The SUNY Online Teaching Mentoring Program brings together experienced online educators, instructional designers, and community leaders from across SUNY who are willing to support colleagues who are developing, refining, or reimagining their online teaching practice. Grounded in SUNY’s long-standing commitment to quality, access, and inclusive online learning, this mentoring network serves as a community of practice where online practitioners can share expertise, build confidence, and strengthen online course quality across the system.
Our mentors have been recognized for their contributions to online teaching through roles such as Experienced SUNY Online Teaching Fellows, Expert Online Instructional Designers, OSCQR Award recipients, SUNY Online Teaching Ambassadors, developers of Online Courses for Observation, and other experienced online practitioners. They volunteer their experience and leadership to answer questions, share their expertise, help peers and colleagues navigate challenges, adopt evidence-based practices, and enhance online course design skills and approaches, to improve the learning experiences of all online learners.
Whether you are developing your first online course, redesigning a course, refreshing a course using the OSCQR rubric, exploring more inclusive and humanizing online teaching practices, or simply seeking a thought-partner, the SUNY Online mentor network is provided as a self-service networking option to support you.
The SUNY Online Teaching Mentors represent individuals and campuses across SUNY that bring deep experience in online course design, pedagogy, inclusive teaching, STEM and non-STEM disciplines, accessibility, RSI, instructional design, and faculty development.
Email: keefms@buffalostate.edu
Mentees: New online teaching faculty; Faculty in my discipline; Faculty in any discipline.
Strengths: I LOVE online/hybrid teaching! It removes so many barriers that current students face and being able to help education reach everyone is amazing! I have been learning online since 2002, so I have experienced the growth and changes of online education from a student perspective for over 2 decades. Along with that, I have taught online since 2013. I have sought out information, tools, and resources relating to online education for the past decade to not only improve my course design, but also to build ways in which I can connect with my students virtually. I have shared that information with many colleagues and assisted in their course design, including how to integrate virtual and online components to traditional courses where it can be beneficial. I would love to help other educators design, improve, or enhance their courses and connect them to the world that online education can offer. Additional note: I am available over winter break as well and can offer more time during winter and summer breaks.
Availability (Semester): Summer (June-August); Fall (September-December); Spring (January-May).
Availability (Time): One hour a week (4-5 hours a month); Three hours a week (10-12 hours a month)
Email: afinkle@kean.edu
Mentees: New online teaching faculty, Faculty in my discipline, Experienced online teaching faculty
Strengths: encourage participatory learning; 20+ years of experience teaching online
Availability (Semester): Summer (June-August), Fall (September-December), Spring (January-May)
Availability (Time): Three hours a week (10-12 hours a month)
Email: multarirj@ecc.edu
Mentees: New online teaching faculty
Strengths: For the past five years, I have been teaching hybrid and fully online courses at Erie Community College, navigating both the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and the transition from Blackboard to Brightspace. Recognizing that an online course I inherited presented opportunities for enhanced student-friendliness, I undertook revisions aimed at optimizing the learning experience. Furthermore, course redesign also became necessary with the introduction of a new SUNY GER, requiring me to ensure alignment with student learning outcomes for two distinct GERs. Open Educational Resources (OER) are a consistent consideration in my courses across both hybrid and online modalities. Beyond my experience at Erie CC, I also assisted faculty at the University at Buffalo (UB) School of Architecture and Planning (where I am a full time administrator) in the design and revision of approximately twenty courses to meet SUNY GER requirements during the 2015-2016 academic year. Drawing upon my experiences, I believe I could assist instructors in developing online courses.”
Availability (Semester): Summer (June-August)
Availability (Time): One hour a week (4-5 hours a month)
Email: ustuneg@farmingdale.edu
Mentees: New online teaching faculty, Faculty in my discipline, Faculty in any discipline, Experienced online teaching faculty
Strengths: Helping faculty construct their online course efficiently and effectively
Availability (Semester): Summer (June-August), Fall (September-December), Spring (January-May)
Availability (Time): Five hours a week (15-20 hours a month)
Email: kyunghee_pyun@fitnyc.edu
Mentees: New online teaching faculty, Faculty in my discipline, Faculty in any discipline, Experienced online teaching faculty
Strengths: Helping faculty with Instructional Design, and OER options
Availability (Semester): Summer (June-August), Spring (January-May)
Availability (Time): One hour a week (4-5 hours a month)
Email: c.ryan2@hvcc.edu
Mentees: New online teaching faculty; Faculty in my discipline; Faculty in any discipline; Experienced online teaching faculty
Strengths: I was selected as a Brightspace mentor for my campus as we moved from Blackboard to Brightspace. I enjoy working with colleagues on developing their online courses, with the focus on accessibility. I am proficient in using Brightspace and the feedback I have received from colleagues is that I can explain the technical process in an understandable way. As a faculty member with over fifteen years of a teaching experience, I have pedagogical insights into designing courses, and I implement Universal Design for Learning (UDL) into all my courses. I connect accessibility and Title II compliance with pedagogy with the use of UDL.
Availability (Semester): Summer (June-August); Fall (September-December); Spring (January-May)
Availability (Time): Five hours a week (15-20 hours a month)
Email: shamika.mitchell@sunyrockland.edu
Mentees: New online teaching faculty, Faculty in my discipline, Faculty in any discipline
Strengths: I enjoy helping others and sharing my wisdom. I am also eager to learn new best practices and collaborate with others. I am enthusiastic about online learning and look for new ways to enhance my pedagogical practice. I am task-oriented and I try to be a good listener. I also realize that mentoring requires being supportive and patient. I prefer to be the “Guide on the Side” instead of the solitary leader. Mentoring is a relationship.
Availability (Semester): Spring (January-May)
Availability (Time): One hour a week (4-5 hours a month)
Email: Kritsato@sunyrockland.edu
Mentees: New online teaching faculty; Faculty in my discipline.
Strengths: My strengths are my experience in teaching and setting up online courses over the last ten years combined with my patience and commitment in assisting and supporting other faculty in becoming more familiar with teaching online courses. My interests are centered around my passion for online instruction and my enjoyment in working in a collaborative environment.
Availability (Semester): Summer (June-August)
Availability (Time): One hour a week (4-5 hours a month)