Bob Hardin, Director of Development

Bob Hardin is the Director of Development for the College of Education at the University of North Texas.  Bob has five years of fundraising experience with both the University of North Texas and Regent University. He worked 31 years for Texas Instruments in sales, marketing, and held several regional sales manager positions on the East and West coasts.  In his spare time Bob coached youth sports for 26 years.  He received his B.S. in Education from UNT and has returned to serve his alma mater.

Heather Hughes, Ph.D., Associate Executive Director, UNT Autism Center

Heather L. Hughes earned her Ph.D. from the University of North Texas. She has worked as a special education administrator, educational diagnostician, and teacher in K-12 settings. Her specializations are autism and multidisciplinary assessment of disabilities. Her research interests include evidence-based interventions across the life span for individuals with autism spectrum disorders. She now serves as the Associate Executive Director of the University of North Texas Kristin Farmer Autism Center.

Amy Rowell, Research Analyst

Amy Rowell has a Master’s Degree in Kinesiology from the University of North Texas and her undergraduate degree at Baylor University.  Amy ran track and cross country while at Baylor.  Prior to returning to UNT, she worked in clinical oncology research for twelve years.  Amy now serves as the College Research Officer for the College of Education.  She enjoys hiking, playing racquetball and working out at the Pohl Recreation Center.  Amy has one son, Josh, who enjoys playing water polo.

Ashton Brown, Recruitment Specialist

I started in the higher education field right after college at the age of 23 as an admissions recruiter for Tyler Junior College. As my love of higher education blossomed I chose to go back to school to pursue my masters in higher education. After serving as a recruiter at TJC, my husband and I decided to relocate to the DFW area where I was hired by the College of Education as their first recruitment specialist! I am thrilled to be here and I love that I am able to guide students to begin their journey within the College of Education.

Amanda Giordano, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Counseling

Amanda L. Giordano, received her PhD in Counseling and Counselor Education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Her clinical experience includes work with chemically dependent clients, collegiate populations, and adults with mental health issues. Giordano's research interests include substance abuse counseling, spirituality issues in counseling, and counseling supervision. She has a deep appreciation for this profession and feels honored to be working in the dynamic and esteemed counseling program at UNT.

Barrett Taylor, Assistant Professor, Higher Education

Barrett Taylor earned his PhD from the Institute of Higher Education at the University of Georgia. He teaches a number of courses at UNT, including "General Administration of Higher Education" (EDHI 6710) and "Higher Education Finance" (EDHI 6760). His research emphasizes the ways in which colleges and universities interact with their environments.

Denise Kronenberger, Administrative Coordinator, Child and Family Resource Clinic

Denise Kronenberger serves as Administrative Coordinator I at the Child and Family Resource Clinic and has worked at UNT for eleven years.  She is married to her husband Kevin and has four children, Gabrielle, Megan, Hannah, and Kevin Jr., a son-in-law, Gavin, and two grandchildren, Harper and Sawyer. Kronenberger is committed to her Catholic faith and spends her time volunteering at church, working part time as the nursery coordinator, and scrapbooking. She says that working with children is her ministry, and feels so blessed to work in an office where she can interact with children on a daily basis.

Becky Quayle, Administrative Specialist, Counseling & Higher Education

David Kettler, Assistant Professor, Gifted and Talented Emphasis

Todd Kettler earned his PhD in Education Psychology from Baylor University. Dr. Kettler has been a middle school and high school teacher and an educational administrator. He joined the faculty of the University of North Texas in 2012.  Dr. Kettler's research and teaching emphasis is in the field of gifted education. He has recently served on the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) work team to revise and validate the national program standards for gifted education. He is the past chair of the Research Division of the Texas Association for the Gifted/Talented (TAGT), and he is currently the chair-elect of the TAGT Leadership Division. Dr. Kettler’s research is currently focusing on the development and measurement of critical thinking skills and academic talent development of gifted students and adults.

Amber Brasher, Travel and Distance Learning Specialist, Educational Psychology

Amber provides administrative support to faculty, students and staff, maintains budgets for travel and distance learning, and assists with special requests and purchasing.  Whether she is handling a faculty request, answering student questions or providing reports and information, she enjoys helping others and does it with a smile.  When away from campus, Amber spends her time with her husband and daughter making crafts, artwork and cooking.

