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The Darden College of Education and Professional Studies celebrated the accomplishments of six outstanding alumni on Feb. 21.

The annual Darden Fellows Luncheon honors graduates who have distinguished themselves in their professions and made significant contributions to their fields.

Nominated by faculty from each of the college’s six departments, these alumni exemplify service and excellence in their communities and beyond. They were selected from a pool of more than 41,000 Darden College graduates.

The luncheon and award ceremony were held in the Education Building Multipurpose Room.

The 2023 fellows are:

Lisa Duncan Raines
Ph.D. with concentration in higher education (2012)
Vice president of enrollment and student success at Christopher Newport University

At Christopher Newport, Duncan Raines partners with offices campuswide to build and maintain a strategic framework focusing on retention, graduation and post-graduation outcomes in support of CNU’s missions and goals. Her current responsibilities include oversight of core academic advising, the Center for Academic Success, the Center for Career Planning, the Office of Financial Aid and the Office of the Registrar. She also oversees programs for early alert and “at-risk” students, academic support for students with disabilities, transfer admission and enrollment, tutoring and veterans’ educational benefit programs. Under her leadership, CNU received the Ruffalo Noel Levitz 2016 Gold Retention Excellence Award and was a University Business magazine Summer 2016 Models of Excellence honoree.

Aileen L. Smith
M.S.Ed. in counseling (1993)
Director of the Department of Human Services for the city of Virginia Beach

Smith oversees Social Services, Business Administration, Behavioral Health and Developmental Services in the Virginia Beach Department of Human Services (VBDHS). She leads about 1,500 employees and 60 programs, overseeing a budget of more than $123 million to fund programs for Virginia Beach citizens. Before accepting this position, she was the deputy director for VBDHS’s Behavioral Health Developmental Services. She has worked for 28 years in the field of intellectual disabilities, mental health, substance use and prevention. She graduated from the LEAD leadership program at the University of Virginia and became a Fellow of Georgetown University’s Center for Juvenile Justice Reform in 2016. She served on Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s Center for Behavioral Health and Justice advisory committee as well as the Hampton Roads Heroin Task Force and Gov. Ralph Northam’s mental health policy work group.

Renee Garrett
M.S.Ed. in communication sciences and disorders (2010)
Speech-language pathologist at Sentara Belle Harbour Outpatient Therapy Center

Before joining the outpatient therapy center at Sentara Belle Harbour in 2022, Garrett worked as a medical speech-language pathologist (SLP) in inpatient rehabilitation and outpatient settings, in assisted living and in acute care hospitals, serving adults across the lifespan with dysphagia and a variety of communication and cognitive disorders. She also taught in 51�鱨վ’s Communication Sciences and Disorders undergraduate program and supervised graduate student clinicians. She has a special interest in post-traumatic brain injury. Garrett holds certification from the Brain Injury Association of America. She has received multiple ACE awards from the American Speech-Language Hearing Association, recognizing SLPs who demonstrate their commitment to lifelong learning.

Cathy Rossi
M.S.Ed. in sport management (2004)
Deputy director of athletics at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Since earning her master’s degree from 51�鱨վ, Rossi has served in leadership roles at several colleges and universities, serving as the financial manager of athletic budgets ranging from $14 million to $110 million. She began her career in athletics at Boston College, where she worked in the ticket office. Next, she became the athletic business manager at the College of William & Mary and then the assistant athletic director of business at the University of Richmond. From there, she became the director of budget and finance for athletics at the University of Minnesota. She is in her seventh year at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee as deputy director of athletics.

Shantell Strickland-Davis
Ph.D. with concentration in occupational and technical studies (2018)
Associate vice president of organizational learning and leadership development and executive director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at Central Piedmont Community College

Strickland-Davis is chief talent officer of the Charlotte, North Carolina, college and consults with all units in the design and development of faculty, staff and leadership professional learning, programming and resources. She oversees all facets of professional learning and engagement, including equity, diversity and inclusion programs, online teaching, educational development, technology education and support for college leaders and administrators. She is the founding executive director of Central Piedmont’s Center for Teaching and Learning. Her research agenda includes faculty efficacy and confidence and the ways community college faculty are best supported.

Tina Manglicmot
M.S. in secondary education (1998)
Chief academic officer of Newport News Public Schools

Manglicmot leads the design and implementation of curriculum, professional learning, instructional programming, school counseling services, strategic planning, assessment and accountability for an urban school division with approximately 26,500 students and more than 2,200 teachers. She strives to ensure all students have access to opportunities and resources that prepare them for the future. Previously, she was director of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and innovation for the Virginia Department of Education. Over the past 23 years, she also has been a secondary science teacher, educational technology facilitator, building administrator, division mathematics and science coordinator and supervisor of instructional technology and innovation. She has also taught as an adjunct for Virginia Commonwealth University and the College of William & Mary.

Pictured, from left: Lisa Duncan Raines, Aileen Smith, Renee Garrett, Cathy Rossi, Shantell Strickland-Davis and Tina Manglicmot