Volunteers benefitted from her reading initiatives in 1990.  West Virginia Wesleyan College’s Learning Center established a program using Lindamood-Bell®*Methods in 1992 and trained her as a reading clinician. Seven decades of application have refined those reading skills with enlightenment, entertainment, and empowerment. Margie earned her Bachelor of Arts in English from West Virginia Wesleyan.

 

Carla Waldo

Test Lab Supervisor

B.A.

Carla graduated from West Virginia Wesleyan College with a degree in sociology and anthropology.  She and her husband, Mark, have raised two sons. Her primary career focus has been human services with an emphasis on community behavioral health. She is a past board member of the Upshur Senior Center, Upshur Human Resources, and Buckhannon Work Adjustment Center. Carla has been the coordinator of the Upshur Parish House community garden for the past two years, facilitates a Batterers Intervention and Prevention Program class, and provides parent training for divorcing couples. She became part of the Learning Center team in 2008 as coordinator of the Test Lab, moving into the supervisory role in 2010. Carla is happiest with her hands in the garden dirt or working with her knitting needles.

 

Jena Stump

Test Lab Coordinator and Proctor

Jena joined the Learning Center recently after spending 13 years running her own daycare business. Jena and her husband George have enjoyed raising their two daughters, Danielle and Taylor, in the Buckhannon area since 1997. Jena is most proud of being a mom. She has spent many hours supporting her girls in the school band and many sporting activities. Danielle and Taylor both have become members of the Wesleyan community. In her spare time Jena enjoys reading, gardening, exploring new places and watching the wildlife from her back porch.   

 

Lisa Parks

Administrative Assistant

A.A.

Lisa and her husband David have been blessed with two beautiful daughters - Daphne and Deidre. Lisa has earned an associate’s degree in accounting and data processing. Before joining the staff of the Learning Center at Wesleyan, she ran a daycare out of her home for 16 years. She is a youth leader at Broad Street United Methodist Church of Weston and is active in her community. She and David organize and participate in the river cleanups and trash pickups in Weston. She works with Project Kid Care and promotes recycling. Lisa also enjoys spending time with their six (yes 6) dogs.  

 

*Lindamood-Bell ®, LiPS ®, V/V ®, Lindamood Phoneme Sequencing ®, Visualizing and Verbalizing for Language Comprehension and Thinking ®, and On Cloud Nine ® are trademarks of Lindamood-Bell Learning Processes (http://www.lindamoodbell.com). Lindamood-Bell in no way guarantees the quality of the materials or services that may be supplied by West Virginia Wesleyan College.  West Virginia Wesleyan College is not affiliated with, certified, endorsed, licensed, monitored or sponsored by Lindamood-Bell, Nanci Bell, Phyllis Lindamood, or Pat Lindamood.