Rebecca Blomgren

Web Exclusives – October 16, 2015 “Being a college student is difficult enough. Adding cancer to the mix only makes things harder,” said Samantha Eisenstein Watson, who was diagnosed with cancer while she was a student at Brandeis University, in Boston, first with Ewing’s sarcoma and 2 years later with secondary myelodysplastic syndrome. Samantha found help in the form of Michele Rosenthal for navigating college and cancer.

My family and I moved into south Mississippi just 6 days before Katrina struck our community. After Katrina, I dedicated my career to disaster psychology. I moved to the area for my first teaching job as a psychologist, but after surviving the hurricane, I wanted to focus my work specifically on helping people face disasters. That led to founding the Humanitarian Disaster Institute at Wheaton College.

I have known Dr. Lois Bailey for more than 20 years. She has vast educational experience as a curriculum facilitator, administrator, educator of educators and educational innovator. Dr. Bailey understands the complexity of the challenges facing public education and is deeply committed to creating and maintaining high-quality schools for all students and teachers. She understands the devastation of poverty and strives to balance the inequities through strong public education.