Elementary/Secondary Education

Biography

Levena Nash De La Rosa is a native of Los Angeles, California. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).  During her undergraduate career, Professor De La Rosa participated in the Center for American Politics and Public Policy Research and Internship Program in Washington, DC where she interned at the Center for Training for Child and Family Services.  This experience ultimately led to graduate-level training in Psychology at Howard University where she earned a Master of Science degree from Howard University in Psychology with a focus in Social Psychology.  While there, she served as a Research Assistant at the Center for the Research of Students Placed at Risk (CRESPAR), a Graduate Assistant in the Office of Retention Mentoring and Support Programs and taught and assisted with several courses in the Psychology Department. 

Levena Nash De La Rosa joined Montgomery College in 2012 as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Education and Social Sciences teaching courses in the area of Psychology.  She has taught at both the Rockville and Takoma Park/Silver Spring campuses guiding students in their educational pursuits in various courses such as General Psychology, Human Growth and Development, Child and Adolescent Development and Social Psychology.  Professor De La Rosa is also very active outside of the classroom; she enthusiastically contributes to the Montgomery College’s initiatives and special programs such as the Psychology Open Education Resource (OER) and Common Course, Structured Remote Training (SRT), Achieving the Promise Academy (ATPA) and I Am Psyched.  Professor De La Rosa has received several awards for her excellence in teaching, student engagement, and scholarly pursuits.  In 2018, she received the MC Part-time Faculty Teaching Award. She was awarded the MC Part-time Faculty Engagement Award as well as the Outstanding Part-time Faculty Award in 2019.  Levena currently serves as Full-Time Faculty member at the Rockville Campus of Montgomery College.  Professor De La Rosa is incredibly passionate about student success at Montgomery College and beyond and she seeks to be a bridge to educational opportunity for all who seek it.

Biography

Dr. Smith holds an M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction, specializing in Bilingual Special Education, from George Washington University and a B.A. in Spanish and Psychology from Ohio Wesleyan University.  She speaks English and Spanish fluently as well as basic French.   She has traveled extensively and has lived in Europe and Central America.   Her varied career path, from fifteen years working in the World Bank to teaching in a bilingual elementary school in the District of Columbia public school system, provides a full complement of experiences that serves for teacher preparation in the Montgomery College's A.A.T. program.  She is the coordinator for the Education Department and the coordinator for the Field Experience Program on the Rockville campus.  Her philosophy: Today's classroom requires culturally responsive teachers trained to provide culturally relevant instruction for a culturally and linguistically diverse population of learners who also may have exceptionalities. Teaching a student begins by first understanding the culture, the language, and the home life of that student and then the needs of our global society. Emphasis in her courses is placed on using cooperative learning strategies and specialized curriculum to meet the needs of all learners including English language learners and learners with special needs.

Biography

Professor Carlos Marroquin was born in Washington, DC and raised in Silver Spring, MD.  Professor Marroquin attended Montgomery College as a student and earned his A.A.T. in Elementary Education and Special Education.  Professor Marroquin then pursued his education at Towson University where he earned his bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and Special Education.  

After earning his degree at Towson, Professor Marroquin began his teaching career with Montgomery County Public Schools.  Throughout his time at MCPS, Professor Marroquin created and led multiple afterschool programs to support underserved students.  He also collaborated with the community, local non-profit organizations, local businesses, and other schools to create opportunities in areas of need, for the underserved community he had the privilege of working with during his time at MCPS.  During his tenure at MCPS Professor Marroquin also earned his Master’s degree from The George Washington University in Special Education for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Learners.

Professor Marroquin began working with Montgomery College in 2021 as an adjunct professor with the School of Education.  During that time he co-authored the Early Childhood Alternative Certification Program offered at Montgomery College, which is the first of its kind in the nation.  Professor Marroquin became full time faculty with Montgomery College’s School of Education in 2023.

Professor Marroquin is certified in Elementary Education, Special Education K-12, and Early Childhood Education.  He is also a member of Building Our Network of Diversity (BOND), which focuses on recruiting, developing, retaining, and empowering male educators of color.

Biography

Brandon C.S. Wallace is a full professor at Montgomery College, and a faculty associate at Johns Hopkins University. In addition to his work in international curricula writing, public speaking, intra- and extramural presenting, and authoring several publications, he serves on multiple national assessments. Dr. Wallace has received many awards for his work in education, most notably the Diane Tobin Award for Excellence in Teaching from the Johns Hopkins University’s School of Education, the Award for Professionalism from Montgomery College, the Bowie Black Male Educators and Leaders Alliance’s Outstanding Professor Award in 2020, from Bowie State University, as well as Outstanding Faculty Member (2023) and Team Effort Award (2023) from Montgomery College. Brandon started his teaching career in Baltimore City Public Schools and has worked in several capacities throughout education, e.g., national director for a teacher-preparation program, state education agency interventionist, and many other capacities throughout his career. 

 
Dr. Wallace’s research interests include English language and literature, qualitative methodology, multiculturalism, assessment theory, Universal Design for Learning, specialized education, behaviorism, and restorative justice. Brandon lives in Prince George’s County, Maryland and enjoys leisurely reading the works of Toni Morrison, John Milton, Jane Elliott, James Baldwin, and Damon Young. This is Dr. Wallace’s tenth year at Montgomery College and has received three fellowships and an innovation grant to incept Educators Rising at Montgomery College. Moreover, Dr. Wallace has many publications, including: Wallace, BCS. (2023). Bedouin blues and blessings: Navigating the space of onliness within institutions of higher education as a Black male millennial. In Bobette Bouton (Ed.), Surviving and Changing the Culture of White Patriarchal Higher Education: Personal Essay of Struggle and Hope. Kendall Hunt Publishing; Wallace, BCS. (2023). The sixth sense of six stories: Using endarkened empathy to connect with African American males through narrative inquiry. In Bethel Cager et al. (Eds.), Culturally Responsive Leadership for Academic and Social Equity and Justice in Schools. IGI Global Publications; Wallace, B. C., & Abel, Y. (2021). Utilizing Specially Designed, Instructional Evidence-Based Practices and Family Engagement: Increasing African American Student Achievement in Digital Literacies. In Connecting Disciplinary Literacy and Digital Storytelling in K-12 Education (pp. 24-37). IGI Global. 
 
Brandon attended Bowie State University, Johns Hopkins University, and Drexel University, obtaining his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees, respectively.  
 
Dr. Wallace is also on the Faculty Council for our college’s governance. If you are experiencing issues that you need to be addressed by the senior leadership, i.e., president, senior vice president, etc., please share them with me; I would love to connect you with resources and information.

Educational Background

BS, Bowie State University

MS, Johns Hopkins University

PhD, Drexel University