Campus & Community

Five professors from varied academic disciplines have been selected as Palm Beach State College’s 2023 recipients of the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development Excellence Awards.

NISOD annually recognizes faculty and staff chosen by their respective community and technical colleges for excellence in teaching and learning. The award winners will be recognized at NISOD’s annual International Conference on Teaching and Learning Excellence, which is scheduled for May 27-30 in Austin, Texas.

This is the largest number of NISOD winners PBSC has ever selected for the annual award. The winners were nominated by College administrators and voted on by the Academic Deans’ Council. They are:

Kristin Miller, professor I, graphic design and multimedia, Lake Worth campus

Miller has been teaching art and design at PBSC for 15 years. Her fine art has been exhibited nationally and locally. She also has extensive experience in galleries – from being co-curator of the Lake Worth campus gallery, to working for the private art collection Whitespace Collection, and curating exhibits with the Palm Beach Cultural Council. Dedicated to promoting arts education, she is currently serving on the Visual Arts and Art History Advisory Board at Florida Atlantic University.

Among her numerous achievements, this year as department chair, she has collaborated with community leaders in the arts to further support student learning and student success. In addition to curating several exhibits in the campus Art Gallery to showcase student and faculty work, she collaborated with The Norton Museum and Nat King Cole Generation Hope and organized a Portfolio Day to prepare students to apply to four-year art programs.

She also partnered with the Norton Museum Education department to orchestrate a free shuttle bus of 40 students participating in a free day at the museum. For many of them, it was their first time at an art museum, and it was an opportunity for them to connect the concepts learned in her classes in the real world setting of a museum.

Kalisha Waldon, Ph.D., professor II, education, Boca Raton campus

Waldon has over 20 years of experience in education, including in the areas of administration, consulting and instructional design. Her extensive contributions at PBSC have included serving as the academic coordinator for the inaugural 2022 Kimmel Leadership Academy. In this role, she designed a one-week curriculum based on the Social Change Model of Leadership. The 27 scholars in the inaugural cohort followed her meticulously planned schedule of teambuilding activities, theoretical leadership workshops, soft-skills development, networking sessions and panel discussions.

Waldon, who was named a 2023 recipient  of the PBSC’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Leadership Award, has contributed important research on the persistence factors that impact the success of Black male students’ completion rates.  She has done this research in partnership with the Dr. Barbara Carey-Shuler Equity Institute and the Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness.  She also has participated in several campus-based and college-wide committees including search committees, faculty meeting planning committees, and campus improvement sub-committees, bringing innovative ideas and a wealth of experience to all.

Lauren Zatto, professor 1, mathematics, Palm Beach Gardens campus

Zatto has served as a liaison supporting faculty development of their Canvas courses.  She serves as department chair for prep mathematics, and she strives to make sure that adjunct instructors in her department are knowledgeable about the latest technology and teaching tools.  She recently joined the Curriculum Committee and has served previously as the collegewide cluster chair for Mathematics and prior to that, cluster scribe. She has also been instrumental in coordinating activities for Math Awareness Week.

Allan Nosworthy, associate professor, English, Loxahatchee Groves campus

Aside from teaching and learning excellence, Nosworthy is actively involved in the Second Chance Pell program where he travels to two area incarceration facilities to offer inmates the opportunity at a second chance in furthering their education and advancing their skills. He also serves as department chair for the Loxahatchee and Belle Glade campuses, as well as serves on numerous collegewide committees in support of the College’s mission.

Faye Pelosi, professor I, English, Lake Worth campus

Pelosi has demonstrated an outstanding commitment and contribution to the advancement of professional development programs for her colleagues. Among her numerous achievements, she proactively created a video to increase faculty awareness about Maxient reporting tool and one explaining how to complete textbook certification.

To learn more about NISOD,  visit www.nisod.org.