Lee Ancona, Ph.D., Lecturer, Health Promotion

Lee Ancona earned his PhD from Texas Woman’s University. He has served as adjunct professor for UNT and Weatherford College, classroom teacher for several Texas independent school districts, contributing editor at Glencoe/McGraw-Hill Publishing, and as a health and physical education consultant. He is a member of the Texas School Health Association and the Texas Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. His research interests include the relationship between Health and Spirituality. Ancona is married with three children and enjoys reading, exercising, singing in choir, and gardening.

Jeanette Krzewinski-Malone, Lecturer, Health Promotion

Jeanette Krzewinski-Malone received her MS in Kinesiology from UNT and her BA in Psychology from University of Texas-San Antonio.  She has taught in various areas of health and fitness since 1995. Malone has been a fitness enthusiast for over 30 years, enjoying running, strength training, and aerobic dance.  She taught aerobics for 15 years and the last 7 were spent at Cooper Fitness Center.  Most recently she delved into the world of triathlons and has participated in 10 events during the last 3 years, as well as a half-marathon.

Malone loves reading English murder mysteries, legal thrillers, and spy/espionage novels.  She also enjoys spending time with her husband Monte and son Max, traveling, camping, enjoying great music at concerts, theatre productions, and movies.

Brian K. McFarlin, Ph.D., FACSM, Kinesiology - Exercise

Brian McFarlin earned his PhD in Exercise Physiology from Purdue University in 2003. Following a postdoctoral fellowship in Nutrition at Purdue University, Dr. McFarlin joined the University of Houston faculty in the Fall 2004, and advanced to the rank of Associate Professor with tenure. McFarlin’s research focuses on two main areas: 1) the physiological and immunologic consequences of weight gain and loss; and 2) the use of nutritional countermeasures to maximize immune health after exercise. Since 2004, he has published more than 70 peer-reviewed articles and obtained more than $1.5 million in externally funded research grants. His research expertise includes flow cytometry and multiplex analysis among other common biological measurement techniques.

McFarlin is a Fellow Member of the Obesity Society and the American College of Sports Medicine. He is also the president for the Texas Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine and the Associate Editor-in-Chief for the International Journal of Exercise Science. He is the primary editor for the journal Immunometabolism.

Joseph Dietrich, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Educational Leadership

Joseph Dietrich is Assistant Professor of Education in the Department of Teacher Education and Administration at the University of North Texas. He joined the faculty in 2012 and his scholarship focuses on the politics of education, public policy and education, and the uses of authority in the educational system. He also has an interest in the moral and ethical dimensions of educational leadership.

At UNT, he teaches graduate courses in the politics and public policy of education, as well as other courses pertaining to the public role and function of the school. Prior to coming to UNT, Dr. Dietrich taught at Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He has also worked in Washington D.C. on Capitol Hill, been a pollster and researcher for several different organizations, and run his own research and information consultancy. He holds a PhD in Social and Comparative Analysis of Education from the University of Pittsburgh. He also holds a Master's degree from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. He is also an honors graduate in Political Science from the University of Pittsburgh.

Ricardo Gonzalez-Carriedo, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Language, Literacy and Bilingual Education

Ricardo González-Carriedo’s research interests include the education of language minority students and issues related to language planning and policy. Prior to his arrival to UNT, he was a faculty associate at the University of Paris X-Nanterre in France and a graduate assistant at Arizona State University. At the secondary level, he has taught Spanish, French, ESL, and English for ten years at public schools in North Carolina and Arizona. He holds a law degree from the University of León in Spain, a master’s in education from Northern Arizona University and a doctoral degree in Curriculum and Instruction with a concentration in Language and Literacy from Arizona State University.

Douglas Otto, Visiting Professor, Educational Leadership

Dr. Doug Otto led the 55,000-student Plano Independent School District through rapid growth and a challenging school finance system.  He retired in January, 2012 after 17 years at the helm of PISD. His career included 31 years as a district superintendent and 5 years as a high school principal.  He started his career as a high school business education teacher.   Otto served as the President of the Texas School Coalition and served on school finance reform panels in Indiana and Minnesota.  He is the author or co-author of more than a dozen professional articles ranging from school finance to desired skills for effective principals.  He was inducted into the Illinois State University College of Education Hall of Fame in 2002.  Dr. Otto received numerous awards from professional organizations including the American Association of School Administrators and the National School Boards Association. In 2007, the Plano Board of Trustees honored Dr. Otto as the namesake of the Douglas Otto Middle School, which opened in 2010.